Potty animal
It looks like we’ve finally broken the middle-of-the-night bottle habit. Don’t congratulate us just yet, though. Ladybug’s cries for “didi” have been replaced with shouts of “Potty! Quick! Quick!” That would be something to celebrate if she really had to go. But Ladybug just likes sitting on the potty, even if it’s 3 a.m.
It’s partly my fault. When we first started practicing on the potty, Ladybug didn’t want to sit there. She was content to continue using her diaper. So to make it more inviting, I attached a chalkboard with magnetic letters next to the toilet. Then I hung a small bag of chalk and small plastic dolls on the toilet paper roll holder. I put her potty-training book that makes flushing noises within her reach on top of a pack of toilet paper.
The setup must have been enticing because each potty episode now takes at least 20 minutes while Ladybug works her way through all the toys. That’s fine with me since the longer she’s there, the more likely she is to actually go. And it gives me a few minutes of downtime to flip through a magazine as I sit on the bathroom floor.
However, Ladybug still isn’t taking cues on when she has to go. Either that, or she’s just ignoring them. So how do I convince her it’s worth stopping playing with her dollhouse to go to the potty? I’m hoping with stickers.
I made a “Potty Princess” sticker board – heavy duty paper with pictures of Ladybug sitting on the potty. In the bottom left-hand corner are two pads of sticky notes, one for pee and one for poo. Each time she does one, the other or both, she gets to put stickers on the appropriate sticky note pads. The more challenging the task – telling me she has to go before she actually does, for example – the more stickers she gets to pick out after she has flushed the toilet and washed her hands.
At the end of each day, we count all the stickers on the note pads and celebrate her success. Then we hang the notes on the wall above the Potty Princess board so that Ladybug can see them each time she’s on the toilet.
In the few days we’ve been doing this, the daily number of stickers on the sticky notes has been increasing. Ladybug loves her Pee and Poo Pads. She’ll even remind me if I start to leave the bathroom without finishing the routine.
Maybe that would explain the 3 a.m. potty parties.
It’s partly my fault. When we first started practicing on the potty, Ladybug didn’t want to sit there. She was content to continue using her diaper. So to make it more inviting, I attached a chalkboard with magnetic letters next to the toilet. Then I hung a small bag of chalk and small plastic dolls on the toilet paper roll holder. I put her potty-training book that makes flushing noises within her reach on top of a pack of toilet paper.
The setup must have been enticing because each potty episode now takes at least 20 minutes while Ladybug works her way through all the toys. That’s fine with me since the longer she’s there, the more likely she is to actually go. And it gives me a few minutes of downtime to flip through a magazine as I sit on the bathroom floor.
However, Ladybug still isn’t taking cues on when she has to go. Either that, or she’s just ignoring them. So how do I convince her it’s worth stopping playing with her dollhouse to go to the potty? I’m hoping with stickers.
I made a “Potty Princess” sticker board – heavy duty paper with pictures of Ladybug sitting on the potty. In the bottom left-hand corner are two pads of sticky notes, one for pee and one for poo. Each time she does one, the other or both, she gets to put stickers on the appropriate sticky note pads. The more challenging the task – telling me she has to go before she actually does, for example – the more stickers she gets to pick out after she has flushed the toilet and washed her hands.
At the end of each day, we count all the stickers on the note pads and celebrate her success. Then we hang the notes on the wall above the Potty Princess board so that Ladybug can see them each time she’s on the toilet.
In the few days we’ve been doing this, the daily number of stickers on the sticky notes has been increasing. Ladybug loves her Pee and Poo Pads. She’ll even remind me if I start to leave the bathroom without finishing the routine.
Maybe that would explain the 3 a.m. potty parties.
posted by Michelle Mahfoufi at 9:43 PM
Michelle recently gave up her career to be a full-time stay-at-home mom to a toddler. At least that's the plan ....
3 Comments:
Those are great ideas. I'll have to remember them when he start potty training. Hey whatever it takes to get them to go. I like the idea with the sticky notes, she can see her daily progress. Good job, Mom!
yay!!! you have created a party in the potty!!!
at least she LIKES it in there!!!
my mum & dad used to pick me up in the middle of the night & put me on the potty regardless of if i needed to go or not- just to make sure-
if she isnt doing anything, you could always run the water, make her blow bubbles to entice those parts to flow more easily when she attempts it!!! it's worth a shot!!!!
happy productive potty time!!!
I made a couple changes to help track her progress. I added a third sticky pad for special accomplishments like pulling up her pull-ups by herself or making it 15 minutes without peeing in her big-girl panties (i put those on her right before bathtime to start practicing). I also brought a notebook into the bathroom that I use to record the times that we go, whether it was poo or pee, if she told me or if I put her there, and whether her pull-ups were wet or dry. That theoretically has helped me track a pattern so that I can hopefully remind her to go to the potty if she's distracted by playing at a time she normally has to go.
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