Kids,  Parenting

Potty Training – The Do’s & Don’ts

If you are an earlier listener to the podcast you may have heard me talk about the absolute nightmare potty training my (then) 2 year old was.

Now that we have seen the light I thought it would be a helpful tool to other parents out there to share the do’s and don’ts we found.

We have always talked lots about the potty. How exciting it was when big sissy, mommy or daddy went potty. How great it was to not have pee pee in our pants because we just went on the potty. All potty talk all day. Did this help? No, my son gave zero shits about our potty experience.

Did I buy all the fun books to read about the Paw Patrol helping with the potty, Elmo learning, how it was a part of being a big boy. Yes I did, you should not. They did nothing to encourage him.

Did I buy ALL the cool character underwear so that the choices were endless? Yes I did .. and most didn’t fit by the time he was actually ready, so maybe don’t do this.

We worked on potty training on and off for a solid year, it was to the point my son would scream at the top of his lungs at the mere mention of sitting on the potty, we were all experiencing the trauma from it. Our family doctor was not worried, so I pretended not to be worried as well.

It was labour day weekend, I made the bold move to not buy pull ups knowing that the stores would be closed the next day and told Lincoln he was going to have to wear his underwear. He had 3 accidents in under an hour. I was deeply regretting every life decision I had made because I was not good at these .. then he went on the potty, EVERY SINGLE TIME, he woke up DRY from his nap time, he woke up DRY after bedtime. He didn’t poop for 3 days, but then he mastered that too and honestly has been a pro since.

What I learned in all of this is that your child knows their body. Maybe your child will love the potty on the first go and it will be a dream, maybe your child will be like my first and decide one day they are training themselves. Maybe your child will be like my son and put their foot down until they are ready to make the choice for themselves.

There are no real do’s and don’ts in parenting. Do love your child endlessly and support them in all the ways you can, Don’t fret about the things out of your control. It will all come together as it should.