Steph Peters 
It’s that time, Potty Time! I’ve never said potty so many times in my life, and it’s just the beginning of potty training for us. Of course I get excited for the day when I don’t have to buy or change another diaper, but this is another stepping stone that requires patience and repetition. Here are the biggest lessons I’ve learned while trying to get my toddler out of diapers:
- It’s something in life that he needs to do on his own to show independence. That being said, he still needs help. I was wondering why Bryce would said NO everytime I asked “do you need to go potty?” until learning I need to start saying “it’s time for potty, let’s go try” otherwise the answer will always be NO because it is a task for him.
- Set a potty timer. One of Bryce’s friends had a potty watch that was so cute and then would go off every 30 minutes or hour to alert him it was time to go potty. Since it’s his watch, it’s another way for him to feel this is all his doing, again going back to showing their independence.
- Even though it is work, make it fun and don’t push. Make any success in the potty a big deal with lots of excitement, praise, and maybe even a prize.
Finally, like everything with parenting, you and your child will find the best way that works for you. Your child might walk around naked for a few days and be a potty training pro, or your child might take longer and just have fun in stages from flushing to acouple successes in the potty to acouple more accidents outside your potty onto your floors. At this point, we have just had success dropping poo from his diaper into the potty and him having fun flushing the toilet and saying “bye poop.” Hopefully soon we will be saying “bye diapers” too!
