Potty Training, Part 2

Its hard to believe its just been over a month, but Caleb is potty-trained! For the first two weeks, he did not go once on the toilet. He sat there and enjoyed time with Mommy, reading books and eating "sprinkles". I got a little worried, and wondered if I started too early with him. He didn't seem to get it at all. But, he would sit there for 5 minutes without complaint. I stuck with it. After those two weeks, he "got it". Of course, there were lots of accidents along the way, but he began understanding what this whole potty thing meant.

He hasn't had an accident in a few days now, and stays dry at nap time. He is so proud of himself, and we make a big deal out of it too.

I think a few factors were key in our quick success. One, I was extremely consistent. Since I am home almost every morning because of homeschooling Rosa, we had consistent potty-training time every day until lunch time.

Second, I put no pressure on him. When he had an accident, I never got upset at him, but reminded him where potty should go. Looking at his face, you could see he was processing the information. Fussing at him would have made this a negative experience, not a learning process.

Third, potty time is fun time! He gets Mommy's attention. Any kid would want to do something that would cause their Mom to drop everything and focus on them. I am always with him. Soon, this will change. But for now, I know this has helped a lot.

I thought that potty-training a boy would be so difficult. But it has turned to be a very happy time for us. I have learned to not stereotype my kids through this experience. There are generalizations out there, but that doesn't mean they will be true with my little ones every time.