Yes, its time to have that discussion.
We are in the midst of serious, hard core potty training in this house.
And it ain’t easy!
(Why doesn’t anyone ever tell you that?)
But I want to share some resources that have helped us put together a potty training plan that is working for us. Maybe they will help you, too!
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First up, did you know the Mayo Clinic has a webpage devoted to potty training? Well, they do!
They provide good questions to ask yourself about your child to determine when is the right time to start the potty training process. They also offer advice on how to get started.
Simply Modern Mom has a fabulous blog post with 22 potty training tips. These tips see you through the entire potty training process. This is definitely where I found most of the information I used to put our potty training plan in order! And be sure to read the comments at the and of the blog post. Super helpful hearing from other mothers!
Little Lucy Lu shares an adorable idea of how to show off potty treats. This isn’t something you necessarily think of when you’re first putting together a potty plan, but it really is great if the child can see the reward (whether it be candy, stickers, or whatever) from the potty.
Parents magazine has 20 potty training tips straight from the mouths of parents who’ve been through it. I find that I can’t get enough of tips from parents. No two children are the same so reading as much advice from as many parents as possible has been great for me! As I try different things with my son to get him to potty, I can mentally run through all the advice I’ve read and think, “okay, that one isn’t going to work here” or “let’s try this trick I read about.”
Little Lucy Lu shares an adorable idea of how to show off potty treats. This isn’t something you necessarily think of when you’re first putting together a potty plan, but it really is great if the child can see the reward (whether it be candy, stickers, or whatever) from the potty.
Parents magazine has 20 potty training tips straight from the mouths of parents who’ve been through it. I find that I can’t get enough of tips from parents. No two children are the same so reading as much advice from as many parents as possible has been great for me! As I try different things with my son to get him to potty, I can mentally run through all the advice I’ve read and think, “okay, that one isn’t going to work here” or “let’s try this trick I read about.”
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So these were my favorite resources.
I think if you’re a potty training parent or a soon-to-be a potty training parent you will find these websites very helpful!
Check back Wednesday when I share our potty training story and free potty training chart you can download to use for your training if you so choose!
Dawn
Tuesday 13th of September 2011
It's always good to know when your child's normal "movements" are during the day. For example...my daughter ALWAYS went in her diaper just after dinner and before her bath. So I would keep a pretty good watch on her, and I could tell about what time each night. Once I had done that, it was pretty simple. I just sat her on the potty before her bath and voila!...then of course she'd get an M&M. If you have a little one motivated by candy...it's soooo much easier...lol. Even if they will constantly sit on that potty JUST to get a reward. HEY...the more they sit...the more likely they are to NOT have an accident. My daughter was pretty much potty trained in 3 weeks..Including the "stinky" kind...lol.
The Answer Is Chocolate
Monday 12th of September 2011
Oh I do not miss those days for sure. Wish some of these ideas had been around when I was doing this!
Lynsey
Monday 12th of September 2011
I am starting to potty train my little boy (I was going to start today but as usual I'm totally unprepared so I'm starting tomorrow). This post couldn't have come at a better time! Thanks!
Amanda
Monday 12th of September 2011
Ohhh thank you for sharing this info! We're trying to potty train our twins, this seems to be another topic all those parenting books seemed to skim over! So much harder than I realised!