Potty training...few words bring more fear then those two to this seasoned mom. Even my easiest child to potty train, Miss Gigi who was poop trained at six months and pee trained by 15 months still took a lot of time and patience. I've had a few friends who say just wait until they are three but the idea of a whole more year of big people poops...well mentally I just can't handle it. So we are back on the potty training band wagon. The four best tips I can give you....
1) Small potties rule. I know in these pictures cheetah is on the big potty but in general we use a tiny guy like this... I love this chair so much. One, cheetah can fit on it all by herself. Two, it means their are two potties in the bathroom. Three, it can be easily moved anywhere. Four, there is one solid piece of plastic so there is no place for icky stuff to hide or get stuck when cleaning.
2) Make potty part of everyday life. I know there are people who still have modesty but when you have four kids, you might as well kiss that goodbye. I potty with my babies in the bathroom all the time and even monologue it for my babies. Do you think I want people in my bathroom? Do you think I don't know people who monologue their live are a little loony bins? But these are the breaks of motherhood and letting your kids know from a small age what is going on just helps them.
3) The sooner you can get a kid on the potty the better. I like to put my kids on the pot almost as soon as they can sit up. I don't expect them to be potty trained within the week or even the year but I don't want them to fear the potty either and I find that the sooner I can get them on and cheer their successes, the happier they are about it when we really get to the serious potty training.
4) My final word of advice PATIENCE, PATIENCE, PATIENCE....some kids are going to potty train in a day, some are going to take a week, some are going to take a month, some kids (one of mine who shall remain nameless) may be having accidents for a year. The more positive you can stay the better and that means patience. It is a hard job, a dirty job, but someone has to do it. At least this time I have some help from Gigi!
