Potty Training 101

If there is one lesson I have learned it is this: "The child isn't going to do it until he/she is truly ready."

For many many months now we've been wondering if Little Man would even be potty trained by the time he was 4. The most recent problem is that he doesn't care. When I say he doesn't care, I mean it in every sense of the word. He doesn't bring us a diaper or let us know when it needs to be changed, he just doesn't care.

Now that the holidays are over and we're settling back into a routine here at home we realized I actually had about 6 consecutive days where I don't HAVE to leave the house. That is very unusual. So yesterday was day 1 for "real" potty training. Up until now we've gone through every fight in the book from not wanting to sit on the potty to holding it for an eternity. We certainly didn't want this to become a power struggle and have been careful for the past many months to make sure we didn't cross that line.

Tuesday night as I laid in his bed with him singing songs I gently reminded him that in the morning there would be no more diapers. I've been holding his Barney DVD hostage for about a week with full disclosure that as soon as he peed in that potty it was his. And that is exactly how it worked. It took him over an hour of sitting on that potty (watching Sesame Street) for him to pee that first time but once he did it started to sink in.

We've known for some time that he completely understood what was expected of him but he just didn't care to cooperate. By the afternoon he was doing it completely on his own. No more asking, "Do you need to potty?" He would just come get me so that I could empty it into the big potty and he could flush it. How awesome is that?

We still have some hurdles with this obviously, but the general concept is mastered. We're both SO proud of him. I am definitely glad we waited until he was ready instead of making it a huge deal that was aggravating and drawn out.

And so far today is going just as well as yesterday. Keeping my fingers crossed!