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K peed on the slide today. That wouldn’t have been so bad but it was an inside slide in a mall, with lots of toddlers climbing up and down the slide.
Horrified I watched as the liquid ran down the slide into a little boy’s butt. In self-imagined-slow-motion (but in reality, faster than a flying Super Mom), I darted forward and grabbed her arms, pulling her off the slide with one hand. Using my other hand, I pulled off her pants and used them to wipe up the pee off the slide. The other parents stood transfixed as I managed to dry the slide and put K in the stroller all in one sweeping motion. I gave the little boy a tissue, (all I had,) and before any other parent could question me, we were outta there.
Aside from an occasional ‘accident’ like this one, the book, “Toilet Training in Less than a Day” worked really well for us. I really did get her toilet trained in less than a day.
Sometime around fourteen months old I started having K sit on the potty, and brought her into the bathroom to watch as I went.
Having a bit of experience with some of my foster kids, I wanted to potty train before the ‘stubborn twos’ set in, before the word NO became a reality.I knew I’d train her sometime right after the chaos of our Christmas holidays.
I read and re-read potty training books and planned for a weekend when I didn’t have to leave the house. I choose the weekend carefully, sandwiched far between road trips and airplane trips. After going through our potty training day I wanted to have lots of days at home to reinforce everything I was about to teach. I was only going to do this once.
Througout the big day, that became my mantra, ‘Stick with this” I’d say to myself, “I’m only going to do this once.”
Several days before, K and I went shopping together for a princess shirt, (I wanted something short that wouldn’t get in the way of her sitting), a wetting doll with potty, fairy wand and princess hat. (Is it any wonder she knows she’s a princess?). K cried when she realized she’d have to wait until the big day before getting dressed up and get her new doll. We talked it up for a few days, “K, you are going to be going potty in just three days now.” and “Honey, tomorrow you will get all dressed up in your princess outfit and start going potty.”
When the big day came we took turns going potty and made up a song that I sang each time we went. Every thirty minutes she sat on the potty and when she actually went, I made a huge celebration of it. It was frustrating at first. She’d sit and nothing would happen, but then a few minutes later she’d pee on the floor. Within a few hours though, she was telling me when she needed to go. She’d start peeing and then shout, “I’m peeing Mom.” That’s ok, it was a great start.
K has been diaper free now for eight weeks. She has an occasional accident, mostly when she is consumed with playing and I’ve forgotten to take her beforehand.
We haven’t used any training pants or Pull-ups except at night for sleeping- she went straight into ‘big girl’ underwear, which she can feel if it is wet, or if she starts to pee in them.
She’s twenty-eight months old and completely potty trained, thanks in part to creating a party atmosphere and a few great tips picked up from “Toilet Training in Less Than A Day.”
Quite an adventure!
You did a super job of training quickly; wish I had known all those things when my girls were 2….It was a fun blob to read even for a grandma. Keep writing.
I’ll be ordering this book! Thanks for the ‘head’s up’.