I have been tentatively attempting potty training in the last couple of weeks, because Chunk is nearing two and a half years old and with it being (very) warm weather I thought it might be an ideal time.
The odd mum at some of the groups we go to have noticed he wears a nappy and acted shocked that he is not trained yet (urgh I avoid competition in those places) but it did make me think that I should try it properly, as I have only done bits and bobs for the last year with him, letting him guide me. But part of me thinks- hang on, are these women saying this because he does look like a three year old as he is so tall?!
So whilst I have been trying it, I have been keeping it in the back of my mind that he is still young, especially as boys tend to take longer to get to the stage of being ready to toilet train than girls, so I am not putting pressure on myself.
I began by researching advice, and thankfully came across Dry Like Me’s Potty Training Live.
They are giving advice and support to all potty training parents for a whole month and it’s brilliant!
It’s the second year they have run this, and it began on 14th July. Last year they helped 800 families get through the rollercoaster of potty training doing this 4 week programme. They give a lot of advice and offer support through their Facebook page.
Useful tips I have learnt through their advice so far are:
1. Wait until your child is able to communicate in a basic way (e.g. ask for a drink/snack) and take instructions, and until they have good physical balance (e.g. can walk up stairs).
2. Establish a routine. Help them practice every little step- I have been doing this with one of his favourite teddies.
The example they gave is:
- Find the bathroom
- Turn on the light
- Lift the loo seat
- Take down trousers / pants
- Sit on the loo
- Do a poo or wee
- Tear off the right amount of loo paper
- Wipe bottom
- Flush the loo (waving off the poo or wee!)
- Put fresh Dry Like Me pad(s) into pants
- Pull up trousers / pants
- Put down loo seat
- Wash hands
- Dry with towel
- Turn off the light
- Leave bathroom and close the door
3.Start changing their nappy in the toilet rather than anywhere, to get them into the habit of going into that room when they need the toilet. This is one I stupidly keep forgetting to do (two years of doing it anywhere is hard to retrain straight away in my opinion) but this one makes a lot of sense!
4. Put the pants on. I have been putting his big boy pants on whenever we have been at home, and put the Dry Like Me pads some of the time so I can compare with and without them. Remind them they have their big boy pants on and show them where the potty is. Put them on the potty 20 minutes after a drink/food.
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| Our Pads and Chunk’s Big Boy Pants |
The Dry Like Me pads are basically like sanitary towels. They can either be stuck at the front for urine or the back for … you guessed it. There are a range: Early Days, Original and Night time pads.
I found the pads to help in terms of avoiding his wee going EVERYWHERE on my carpet, as the pants stayed dry, but I noticed that he wasn’t so aware that he was urinating (and once even pooing) compared to when he was wearing just pants or nothing at all, so I wondered if the padding felt like he was just wearing a nappy. We were using the Early Day pads, so perhaps he might work better with the original ones as I think they are thinner.
I gave a pack to my sister who is in the middle of potty training my 3-year-old nephew and he was still able t notice when he had toileted, so I’m also thinking again that Chunk might just not be ready completely yet.
I think the pads are a great idea, especially when you are out and about during training (nobody wants wee in the car seat do they?) because the child still gets to wear their grown up underwear without going through about 100 pairs per day.
5. Prepare yourself for accidents. There are quite a lot of them! Chunk has been weeing and pooing in his pants, and not even asking to change them (which makes me think he is not totally ready yet). He also decided to do a big poo on the patio and blamed the dogs (I was sitting watching him!!!). That was a pleasant experience I can tell you.
6.
Practice away from home. They recommend staying in for few days (no way I can cope with that, my boy needs an airing daily or my life is not worth living). When you do go out, they recommend short trips, and I have a
travel potty that I am going to start using at home so he is used to it when we are out.
7. Don’t freak out. I am getting better at doing this, now that we have had a few puddles, patio poops and packages in his pants, but initially I was having freak outs about my carpet and the germs. But hey, it’s only a carpet- it can be cleaned and even replaced at some point, so who cares?! Telling off the wee or poo itself is recommended, which I find quite amusing so it’s something I will be trying this week to see what Chunk thinks, as he loves telling his toys off and putting them on time out like I do with him!
8. Don’t feel like a failure if they don’t respond. I am in this position now- I am not feeling pressured to do it right, because there is no set time it needs to be done- Chunk will do it when he is ready. He is achieving some milestones quicker than the average, and some slower- we ALL did that as kids. I won’t give up, but I am not putting pressure on myself or him to do it in 5 days like some parents I have spoken to. Part of it is because I am hopeless at remembering to ask him if he wants the toilet every hour, I barely even remember my own name these days!
I was kindly given some Dry Like Me potty training pads to test for the purpose of this review. No payment was received, so all opinions are honest and my own.
To celebrate potty training live, I am giving away some Dry Like Me potty training pads in a giveaway, so enter here!
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5 Comments
Rebecca Beesley
1st August 2014 at 9:35 pm
I've got to tackle the dreaded potty training soon! My daughter is showing signs of being ready. Will pop over and enter your comp. xxx #pocolo
Unknown
3rd August 2014 at 6:58 pm
These are such handy tips! This is us now and it's not proving easy so I will def try out some of the above x Ax
Twinderelmo
4th August 2014 at 8:13 pm
They are such a cute pattern x
Unknown
6th August 2014 at 6:02 pm
My daughter-in-law has a boy and girl toddlers still in nappies so she needs all the helpful products she can get. There are so many useful tips around these days.
Maya Russell
13th November 2014 at 6:12 am
Mine were not free of nappies until they were three. I wish I hadn't tried earlier because they were not ready, and with modern day nappies, why did I put myself through the hassle and stress? So, my tip is to try a few months later if there are too many accidents.