It must be a wonderful day in a child’s life when they discover that words only permitted in reference to bathroom happenings can be used in every other possible situation, and with great comedic effect. The wonderment felt by this discovery is directly inverse to the horror that their parents feel when they discover that they regularly use words such as “pee pee” and “poo poo” without batting an eyelash. Words that, in their more sophisticated pre-parent years, would never have been permitted to slip past their lips. Perhaps the ease with which parents discuss disgusting bodily functions emboldens the children to do the same. Everything is funnier if you attach the word “pee” or “poo” to it. “The Princess and the Pea” becom...
First of all, is your child ready for toilet training? Toilet training is most successful when your child shows signs of readiness- both developmentally and behaviorally. Every child is different, with some showing signs of readiness between the ages of 18 and 24 months and others showing signs of readiness at older ages. In the U.S., successful completion of toilet training frequently occurs at around age 3, with girls typically completing the process a few months before boys. Problems in toilet training often come up because parents don’t wait until their child is ready. Successful toilet training requires help from patient, understanding adults, and a child who is ready for the transition. Specific signs of toilet training readiness may include when your child: Can follow simple instruc...
Let’s begin by challenging what we think we know about potty training… Disposable diapers are perhaps one of the most essential inventions to appear in the last century. They are more comfortable, they are aesthetic, and they save us the inconceivable burden of hand-washing dirty cloth diapers, just as our ancestors used to do. Having said all that, disposable diapers are also linked to the fact that today, more than ever before, we are facing tremendous struggles and difficulties when it comes to potty training. According to recent statistics, the average age for potty trained children is around 2.5-3 years. Some studies (sponsored by big diaper companies) claim that babies and toddlers do not have the developmental skill t...
In honor of this hilarious video, How to Potty Train a Toddler in 22 Easy Steps, we present unto you practical advice on potty training from Gretchen, a mom of nine. I have helped all nine of my children graduate out of diapers and into undies. My first few kids were subjected to all kinds of nonsense, fueled by advice found in parenting manuals. Barrels of tears were cried as accidents mounted. Frustration and angst hung in the air as my main focus in life seemed to be the state of my little one’s innards. It took a long time to learn that bladders don’t know how to read anything, especially parenting manuals. Bladders don’t blow out birthday candles, either, so they aren’t aware they just turned two. When I began thinking about potty training our fourth child, a thought occurre...
My potty training days are thankfully well behind me. Call it PTSD, but anytime I see a parent struggling through the process, I’m taken back to that fiery descent into hell. Parents who have had a child who refuses to potty train know my pain. My son was easy…it took under a week. My daughter took years (and I’m not exaggerating). La Guardia Cross produced this hilarious video that parents everywhere will be able to relate to. “This is the most honest 22 step process I can give you to potty train a toddler. It’s not based on what’s most effective, it’s based on exactly what my wife and I did, getting frustrated with the process, then seeing it all work out in four days.” He’s one of the lucky ones.
The first day of April, not a legal holiday, but who can resist the fun of a little tease or prank just one day out of the year? This silly tradition has been around for centuries, with the first recorded account in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, dating back to 1392. Some countries end the fun at the noon hour – after that you’d be considered an “April Fool” for trying! Thankfully, in the U.S. we can act silly all day long, so why not start extra early this year…like 3:00 a.m. (Check out prank numbers 12 & 13.)
I recently took my son Owen to Sam’s Club to do a little post Halloween/my diet starts on Monday shopping. As I was chasing his sugar high up and down the isles he stops mid stride and says, “Mommy, I have to go potty!” By the look on his face I could tell this situation was about to get serious. I threw him over my shoulder hurdling shopping carts and stiff arming innocent taste samplers, praying I had put him in pants that were easy to pull down. As we sprinted into the bathroom the first stall was occupied. Respecting the bathroom code of ethics we went a few stalls down and stripped him of his clothing in the nick of time. I stood there eagerly listening for confirmation that I was by far the best mom in Sam’s Club by getting to my child to the bathroom on time&...
My husband Josh Moffatt and I are Colorado natives and are starting a war on Pampers! Parents can spend up to $200 a month on diapers. As a parent you save time and money once your child is potty trained but as we all know, potty training is extremely difficult and every child is different. We’ve designed an experience to make potty training fun, exciting and easier on parents everywhere. We are so confident in our product, that if your child is not excited to use our Poop ‘n Pull and go on the potty, then you can send us all your dirty diapers. The Poop ‘n Pull is different from all other potty training products currently available on the market. The package consists of a small reward dispenser hung on a bathroom door out of the child’s reach. The Poop ‘n Pull is p...
I could write volumes upon volumes of books about potty training the most stubborn kid on the planet. I’m a few years removed from the trauma but believe me, it was bad. As in we-went-to-seminars-at-the-Colorado-Children’s-Hospital-and-later-to-a-specialist kind of bad. (Read about our descent into hell here). My friend’s recent announcement of how thrilled she was her son was finally potty trained and she only had one in diapers brought back my potty-training-induced anxiety attacks. I would rather sludge through a thousand hours of homework than go back to those dark, dark days. But it wasn’t always dark. In fact, in the beginning potty training was a rather hopeful activity. Sure, we had some failed jump-starts where my daughter demonstrated she was perfect...
We all pray for the day – the day when our little angels can use the potty all by themselves. We all expect it to happen in one day just like Dr. Phil said it would if we followed his potty party in a day philosophy. Well, I can tell you folks, it ain’t always that simple. For us, the day was more like two months but once she got it, she got it. No more pull-ups, no night-time accidents and hallelujah, no more diaper bag. Well, hold on there, almost. We still deal with what I am terming “preoccupation pottyitis.” P-squared for short. This is a self-inflicted illness that commonly occurs in toddlers and small children in which playtime or some other mind-inhibiting activity causes the child to wait until the very last second to rush to the potty in hopes that he or she will make it. Sometim...
A mom and a toddler walk into a public restroom… This is uncharted territory for the both of them. Up to this point their potty training efforts have been confined to the house, daycare, and grandparents houses. But this? This was public. The mom’s palms were a bit clammy as she entered into what was surely a toddler mom’s rite of passage. Luckily the giant public space was empty except for the two of them. Relieved the mom ushered her son into the “cleanest” of the stalls and started explaining to the boy how this was not like home.
I think that just about every mother has gone through this scenario in a public restroom with her child at some point. The look of uncertainty on the child’s face that shifts into terror. Little hands clutching the thighs of her yoga pants. And the slow wail: “I don’t wanna sit down!” I have three kids and I’ve experienced this moment with each and every one of them. And I feel for them, I really do. Because “back in the day”…bathrooms were simple. Toilets flushed when you pushed the handle down. Sinks came on when you operated the faucet manually. And paper towel dispensers were pretty straightforward.