The Potty Training Journey so far.
Potty training is probably the first major hurdle since moving Munchkin to his new his new room all those many moons ago – see the next 2 me to nursery transition. It was feared by us as it is by many parents, yet on reflection (so far that is!) it hasn’t been that much of a rocky transition. Here’s how we’ve succeeded so far in five steps.
Table of Contents
Ignore the pressure
I remember the first mention of potty training from an online development check. A development check where the nurse didn’t even need to see Munchkin, so didn’t know he was alive let alone could walk, talk or use the potty (But that’s a moan for another day).
What I remember is feeling judged for not starting things already, even though we hadn’t seen any of the typical signs. He didn’t tell us anything about doing his business, didn’t walk to a private space nor show any emotion about it. So, we did the first steps when we were ready, and it turns out the parent is usually, and was, right.
Keep it visible
One thing we did start early was to keep a potty visible, right in the lounge, next to his play space. This meant he got used to it being there before we even mentioned what it was for. As it progressed we also got a separate travel potty for journeys out the house, letting Munchkin choose his own my carry potty.
Dedicate some time
Even though Munchkin didn’t show any signs, we honestly thought he never would. It was April half term so we dedicated the two weeks to ‘pants days!’ – a phrase he used in the morning when he would ask ‘Is it a pants day today?!
We went to the shop and let him choose his pants, we got some pants themed books (amazon link) and then just went for it.
Prepare for the clean up
The first few days were a mess, going through all 12 pairs of pants in one morning. But we persisted, bought more pants and carried on. It was stressful but we made sure we reassured Munchkin ever step of the way.
By day five he was starting to smash it, but we were using a lot of regular reminders and checks.
By week two we had no accidents and then by week 4, we returned to our normal work week completely dry, autonomously going himself without any reminders. We have had the odd little accident since but otherwise he’s smashed it.
The transition to the big toilet
The transition to toilet was even more simple. We bought a stool and seat for him which he was excited to use. We then just reminded him he could use either when he said he needed to go. Within a month the potty was gone and we only used the toilet.
The future
Who knew potty training was such a multi faceted coin? The future holds and night time training (we are not at all ready for this one!). But at least the pressure is off with that one.
Thanks for reading,
Daddy and Munchkin