Expert Advice
Browse through all our expert advice to find new ways to encourage and support your child during potty training. Click here to see all expert advice.Memorable Potty Training Moments
Dave Hagler
Time has a way of bringing out the humor in a situation. I laugh now at the time my car ran out of gas, in the days before cell phones, and I sat for hours waiting for help to arrive before finally walking several miles in the middle of the night to find a gas station.
Potty training is the same way. I can look back at some of the episodes now and see the humor, but at the time I was not laughing.
Some of the most memorable episodes happened nearly two years ago as I was potty training my oldest son. He is what we like to call “independent.” You might also call him stubborn.
In his most independent moments, he discovered that he could use potty training as a means to try and get what he wanted. "Mommy and Daddy want me to use the potty? Well, I have another idea!"
One time, when I took back a toy that he grabbed from his brother, he stood in front of me, looked me right in the eye and proceeded to pee in his pants. I don't remember my exact reaction, but I know it wasn't laughter. Not wanting to overreact to his show of independence, which is what he clearly wanted, I calmly told him to go to his room and change his pants. Some time later I went to his room. He had done it again. Only this time the show of independence came as a puddle in the middle of the room. And we didn't have a dog to blame it on.
Another episode I can laugh at now is when my son had one of his many accidents once he starting wearing “big boy” underwear. We had gone through the routine so many times already that day - wet pants and underwear go into the laundry basket...put on another dry pair - that I didn't notice this time it wasn't just pee in the underwear. Let's just say I was NOT laughing when I discovered what went through both the washer and dryer. I guess looking back on it, he just wasn’t quite ready to transition from his Pull-Ups® training pants!
So, as you are going through the daily struggle which is potty training, I can offer this advice: try to keep a smile on your face, write stuff down and take lots of pictures to mark the occasion. In a year, you'll probably be laughing about it, too.
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The lazy days of summer are over, and it’s back to the business of back-to-school. Schedules can be crazy busy during back-to-school, and the days may feel even more chaotic with a little one who is potty training. So check out these tips to help make potty training during back-to-school a little more manageable.
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