I think potty training is more traumatic for the parent than for the child.
This week, and it's not over yet, has not been easy for me. The potty training method we used, which I highly recommend, ensures that the trainee has all the relevant information and skills for toileting herself completely independently. Her sole motivation is having dry pants - no stickers, toys, candy or other external motivators required. It's a great leap forward in personal responsibility.
This is the second milestone - breastfeeding being the first - my daughter has achieved that I have had such a fully vested interest in. If she didn't get it and had a lot of accidents, diapers would be a far more convenient option for me. In fact, diapers would be more convenient for travel, as well. But if we wait until we stop traveling, we'd never train her. She is fully capable of being trained, and I owe it to her to assist her in this step of independence.
For the training and the first couple of days afterward, we dressed her in a t-shirt and training pants only. This morning, she requested a dress. She had only one accident each on the previous two days, so I honoured her request. Today she had two accidents, each of them while standing in position right in front of the potty. The dress had interfered with her ability to lower her pants quickly. So during each of the ten practice sessions that follow any accident, I focussed solely on helping her move her dress out of the way and get her pants down quickly. She had to change dresses after the second accident. Even though she visited the potty several times this afternoon, once at a run, she had no further accidents and her second dress stayed dry as well. We even took her on an errand in the car (total time in her car seat 45 minutes or so), taking a little potty with us and using a waterproof liner on her car seat just in case, and she had no accidents or requests for the potty during that time.
A newly potty trained child adds an element of drama to even the most mundane situation. Essentially, I am trusting a two-year-old with my soft furnishings (and then trusting Woolite when the inevitable occurs). I had her practice saying 'mama, baba, potty' as we got into the car this afternoon so she could alert us in time to pull over and prevent an accident. I am not sure what equipment to bring on play dates so that Nikki has a place to do her business wherever we are.
I know this type of uncertainty is normal with any transition. I guess I never realised how big of a transition it would be for me .
This week, and it's not over yet, has not been easy for me. The potty training method we used, which I highly recommend, ensures that the trainee has all the relevant information and skills for toileting herself completely independently. Her sole motivation is having dry pants - no stickers, toys, candy or other external motivators required. It's a great leap forward in personal responsibility.
This is the second milestone - breastfeeding being the first - my daughter has achieved that I have had such a fully vested interest in. If she didn't get it and had a lot of accidents, diapers would be a far more convenient option for me. In fact, diapers would be more convenient for travel, as well. But if we wait until we stop traveling, we'd never train her. She is fully capable of being trained, and I owe it to her to assist her in this step of independence.
For the training and the first couple of days afterward, we dressed her in a t-shirt and training pants only. This morning, she requested a dress. She had only one accident each on the previous two days, so I honoured her request. Today she had two accidents, each of them while standing in position right in front of the potty. The dress had interfered with her ability to lower her pants quickly. So during each of the ten practice sessions that follow any accident, I focussed solely on helping her move her dress out of the way and get her pants down quickly. She had to change dresses after the second accident. Even though she visited the potty several times this afternoon, once at a run, she had no further accidents and her second dress stayed dry as well. We even took her on an errand in the car (total time in her car seat 45 minutes or so), taking a little potty with us and using a waterproof liner on her car seat just in case, and she had no accidents or requests for the potty during that time.
A newly potty trained child adds an element of drama to even the most mundane situation. Essentially, I am trusting a two-year-old with my soft furnishings (and then trusting Woolite when the inevitable occurs). I had her practice saying 'mama, baba, potty' as we got into the car this afternoon so she could alert us in time to pull over and prevent an accident. I am not sure what equipment to bring on play dates so that Nikki has a place to do her business wherever we are.
I know this type of uncertainty is normal with any transition. I guess I never realised how big of a transition it would be for me .
 
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Tags: potty training, toddler
