day" from the library. I could only browse through it but liked what I read. I liked the idea of the child doing A-Z all by herself. I'm training her in the main floor bathroom where there's a regular toilet and I place her seat on top of the toilet. Since it's still high for her, I have to put a stool or something so that she can get on to the toilet herself.
Since I really want her to be trained with as few interruptions as possible,
deck railing safetyI have strong opinions on this one. When our youngest was 18 months old, we drove our oldest son (then 8) to his first day at summer camp. We were all sitting on built in...
My questions:
I used that book with all 3 kids, but it's been about 8 years, so this is from memory. I believe the book recommends using a potty chair rather than a seat-stool combo.
We used a Fisher-Price 1-2-3 potty chair that later converted to a seat-stepstool for transitioning.
nap in the afternoon for two hours, should i put her in a diaper then? If i leave her without a diaper and she wets herself in sleep I don't
Is she generally dry when she wakes from naps now? That's one of the signs of being ready to train.
We left them out of diapers for naps. We didn't have accidents; if we did, we'd have been matter-of-fact rather than blaming. We did leave them in diapers at night for some months afterward, though. It's a deeper sleep.
No. You shouldn't be going out much during the first 2 intensive days of toilet-learning-- that's when the learning is taking place, and it has priority. Afterward the connection is there, you should ask her to 'try' before going out, but be prepared for her to announce absolutely everywhere that she needs to go. :) Don't fight it. It's part curiosity, part showing off. This, too, will pbutt -- but you will probably get acquainted with many, many bathrooms in the next couple of months!
Your call. I don't like the idea of deliberate wastefulness, or the idea that the toilet is an amusement device (flushing mechanism seems to break down at the worst times!) but that's a matter of personal preference.
she does pee pee in the toilet. Then on she would run to toilet every few minutes, do nothing but sit on it, flush, come down and ask for her
potty training questions 2150I left diapers on for nap and bedtime. Many children can't control *themselves while sleeping and most do not have a problem wearing a *diaper to...
treat. I'm thinking of forgetting the treat. Does this "training" work
Well, you're not really following the method outlined in the book, so it's hard to say. The treats are a really misunderstood aspect of the training. The M&M isn't supposed to be given for producing urine in the potty. It's supposed to be given for having "dry pants". The distinction is subtle, but important.
See, you give a dry pants check soon after she's successfully used the toilet, but only all the way after (that includes wiping, pulling up the pants, emptying the potty chair and cleaning up.) That ensures she gets at least one successful dry pants check -- and reward -- right off the bat, and helps her see that she CAN do this. But you also give dry pants checks at other intervals when the kid is doing something else and hasn't wet. "Does Suzy have dry pants? Yes! She can have a treat for keeping her pants dry like a big girl!"
IIRC, the checks are at random times, get spaced further apart, and the "treat" aspect ends after the first day or so, to be replaced with lots of praise -- to the kid and about the kid (in her hearing) to other people. NOT for using the potty, but for keeping her pants dry. (The praise also diminishes gradually as the dry pants turn into status quo rather than wonderful new accomplishment, and so you won't need to keep checking for dry pants.)
I know plenty of people do treats the way you're doing when they choose to train, and I'm guessing some of them succeed pretty well. But that's NOT the method outlined in Toilet Training in Less Than A Day. They designed their system pretty carefully, and while it is very structured and therefore probably not suited for all parents, if you want to try it, you need to read the book thoroughly and be prepared to follow directions.
Kind of like if you're trying your friend's strawberry pie recipe. You can't subsbreastute kiwis for strawberries and figure it will get the same results! It might still taste good, mind you, and keep intact your reputation as a great cook, but if it flopped, it would be unfair to say that your friend's recipe was no good!
You can probably find a secondhand copy pretty cheap. I paid full price for a new copy and found it worth every penny.
Lori G. Milwaukee, WI
thanks for reading. I appreciate your replies.
potty training questions 2149I wouldn't know. We used the typical plastic floor potty and at some point switched to the toilet. My youngest didn't care...
