Whenever I posted about our kiddos' potty training status, I often get asked by my blog followers on how to start potty training their kiddos or what tips I can share with them as their kiddos are having difficulty going forward in the potty training stage (example: still pooping in diaper).
I have recently also posted on my accidental potty training on our almost 8 mths old girl, well, calm down, there is no need to be horrified as I personally feel it is too early too. For me, I would personally prefer to start potty training when our kiddos can understand the difference between pee and poo and know when the urge to do either comes. However, during that particular moment, since I can easily observe the signs that our baby wants to poo, I just make it easier for her to poo into the potty instead of the diaper. If I can see the signs, I can do the potty thing. That is simply a mother's decision to help save a diaper. Just feel I should clarify this again since some parents seem to get riled up and assumed I am potty training our 8 months old girl!
Now, back to today's topic... I just want to share that the success of potty training our 2.5 years old girl in 1 month time, they are mainly due to:
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Her big brother (now 5 years old) paving the way and showing good example for her to follow in her potty training journey.
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Her readiness and ability to understand instructions.
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The magic sentence of 'Do you know that princesses do not wear diapers?!'
Do note that the above personal tips I shared is applicable to second or more child. And I actually started her at almost 1.5 years old but was not disciplined enough to continue on due to being busy with our 3rd baby then so I only managed to resume potty training her seriously in April 2014 (almost 2.5 years old then).
With our first kiddo, I tried starting him on potty training when he was 2.5 years old (I was 8 months preggy with 2nd child then) and only managed to get him to be comfortable around a potty. I did the sticker reward chart, the snacks and candies and treats, the target practise (putting a sticker in the toilet seat for him to aim at), lots and lots of patience and praises. Everything. I even came up with my personal BE AWESOME potty training tricks for him.
I stopped potty training him when our 2nd kiddo came along and resumed potty training when our first kiddo turns 3 years old. It is so much easier by then with our 1st kiddo maturing a bit and able to understand cause and effect and instructions properly. He was successfully potty training before he turned 4 years old.
So having our 1st kiddo fully potty trained by the time we started our 2nd kiddo helps very much! Big brother exudes confidence and shows to baby sister it is a simple petty task makes our potty training job so much easier 2nd time around. Also with our 2nd kiddo getting more verbal nowadays also contributes to the success as well.
The magic sentence of 'Do you know that princesses do not wear diapers?!' is a coincidence and I dared to say an awesome idea that just pops at the right time. Our 2nd kiddo is very into princessy stuff so I just take advantage of the situation and gained something out of it.
Some additional tips of mine that I can share:
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Preferably start potty training only when your kiddos can understand instructions so that you can then gently explained and teach them the differences between pee and poo, how to know when the urge to have one comes.
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Research as much as you can on what to expect when potty training your kiddos. Do remind yourself every child is different, some takes on to it easily, some takes a longer time to adjust and practice.
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For peeing part, take small steps in potty training, let them get used to being around a potty or toilet seat, then let them sit on it (with pants on) so that they can be assured that it is like sitting on a chair, to be brave when sitting on one, then slowly get them to pee in potty or if using toilet seat, you can put a sticker for them to aim when pee (for boys), then slowly move on to getting them to hold a wee bit longer (helps when you go out next time and they can hold their pee a wee bit while you quickly look for a restroom!), then move on to diaper-less during daytime, then in public outing.
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For pooing part, a lot of parents shared that their kiddos refused to poo without their diaper on. For our 1st kiddo, it is timing that I managed to get him to poo the first time without diaper. He was playing in his water pool at our balcony when he needed to poo. He frantically asked me to put a diaper on for him so that he can poo and I told him not enough time to wear diaper, go to potty NOW and he went. Once done, I praised him for the breakthrough and repeatedly told him how good is he to help mummy and daddy save money for not using diaper to poo in. The moment will come, you just gotta wait patiently and seize the opportunity.
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Once you have tackled the peeing and pooping part, I think the last stage of potty training is going diaper-less at bedtime. What we did with our 1st kiddo was we made sure he pees before bedtime, then we wake him up at 3am to pee again, after a while, he got used to the routine and sometimes wakes up himself to go pee after that. As for our 2nd child, so far she has dry diapers at bedtime for 2 weeks already but I still put on a diaper for her just in case.
I hope my article helps!
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