Potty Training vs. Underwear Training
I have read zero books on potty training. And zero articles. And about 2.5 blog posts.So really, I know nothing. Thankfully, I haven't needed to because Josiah has basically just potty trained himself in a matter of days. Excuse me, he has underwear trained himself.
I don't know if there is a real distinction or if I just made that up. Maybe there is a real distinction, but different terms are used. In any case, I have realized that Josiah's ability to control his bladder and to urinate in the toilet does not in any way mean that he is potty trained. Clearly, I am splitting hairs, but...
There is no way he can use the toilet without my help, so I may as well just be changing diapers!
Ok, no. I'm glad that I don't have to change diapers as much. But really, he can't get on the toilet without help (we have a stool) and he can't get off the toilet without help and since our toilet is really hard to flush, he can't really even do that without help. So, I may soon declare him underwear trained, but I think being fully potty trained will be another few years.
Which makes me quite glad that I was lazy enough (and busy enough) to not attempt potty training until he was actually ready to just do it. Or maybe I've just been lucky. Probably.
Anyway, lest the few people out there who care about this subject get put off by my child's inherent bladder control, let me just say that we are certainly not accident free. And Josiah has also not figured out how to make the poopoo "work" in the potty. The other day he told me had to poop, so we ran to the potty. He couldn't. I put his underwear back on and 2 minutes later I hear him yell from his special spot... "It's working!" Then he came waddling over to me with a large turd in his undies and announced that he now gets chocolate (his reward for pooping in the potty). I explained to him that no, he has to actually poop in the potty to get the chocolate. I put him in the bathtub and took off the undies. He instructed me to dump the turd in the potty, and as soon as he heard the plop, he exclaimed, "NOW I get chocolate!" Well, no, but good try.
So although we haven't been doing this for enough days to declare success, the fact that I can take him to McDonald's for lunch, then the grocery store, and then the playground without any accidents or trips to the bathroom... and that he can take naps without wetting the bed... makes me think that we're pretty close. Except for that whole pooping thing. Today I put a diaper on him just so he could poop (which he did immediately) because, well, he needed to poop. I don't know if that was helpful for training, but it was helpful for his health. (Obviously I am not considering nighttimes in this whole equation... one big step at a time!)
If anyone would like to share their opinions on little kid potties vs. big potties, please do. One friend said that even if you potty train them on a little potty, you almost have to re-train them on the big potty. Though I do think that pooping on a little potty might be easier for him. But... we don't really have room in the bathroom for one. So right now we're just sticking with our Sesame Street insert. Any thoughts?
Oh, and advice on getting him to poop is also welcome. He usually stands up when he poops in a diaper, so I think the sitting down thing is throwing him off. But I'm not really willing to make any compromises on that one!
good times...pooping and chocolate...both are necessities for the good life..lol...seriously or not, nathan and jeremy both did well with their own little plastic chinese potties...and our bathrooms were small, but i recall them sitting outside the door near the bathroom to do business, always with a book, and lots of discussion. Once the pottie was rinsed and disinfected well, it could be stored in the bathtub. I think its great that you've waited til Joe is ready, and ready he is. I look forward to the next episode on this exciting theme.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonder comedy writing! So, "Anne of Green Gables" your career writing novels and short stories will begin when?
ReplyDeleteso, I, Like you, am not an expert (especially since josh's mom potty trained both of my kids) BUT I do remember taking the books in and sitting for a long time. The kids would sit there and "read" and "read" until "it" came..... :) Good luck! I do regret not teaching Daniel to wipe on his own sooner so take my advice....don't delay there. (and be prepared for lots of streaks and wedgies) Lots of pickin' means not good wiping FYI
ReplyDeleteSo I have no advice on potty training (or underwear training for that matter) but I was so behind on reading your blogs...for shame! A few thoughts:
ReplyDelete1. So happy that Joe has decided he likes the potty. You're making great progress, the rest will happen.
2. I'm not so patiently waiting for a post about your ultrasound appointment because I can't wait to send you some ridiculously girly things.
3. I'm so sad I didn't read your posts about your guys' struggles lately. I so wish I could just hop on a plane and come see you and chit chat and eat Nathan's food.
And....
4. Yes, you will have friends one day and they will love you for many reasons but your food will definitely be one of them (and I will be jealous).
No expert advice here BUT I felt having a little potty for Ellie was AWESOME! Because:
ReplyDelete1. She could do it all by herself (which was a huge motivating factor in the whole process)!
2. Because I didn't have to do anything! :)
As far as re-training to a "big potty". That was not our experience. She just needed to be physically big enough to do it on her own! And when she was, she did just fine. Like you said, underwear training is different than potty training. Potty training to me seems more like a size thing than anything else. As far as poop, Ellie was pooping on the potty before peeing (poop control came first for her). But I can not tell you how many moms of boys have this problem! A few stories:
One mom's boy got so constipated he ended up at the doctor's office! The doctor's pep talk with him was all he needed to realize he NEEDED to go poop on the potty!
One mom (for fear of severe constipation) would put a diaper on him, put him in his room and he would poop and then come out when done! I don't know how they every solved their pooping problems.
One mom, sat him in front of countless shows in his little potty, allowing him to take his time to poop on the potty and then eventually he ended up learning how to in a reasonable time frame! haha!
So there you have it! It seems to be a common problem, especially amongst boys which is ironic considering the adult male is usually proud of his poops! I guess maybe that's because his mom talked it up so much when he was training! haha!
Both of the girls were able to pee on the potty about 6 months before pooping in it. R would ask for a diaper or pull-up and do her business in it and then we would put the panties back on. K had the same issues and we finally went and bought a dress-up that she wanted and I put her in panties and told her she could have it if she went poop on the potty. She held it a few days and finally went. Then went again and again in the panties. After that she was trained. Kristin
ReplyDeleteHmmm... aria always squats when she poops... so I dunno how to help you there =) I was trained on little kid potty. Just an FYI
ReplyDeleteThis made me laugh so hard...thanks for the great visual! Also know that I read every single post. I don't always comment, but I enjoy every entry.
ReplyDeleteJosh
Well, there aren't many blogs that I read which include the words turd, poop, breast, bra, etc. but NONE are more enjoyable to read than is YOURS! Clark had a hard time going poop on the toilet. He would yell at me, "I can't poop because the clowns aren't pushing it out!" To this day, we have no idea how he ever developed a belief that there were clowns in his tummy that pushed the poop out. Eventually, and I don't know how, the clowns got busy doing their job when they were supposed to do it. I offer no advice as I failed miserably with the whole potty training thing with all three of the kids. I recall having to tell Kiersten, "Honey, God offers you little in life that is easier than pooping and peeing in the toilet." And, "Even uncivilized societies have a common place for pooping and peeing, and it isn't on themselves!" So, I'll pray for you and trust that Josiah will not head out on his honeymoon needing to wear a diaper to poop. We LOVE YOU ALL!
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