I just want to boast about how successful my potty training experience went with my oldest, who is now four. Potty training is kind of nerve wrecking for first time parents and their first born because like everything else, you have no idea what to expect. You hear everybody else’s success story or their horror story and of course every child is different. SO here I will share my story. My son had just turned three at the time and it was time for him to start using the big boy potty, he was also about to start to start preschool in a couple of months. I used preschool as an award, which I believe helped a lot to get him to use his potty. I had bought him one of those kid potties that just sit on the floor. It was a Summer Infant 3 stage potty trainer that I had bought online and I do not recommend it at all. This potty always ends up with pee in the bottom and not in the catch pan, it stains very easily and is also very difficult to clean. Although, I do recommend having a kid potty to use because it’s very convenient and easier to use for little ones as the big toilets we use are too high and too big. Aside from using going to school as an award, I had also made a sticker chart, getting the idea from the infamous Pinterest page of course. I used a piece of white cardstock paper, on the top I wrote in big letters HUNTER’S (my son’s name) POTTY CHART. Then I drew a line in the middle of the paper, on the left side I put #1 for pee and on the right side I had put #2 for poo. Each time he went #1 he would get a small sticker and every time he would go #2 he would get a big sticker and a prize, which ranged from candy to a new hot wheels car but it was a surprise so he never knew what he would get. After making the chart I took my son to the store and let him pick out a sticker sheet of his choice and new underwear that he would wear. Thinking that picking out his own underwear and wearing them while potty training would possibly encourage him to use the toilet instead of ruining his cool new underwear. He had picked out these cute Minion stickers and Disney Cars character underwear. Now, I tried using pull ups for a couple of days with no success whatsoever. They looked and felt too much like a diaper. My best choice was when I let him wear his new underwear or sometimes he wore just pants around. Luckily it was summertime so we spent a majority of his potty training days outside. Every half an hour I would make him go in and sit on the potty until he got the hang of it, within two days of starting the sticker chart he wasn’t having any more accidents in his pants. He has never had any accidents at night and he started Preschool without diapers. Now I know that this potty training thing doesn’t go as smoothly for all kids, I think he was excited to use the big boy potty whereas my youngest, who turns three in September and Preschool in August, wants nothing to do with using the big boy potty. Every time I try to even set him on it he screams and arches his back. When summer comes around, in the next month or two, I am going to attempt the same process I did with my oldest. Fingers crossed that it works but I will definitely share my experience when that time comes. I guess in the end, I learned that potty training needs to be a fun experience for the kid, even if it is a frustrating experience for the parent. They need to want to do it and it’s all about finding the incentives they need to do it. I used going to school, a sticker chart and surprises as my incentives but like I had said earlier, every child is different. I wish everyone good luck when it comes to potty training!
(Picture above is the chart I will be using for my youngest, his name is Luke and the potty that I do not recommend but I will still be using it for round 2.)