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.“The Potty Lady” Dishes Advice at the Pull-Ups® Potty Dance Party
Jen Singer
I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but by the end of the Pull-Ups® Potty Dance Party, I would become known as "The Potty Lady." I blame it on Max.
Max, 2½, and I were sitting on the floor in my booth at the special event in New York City where I was doling out one-on-one potty training advice as one of the long-time Pull-Ups® Potty Training Partners. In recent years, I've counseled parents and grandparents on all things potty training on Pull-Ups.com and answered their questions on the Pull-Ups® Totline on what I like to call a toddler's most labor intensive milestone.
Only, Max wasn't having any of it. His mother told me that he didn't like to poop on the potty, and that peeing there was a rare occasion. So, "The Potty Lady" had a chat with Max. "You know, Max, I have two big boys at home just like you," I explained. "And you know where they put their pee and poop? In the potty."
Max shook his head. He knew where this was going.
"And when they went in the potty instead of in their Pull-Ups®, they got really cool stickers that I put on their shirts so their Daddy could see how they'd put their pee and poop in the toilet all day," I said.
Max started to appear interested. The potty, he didn't like, but rewards, he sure did. His mother told me that he loves dinosaurs, so I went with that. "When you leave here, go get some cool dinosaur stickers with Mommy," I suggested, confident that she'd be able to find them somewhere in Manhattan.
By the time I finished my potty speech to Max, he was enthralled. He moved his face a few inches from mine, while the deejay, who was spinning CD's for dozens of toddlers in tutus and face paint, played "The Potty Dance."
Throughout the event, I spoke with many moms and a grandmother who all had their own potty training concerns. One mother didn't even know where to start, so I told her about the signs of readiness, including staying dry through naps and showing interest in the potty (beyond throwing toys in it, of course).
Meanwhile, a boy in an orange bow tie stumbled off the dance floor, sweaty and grinning. Everyone on the dance floor was doing the Potty Dance - even Tori Spelling. I watched her do the "hoola hoop" part with her son, Liam, and wished we'd had a potty party like this when my kids were toddlers.
In the end, I spoke to quite a few potty trainers and a couple of trainees, including Max. I hope he found his dinosaur stickers, and that his Mom has a reason to give them to him. I suspect that he, like so many potty training toddlers, will have a few setbacks. But eventually, he'll get the hang of it. And that's a great reason to celebrate - and dance!
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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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