Guest Post: Toilet Training – For the patient and unwearied
This is a post from dekota at dekota marie blog. Be sure to stop by her place today!
Toilet training has never been easy.
And, I have to say, I am absolutely not an expert. The only true, sound advice I can give you is to be patient.
However, there is something I have heard from the time I became a parent that I never thought would ring true today.
Wait until your child is ready for toilet training.
You, and your child, will know when he or she is ready.
When my son was two, I honestly thought that I would never see the day that he would be potty trained. That he would still be using diapers on his way out the door for college. That I would still be asking him if he did a stinky before he leaves for his first date with a girl.
It often times reminded me of an episode of yes dear. Two parents struggling to potty train their son, often day dreaming of their son pooping in the corner in his diaper in his 20’s.
I tried everything I could. I did everything that books tell you to do. He had his own potty, a training seat for the “big boy” toilet, books, dolls, m&m’s – you name it, we tried it. I was at my wits ends, I was frustrated, and I was DONE. I gave up. I was willing to wipe his hiney until he was an adult. It would have been less frustrating, right?
Until one morning he woke up and got out of bed. His diaper was so full and so heavy that it fell right off of him. This wasn’t unusual because this boy could pee and did a lot at night.
All of a sudden, he started crying and screaming. I, of course, panic and run to his side to find out what is wrong. I GOT TO GO PEE!
Of course, knowing me, you would know that I started to laugh. This, after all, angers him slightly. We rush to the bathroom and with delight he goes in the potty! We do our happy dance, flush the toilet, and hop on out of the bathroom.
He has been toilet trained ever since.
So, simply said, it was just easier to wait until he was ready over pushing him to be ready because I no longer wanted him in diapers. I couldn’t keep forcing him to try to do something that was unnatural for him. Peeing and pooping in a diaper was what was natural for him since day one.
I know this is easier said than done, but when you are at your wits end and ready to be done you should know that there is hope! He or she will be potty trained, it just takes a lot of time and patience – or waiting in my case :).
dekota marie recently moved from Florida to North Carolina where she is a stay at home wife, mother of a two year old and four year old, a full time student, an avid eBayer, and the owner of dekota marie blog. She writes about her experiences as a mom, as a wife, and as a woman along with sharing recipes, crafts, and awesome products she finds online.
Posted on June 28, 2011, in Guest Posts and tagged guest posts, potty training. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.
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Fun and Dysfunction 
Absolutely patience is so important! 2-3 is the hardest age to start to toilet train –they get very attached to diapers and have a lot of difficulty — it becomes a power struggle so you do have to have extra understanding and wait for their initiative.
That said, the best ages to conventionally potty train is between 12 and 18 months. Less time in diapers so less fixation, low power struggle, no need for bribery, small accidents, and much easier to take them with you to the bathroom as a matter-of-fact daily routine rather than an epic event.
I conventionally trained 2 siblings and EC my daughter. These days people are encouraged to wait too long — the average age now for being out of diapers is age 4 when it used to be 2.5 about 30 years ago!
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