Thanks to everyone who answered my recent plea for potty training tips. We are hoping our 2-year-old granddaughter will soon discover the wonders of the throne. Here are some of the great ideas:
Ellie Brodland, Marysville: As a mother of seven and a grandmother of seven, I enjoyed your article on potty training.
I am sorry to say, however, that you are suffering under the common delusion that “potty training” is referring to training the child.
Oh not so, girlfriend.
Potty training means a well-trained parent, grandparent or both. I know the secret which I actually figured out with my fourth child. Don’t bother. Just keep them in those convenient diapers until they stop needing them.
They all stop wetting them eventually and the stress it saves you is well worth it. I just keep those fancy undies in plain sight and occasionally mentioned how “Cool you will look in them.” Let it go, relax, and it will happen.
Julie Eke, Everett: Oh my, when I read your article, it was like you were speaking of my son.
Well, almost. Daron Parker is 4 years old, rambunctious and autistic. Doctors and teachers alike warned us that it could be years, and that some autistic children do not become fully trained until they are 9 and 10 years old.
Eventually, we hit upon a system that worked. A chart was made with separate columns: pee, poop, accident.
Each time he went, he would get a checkmark in the appropriate column. I don’t think it would have worked so well, however, if we hadn’t brought in an incentive: gummy bears. Some things are the same for all children, disabled or not.
Eleanore North, Mill Creek: My granddaughter, even at age 3, refused to even sit on the potty. I read about a VHS tape called “I Gotta Go.” It has real kids in it, not animated characters.
She watched it from time to time for several weeks, loving the music. One day out of the blue she said to me “I need to go potty.” I nearly flipped. She did start using the potty consistently and unbelievably stayed dry all night long. We were so very proud of her.
Margaret Fast, Everett: Oh, this is a subject close to my heart.
When my first born was close to 2 years old, one of my friends loaned me the book “Toilet Training in Less Than a Day.”
Though my son showed no sign of wanting to use the potty, I thought it was time to start.
Unfortunately, I decided to read the book and do it at the same time – not a good idea. I thought he had not gotten it that first day, but when he woke up the next morning, he crossed his legs because he had to go.
We certainly continued with the potty training method the next day, and it worked.
Michelle Knife, Arlington: I just read your article and had to laugh.
My husband and I just finished with the potty training episodes last fall. We tried everything, from a musical potty that played music whenever water tinkled down inside, M&M’s, to pull-ups, the “Everyone Poops,” and my constant nagging her about whether or not she needed to go.
One morning she smeared her messy diaper all over her bed and toys. Totally grossed out and freaked by the unsanitary space that was supposed to be her bedroom, I put her on a portable potty in front of the TV to watch PBS and read books for the remainder of the morning until she finally decided to use her potty.
After a long discussion about cleanliness, how she would get sick if she kept doing that, and spending several hours on the potty that morning, things really took a turn for the better. Keep up the hard work. Eventually, it will happen.
Nancy Gilmore, Everett: My tip is this: Ditch the Pull-Ups (the little one can’t feel when they are wet) and use training pants covered with plastic pants (to protect your furniture and floor) instead.
When we were ready to potty train both of our girls, we got rid of all the diapers and just told them that there were no more diapers. We pretty much stayed home for a couple of days, took lots of trips to the potty and after a few accidents, they knew the feeling of when they had to go and before long, they were the ones running to the potty without being prodded along.
Venea Dahlgren, Arlington: I tried a book called “Potty Train in One Day.” We had previously spent a week naked in the backyard, sure that the sensation would help our son and quickly potty train him.
All we accomplished was an uneven watering of the lawn.
When my son woke up on our planned Wednesday, he found that Batman (his idol) had left him a present, a baby that went potty.
We spent a couple hours feeding the baby and having him potty on the toilet, and having accidents to model the behavior.
When my son was really into it he found another present left by Batman, his own special character underwear.
Then the flooding began. Any drink he wanted he got to encourage frequent bathroom visits. We spent the day on a comforter in the living room playing games and staying off of the carpet just in case.
By 5 p.m., we had a conference at school for our older son, and we all went, with my toddler in underwear. He peed at the school so we went out to a Mexican restaurant. By the fifth day he was remembering to go on his own and stopped having accidents.
Kristi Neeleman, Arlington: I went through hours of frustration trying to “train” my then 2-year-old daughter, now 9, on the wonders of going to the bathroom on the big person’s toilet.
Money, candy, toys at the store; you name it, I offered it.
I finally realized that my daughter will go to the bathroom on the toilet when she is ready to go, not when I’m ready to stop changing her diapers.
I now believe that it can be detrimental to push a child into doing something that they may not be emotionally ready to accomplish.
Let her be, Kristi.
She will figure out the bathroom thing soon enough on her own. Worry about something really important – like who she’ll be dating in 15 years.
Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com .
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