Frugal Coupon Living

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Pampers at Sam’s Club. The opinions and text are all mine.

Three of my five kids are potty trained. Well, almost three. We have been working on one…

Potty training is not like jumping on a bike. Every time that I prepare for a new child entering the field of “child meet potty” I have to prep myself. Yes, you guys, this is just as hard for mom! Additionally, each child is unique. Some are smart (disclosure, all my kids are smart) and some are not as over achieving (I will not mention names.) Also, with all three kids, I have done it at a different age, and that makes all the difference!

With my oldest, I potty trained right before she reached the age of two. She did fine. She is/was a type A personality, but there was some verbal communication that would have been nice for her to have. With my second child, I waited until almost 3 and a half. This was not because she wasn’t ready, it was because I wasn’t ready. Having waited, I can say that she got it the quickest of all my children! With the third, he is 2 and a half. Our nanny was ready so inevitably, he had to be ready too. And he has done great, but mastering the skill of #2 has led to some days of constipation for fear of using the potty.

A few tricks I can share are go all in. The day you decide to do it, take off the diaper and don’t turn back. We normally hang around the home naked for a few days. A lot of juice and we set a timer every 20 minutes. If he/she doesn’t go at 20 minutes, then the new timer is 5 minutes until potty is done and we reset to 20 minutes. Going number two, is a bit more challenging. Begin to look for clues in bowel movement behavior. My boy would hide and begin to hold his bottom with his hand. We did a lot of reading on the potty. Often children are going from standing up to sitting down, so knowing how to use the muscles in a new position takes thought.

Rewards. Rewards vary by family and child. Initially, our reward was an M&M for successful potty trips. Because I am a sucker for this blue eyed, blonde haired boy, he got a truck for a successful number 2 on the toilet. He is a smart boy and really struggled with victory over number two (sometimes your kids who over think, over think on the potty too!) This construction truck was his reward! Other reward systems I have done, have been sticker charts. One potty we owned, sang a song every time my child used the potty (that became quickly old, though!)

One of the hardest areas to master with potty training is night. One suggestion I have, is limit drinks before bed. Have the last drinks about 1 to 2 hours before you put your child down. Have your child empty his/her bladder before they go down for the night. With two of my three children, I would remove them from bed at my bed time (normally around 10 or 11) and carry them to the potty. I would not wake them but would whisper in their ear, go potty. I did this for years!

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He checked, his Pampers Easy Ups are dry!

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