When you have a new baby, you really should never admit if your kid is a good sleeper. Admitting that will make other parents hate you (or mistrust you, or both) and it will certainly jinx your child to a few nights of turning you into a liar.
This is also true if your baby is a good eater (breastfeeding easy? toddler not picky? keep it to yourself!).
And when potty training begins, it is true of the the potty. Kid sleeps in undies? Never wore a pull-up? No accidents out in public? Keep that to yourself or only admit it in some private online chat room where you don’t use your real kid’s name or face.
Hopefully — because I’m talking about the past and making no prediction of future success — I can tell you a few things about Potty Training.
Once Upon a Potty was an instrumental book for us. It’s practically the gold standard of potty training kid lit. Holden liked it a lot. We read it A Lot. At the time, my only wish was that it was a board book because of all the wear and tear it got. Now, it is out as wipe-clean board book and we love it even more!
It comes in separate “Girl” and “Boy” edition so that each child can identify the cartoon versions of their own parts. There is also a helpful author note at the beginning that suggests you sub in whatever words you use at home (for parts and ummm #1 and #2).
Last week, we also received a copy of the audio cd. It includes a reading of the book and some related potty songs. I think this would be great to have in the car when you want to reinforce the message without reading it over and over and over. Holden responded to the cd with unexpected enthusiasm. He told me that not only does he like it, but he wants to start hearing it all the time. I’m sure when Milo begins flirting with our potty, we’ll be hearing it more and more.
Thanks to Parent Bloggers for sending me a fresh boy edition for my little guy and an anatomically appropriate book for Scarlett.
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No bragging here. All dreams of potty train your child in one day are months behind me. The “Potty Power” dvd is working wonders for us. Not to jinx it, but we have not changed a poopy diaper in over a month. Be warned though, if songs stick in your head, it will drive you nuts.
Speaking of potty training. . . . I say start early, be happier. If you’ve got the time, letting your 2 month old go on the toilet is a lifesaver (they are better at it than you might imagine for all you skeptics out there). Google “Elimination Communication” if your curiosity is peaked. At four months we’ve gotten down to approximately 1 poppy diaper every 10 days. Think of it as an upfront investment, time spent now is time not spent helping your children learn to not go in their pants once they are old enough to have an opinion and resist change!