Baby Milestones

[eternity]

Potty Training

I'd like to hear about other parents' experiences with potty training. Did you do it before or after a certain age? Was it smooth sailing, or were there challenges? What strategies worked for you, and what didn't?

For my daughter (now 2 years old), we've been working on getting her to use the potty consistently. We started with gradual progress from diapers, like keeping her pants wet at home to see if she'd self-correct and move towards using the potty. However, it's not as simple as I thought - sometimes she doesn't want to try again after a failure, which makes progress slow. Has anyone else encountered similar issues or have clever tips?

 

[chickadee]

I had a similar experience with my son who was around 2 years old when we started potty training. What worked for us was creating a routine with him, like having him sit on the potty after waking up from naps and before bedtime. We also used visual aids like stickers and a potty-training chart to encourage him.

However, I found that the most effective strategy was to have all of our caregivers follow the same routine consistently so there wouldn't be confusion for him during transitions or when visiting different family members. It also helped my partner to get involved in the process which made it feel like a team effort rather than just me doing the 'dirty work'.

 

[bananarama]

It's great to hear about your positive experience with potty training! I'm curious, how did you handle accidents and setbacks when they inevitably occurred? And were there specific milestones or 'eureka' moments during this process that stood out to you?

Also, I'd love to hear more about the visual aids and stickers - which ones worked best for your son and why do you think they had such a strong impact on his learning process?

 

[eternity]

In my experience, dealing with accidents and setbacks during potty training was inevitable, but also crucial for my son's success. When he did have an accident, I stayed calm and reassuring, while also cleaning up and avoiding punishment or scolding. This helped him maintain a positive association with the process.

One significant milestone that stood out to me occurred when he first learned to differentiate between pee and poo on the potty. He became extremely proud of himself for mastering this skill, which in turn gave him more confidence and interest in using the toilet correctly.

As for visual aids and stickers, we used a combination of visual reminders and reward charts. What I found particularly effective was a sticker chart that displayed a series of images of our son's favourite characters engaging in toilet habits . Each time he successfully used the potty, he would get to place a sticker next to the image.

The specific visual aids and stickers that worked best for my son were those featuring his beloved characters from cartoons. These images made him feel excited and engaged, and having them in plain sight during our training sessions helped reinforce the desired behaviours. By associating these fun characters with toilet education, he became more enthusiastic about learning.

 

[wellness]

The use of visual aids and stickers was a crucial component in our potty training journey as well. My son's favourite characters were also featured on his sticker chart, which displayed images of them happily using the toilet or engaging in positive habits related to toileting.

The addition of fun characters to the sticker chart brought an extra layer of excitement and meaning to our learning sessions together. When he successfully used the potty, he'd get to place a sticker next to the image of his favourite character doing the same, creating a positive association between the two.

 

[sportytina]

That's a great approach! Using visual aids and stickers can be so engaging for young children, especially when they're learning new concepts like potty training. Adding your child's favourite characters to the sticker chart made it even more enjoyable and interactive for them.

I've noticed that making use of visuals and fun elements can really help kids develop a positive emotional connection with the learning process. In this case, seeing their favourite character associated with successful potty use must have been very motivating and engaging for your child! Did you find that the sticker chart helped your child maintain consistency in using the potty or was it more of a motivator to reach certain milestones?

 

[sunflower]

It definitely had an impact on their consistency! At first, my son was really excited about adding stickers each time he used the potty successfully and it created a sense of accomplishment for him. He'd get so distracted by looking through the stickers book to pick out his favourite characters that sometimes he wouldn't even notice he'd finished using before adding his sticker.

However, once he got hooked on putting up new stickers, it started to become second nature for him - he'd quickly understand when it was time to put on a sticker for himself and it didn't feel like such a big deal. Over time, the excitement about getting stickers faded but he continued to maintain consistency in using the potty.

It's also interesting that as we slowly phased out the visual aids and he got older, his motivation shifted from tangible rewards to a sense of pride when he knew he'd done something well. It was like he grew into taking responsibility for himself without needing such clear reminders.

 

[travelmum]

It sounds like using the visual rewards system helped your son develop a consistent habit of using the potty, and then he naturally transitioned to feeling a sense of pride from taking responsibility for himself. It's great that you were able to phase out the tangible rewards as he grew older and his motivation shifted. How did you approach this process, and what kind of things triggered the sense of pride in him?

 

[techsavvy]

As I phased out the tangible rewards, I started to focus more on acknowledging and praising my son's efforts and progress rather than just the end result of using the potty successfully. For example, when he first started learning, his sense of pride came from hearing a specific phrase like "Wow, you're so big now!" or getting excited praise from me.

As time went on, his sense of pride shifted to him feeling capable and confident in his ability to take care of himself. One thing that definitely triggered this sense of pride was when he started feeling the need to tell our whole family when he had used the potty successfully, even if they weren't present. It felt like he wanted everyone to know how big boy he was getting! He'd be so proud of himself and it made him feel good.

We also incorporated more opportunities for him to show off his new skills in front of others, like having friends or family members visit and seeing them get impressed with his development. This helped fuel his sense of pride and confidence even more. In terms of specific things that triggered this sense of pride, I think it was the subtle acknowledgement and praise from our community - whether it was a proud family member, friend, or even a stranger on the street who gave him a nod of approval!