It has been awhile since I have talked about Potty Training, and since I am facing this dilemma with my now 2 1/2 year old, I thought it would be a great time to bring it up. Last year I wrote about Potty Training here, and listed some great tips. Since I have started with my dear little one (note the sarcasm) I decided to read my own advice.
There are some interesting ideas about Potty training. The most recent phenomenon is the “diaper-free” movement. The Associated Press wrote an interesting article about it Here is a little of the article:
Dominic is a product of a growing “diaper-free” movement founded on the belief that babies are born with an instinctive ability to signal when they have to answer nature’s call. Parents who practice the so-called “elimination communication” learn to read their children’s body language to help them recognize the need, and they mimic the sounds that a child associates with the bathroom.
“They teach them from birth? Oh, my God!” said 40-year-old Lisa Bolcato, as she held her 5-month-old daughter, Rose, at a park on Boston Common. “When you’re getting two hours of sleeps between feedings, I don’t think that you have the time to do it. You just make sure that your child’s healthy and happy and well-fed.”
Experts at the Child Study Center at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center say children younger than 12 months have no control over bladder or bowel movements and little control for 6 months after that.
“To be truly toilet-trained, the child has to be able to have the sensation that they need to go, be able to interpret that sensation and be able to then tell the parent and take some action,” said Wolraich, who is also editor of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ book on toilet training.
Isis Arnesen, 33, of Boston, has a 14-week-old daughter, Lucia, who is diaper-free. She said it can be awkward to explain the process to people, such as when she helped Lucia relieve herself in a sink at a public restroom.
While I try my best to stay open minded to new ideas about parenting techniques, I think I tend to lean more towards Lisa Bolcato’s statement. I am not completely familiar, nor have I really researched this philosophy, I just thought it was interesting to share as I am always looking for new ways to improve upon what I call “the most dreaded task of parenting!” I tried all sorts of things with Emily. The pee-pee party (Potty train your child in a day), was the most interesting failure. I came to realize there are no short cuts.
Other than what I listed in my last post there are only a few things I would like to add:
My Pediatrician says they know at 12 months the sensation of peeing and pooping, potty training is about control. They have to be in control, and we have to let them be. My niece is potty trained, my daughter is not. They are 2 weeks apart. The reason: One wanted to and the other one does not want to. Don’t become to overwhelmed or stressed out over it. I guarantee you they will not pee in their pants for the rest of their life. The more we stress, the more we try to control, the more they resist.
In addition there is a terrific book I found with lots of great advice; “The Potty Training Answer Book”. The entire book is written in question answer format, so even if you do not want to read an entire book you can easily find the answers to your question. It is a wonderful resource with over 200 most common questions.
Potty training is hard and every child is different. But when they are ready they will definitely let you know and will potty train really quick. Just do not get frustrated. I say if they can tell you that they pooh or pee they are ready. With my daughter I went to the library and checked-out a DVD on potty training. I would talk to her and when I went potty I told her that mommy is pottying. Also, as I a mother you have to be mentally prepared to train them as well. Kids watch our face expressions a lot. So, I think it is a combination of things. I also think if you rush a child into potty training when they are not ready it will definitely back fire. And, then there are kids who are just really strong-minded and will not potty train even if they are ready. Just pray and watch and evenly everything will come together.