Friday 24 June 2016

C has cracked Potty Training!




For a good few months, I didn't think that I would ever be writing this post. Potty training definitely felt like the hardest aspect of parenting for me. I first introduced a potty to C at 18 months old as we were sent one from TOMY to review. Of course at 18 months, he wasn't really interested so I left it for a few months. I kept trying and trying and trying but every time I took his nappy off and he saw the potty he would scream bloody murder, tears streaming down his face and I'd feel really guilty for being the one to make him feel that way.

In February this year, I took C to get his preschool jabs. The doctor asked me how he was getting on and one of her questions was if he was potty trained. I explained to her that he was finding the process really upsetting and she reassured me that he was still young and had plenty of time to learn before starting preschool. This made me feel so much better as it had been something that I was worried about. C is tall for his age and I kept thinking that people would think badly of us for him still being in nappies or think we were lazy parents when that really wasn't the case.

About a month after this, I decided enough was enough and we had to get out of nappies. If I'm honest I was sick of buying them and I knew at 3.5 years old, he had the vocal capacity to do it. At the very beginning, we did have a few tears but I explained that he was going to school soon and all of the other boys and girls would be using the potty and he came round to the idea, especially as he knew that mummy and daddy use the toilet too.

I think that waiting so long to do it definitely was a positive. I can count on one hand how many accidents he's had and I think it took us only two weeks to be completely dry in the day. We've since mastered pooing in the potty (probably the scariest thing for him!) and most nights he's dry but I put pyjama pants on him just in case. 8 out of 10 times it's still dry in the morning.

We started off using the Mickey Mouse potty from TOMY that we had been sent to use but the hole was quite small so he'd get wee all over the floor. I won a My Carry Potty a few months previously and honestly, it's such a great potty. The hole is big enough for him, there is a little lip so you don't have to worry about wee coming over the side and of course you can close it over to bring out with you. 


C got really excited by praise, especially when it came to pooing. His daddy promised him that he'd get a new toy if he did it in the potty so that really spurred him on. He's a pro now!

Chris and I don't drive so shopping can take us all day as we walk everywhere. I would tend to worry and stick a nappy on him for this but he really surprised me by staying dry and just asking to use the toilet. It was definitely my own anxiety that was holding us back when it came to leaving the house nappy free. Choosing his own pants was good for him too. He originally went for Gruffalo briefs but he has a preference for boxers (so we had to get Avengers ones!) over briefs - I think he wants to be like his daddy!



We have even progressed from the potty to the big toilet thanks to the OXO Tot Sit Right. I will get into the ins and outs of this product early next week as I will be writing a full review.

But for now, yay! I have a potty trained child and it was painless! I am so proud.




3 comments on "C has cracked Potty Training!"
  1. Potty training is one of the things I've been most dreading. At 18 months Blake is showing a few sign though I am going to wait a little longer.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well done Caleb. I had nightmares with this potty training craig too but in the end it wasn't as bad. Matthew is that kind of person who hates anything. You need to force him to try it. We got him to go to the potty in a week and we got rid of the potty completely within 6 weeks. He's going to the big toilet ever since the last few weeks.
    I haven't worried about nighttime but honestly I don't even know why I bother putting a nappy on him because he always goes to the toilet in the morning so I might just put him in pants soon.
    The only thing we haven't cracked is the number twos. He's still making those in his pants. He's just too private about it and doesn't have the patience to sit on the toilet and wait for it to come.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yay ! well done to your little man, I think children potty train when they are ready not something that can be rushed :-)

    ReplyDelete