Parenting Toddlers

Potty training is a process - it can be a long process too. I was pretty smug when, before 18 months, Peanut used the potty. “Well, what are people complaining about? This is easy.” Famous last words, right? After that brief experiment, she decided she didn’t need to use the potty anymore. And she didn’t for quite some time. Finally, during the summer before she was three, she was ready. What worked for us was to make Peanut wear underwear. The first day (the first few hours, actually) she went through quite a few pairs. The second day, a few less. The third day, she was good for the day. This doesn’t mean that we were there yet. She still wore a diaper at night and during long car trips. But we got over the hump, so to speak. A key to potty training is to try something, keep at it, and if it’s not working, try something else. So, I’ll present a tip each week or so to give you some ammunition for the potty training process. If it doesn’t work, keep at it for a while - toddlers need repetition. If it still won’t work, move on. Don’t be afraid - you’re not failing. Your child’s not failing. You’ll get there. You might just need to try something. There might be something you do that finally clicks. So here’s this week’s potty training tip:

Move the potty chair. Peanut, like most toddlers, hates to be separated from the action. She also hates to stop playing. This is the reason for many “accidents.” It’s not that your child can’t go to the potty, it’s just that they’d rather play. They just don’t have the bladder control to hold it. So you can move the potty chair into the room they use most. If you have a play room or living room (we spend most of our time in the living room), try putting the potty in there at first. This will make it more likely that your child will use it. Instead of having to go all the way to the bathroom, away from all the fun stuff, they can just go to the corner, pee, and get right back to playing. This is a good idea if you have a bathroom on a different floor than the one you usually play on.

It might look odd to have a potty chair in the living room. But whatever. You have a child, and it’s really important that you do whatever you can to help him potty train. It’s only for a short time! Once he gets the hang of it, move it back to the bathroom.

Give this a try for as long as your child needs to really master going to the potty by himself. This will be different for each child and family. For instance, it may not work to have a potty chair in the living room if you have a baby who has just started to crawl. The first thing that baby will go for is the potty chair. If your toddler is the youngest or only child, though, give it a try. Once you feel that he’s ready - and you’ll know - move it. If it turns out he’s not ready and is having accidents because he wants to play, move it back to the living room or try something new.