The Potty Boot Camp

doodles: Potty training manual

Doodle by Lee. The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.

I’ve always used the travel potty that has a plastic liner, but this one uses a disposable diaper. It looks like it’s a bit larger than the www.onestepahead.com foldable travel potty, but perhaps more sturdy.

Check out the review of the “Caboose”:

http://celebritybabies.typepad.com/reviews/2007/11/caboose-a-great.html

Like many parents, I was overwhelmed and intimidated when embarking upon the toilet training process. Have you actually spent time surfing the web to find advice, books, and tips about potty training? A search on Google for the keywords “potty training” yields over two million results!!!!

I found so many options - from books that are hundreds of pages long to online training programs that cost $39.99. I found advice about why to train early, advice about why to train late, and advice that just didn’t make sense at all. I did not find what I was looking for! I was searching for a step-by-step, no-nonsense, brief, and to-the-point training program. I wanted something so concrete that I could even have a checklist or flow-chart to follow. Needless to say, I became pretty convinced that nothing like that existed.

My next step was to go ahead and invest in some of the products I mentioned above. I spent $19.99 on a “train in three days” system online. I spent another $25.00 on books on Amazon.com regarding toilet training. After I started training and realized I needed even more advice, I spent another $19.99! It seemed to me that there just had to be an easier and more straightforward way.

Finally, I was successful and my daughter was potty trained! It was hard work and I felt like I had actually figured it out - but only after hours and hours and hours of research and frustration! My final training method was a combination of my own preparatory work, the “toilet training in a day” methods, the timer method, and the “Naked and $75″ method! I took the best and most logical advice from each potty training theory and combined them all together.

My daughter was young when I trained her - only 20 months old. At music class, gym class, and the playground I was asked over and over again how I had trained my daughter at such an early age. It finally dawned on me that I should write it all down! I spent hours of my time and a lot of my own money to get this point. It really would be a waste if I couldn’t share my new found “expertise” with other parents. Thus, “The Potty Boot Camp” was born!

“The Potty Boot Camp” is a brief (15 page), to-the-point, step-by-step potty training method. Much of what I learned is summarized in a book that is easily readable during nap time! It includes a shopping list, a flow-chart, and easy to follow instruction manual. It breaks down the training process into what to do on a daily basis - one step at a time! Most importantly, The Potty Boot Camp will not bore you with a lot of theory - only practical and logical advice!

I’m not an expert - I’m a parent just like you. This toilet training program has worked for me and many, many other parents. It’s also really reasonably priced - only $4.99. I think anyone who is trying to charge upwards of $50.00 to share their knowledge with you is not really out to share knowledge — they’re just trying to get YOU to share your money!

The Potty Boot Camp : Basic Training for Toddlers is available at http://www.thepottybootcamp.com/ .

Please, come look around, learn more, and get your own copy of the eBook. It’s an instant download. Think, your child could be out of diapers and reliably using the potty in less than a week! Enroll your child in The Potty Boot Camp and be diaper free forever!

I always encourage parents to NOT put a diaper on their child after beginning The Potty Training Boot Camp - it just serves as a source of confusion.

That being said, many kids who are being trained attend daycare or have a babysitter outside the home. Many times these childcare providers don’t have the time and/or motivation to religiously continue the training process. For those toddlers, a good potty training pant is a must.

Good training pants will feel like underwear to the child, yet will keep leaks to a minimum. I have found a product that looks like it fits the bill.

The product is “Trickle Free Trainers”, and can be found at Earthy Birthy Mama.com (Click the banner to go directly to their site)

Many parents wonder when they should discontinue diapers at bedtime. General “expert” opinion is that a child’s bladder is mature enough to stay dry through the night at about 2 1/2 years old.

The Potty Boot Camp recommends going “cold turkey” with nighttime diapers when you have determined your child is ready. Have a conversation with your toddler about the upcoming change. Let them know that it is OK to get out of bed to use the potty. Place the potty right next to the bed and leave a night light on so that the child can easily find it if needed.

Typically, accidents will occur for about a week. For some children the accidents are actually a necessary learning activity. Only after having an accident does the child learn the sensation and awareness of needing to go.

If bed wetting persists beyond a couple of weeks, the toddler’s bladder might not be fully developed. Wait another month and try again. If the problem persists, consult your pediatrician to rule out a true “bed wetting” problem.

An invaluable product to use during this transition phase (and through potty training in general) is a sheet protector that is placed over the bottom mattress. It is a quick and easy way to clean up after an accident - and prevents the need for sheet changing at two am!

Here is a link to one of the products available at Amazon.com:

Since we’re on the topic of “all things potty,” I found this obscure post about a restaurant in Taiwan. I think it’s the last place we’d want to take our kids while potty training.

Cultural Differences certainly can be interesting, can’t they??

Fun Fever: Taiwan’s Modern Toilet Restaurant

Symptoms and Remedies for Toddler Constipation
By Kathy Gupton

From late infancy to about age three, our twins had bowel movement problems and experienced constipation off and on. Since I had never heard of toddler constipation and our friends and family were only too quick to point out how they had never had any problems with this, we automatically jumped to the conclusion that we were doing something wrong or that there was something wrong with our children’s digestive tracts. After consulting with our pediatrician and doing our own research, we discovered that toddler constipation is a relatively normal phenomenon.

In fact, it is estimated that about half of all toddlers will experience toddler constipation at one point or another. Symptoms of toddler constipation include infrequent bowel movements (going 2-3 days between bowel movements), hard stools, straining during bowel movements, and trying to stop a bowel movement from happening. Toddler constipation actually becomes a vicious cycle: the bowel movements hurt, so they try to hold them back, which makes the stools harder, which makes them hurt more. Fortunately there are some simple things that you can do to help alleviate toddler constipation that just involve a few lifestyle changes.

The first thing you need to do is to give your child high fiber foods such as fruits, vegetables, breakfast bars that are high in fiber, fiber cereals and even peanut butter all are good foods to give your child to help toddler constipation go away and help keep it away. Make sure your child has a good fluid intake. Sneak in a glass of water or fruit juice during the morning or afternoon playtime. You might have to cut out the milk and cheese for a few days until the bowel movements become regular again. Start implementing a 5-10 minute potty time after meals, which seems to be the best time to get them to go.

You should not give your child an over-the-counter laxative. In fact, you shouldn’t give your child any medicine for constipation without consulting the doctor. Fortunately, there are a lot of natural remedies for toddler constipation so that you don’t have to rely on medications.

For information on over 70 natural remedies for constipation, visit http://www.stopconstipation.info/

Get your copy of 77 ways to alleviate constipation online now.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathy_Gupton
http://EzineArticles.com/?Symptoms-and-Remedies-for-Toddler-Constipation&id=692965

I have no idea what they are singing about, but the tune is catchy and the video wildly funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6-KrrIbAEs

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