The Potty Boot Camp

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, “What does love mean?” The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined.

I couldn’t resist posting this story…it’s not potty training related, but as parents I think we can all get a laugh from the funny things kids say.

(If you are looking for even more funny kids quotes, I highly recommend a book called “Scribbled Eggs” by Penny Jane Wilson. )

Click Below to Read the “Love” Quotes:
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A Fool-Proof Method of Cultivating Your Child’s Interest in Potty Training

“My child is 3 (or 2, or 4…….) years old and shows no interest in using the potty!” I hear this phrase from parents over and over (and over) again. Is there some toddler conspiracy happening that we parents are not aware of? Are parents misinterpreting their children’s intentions? The answer is no – parents are simply missing out on a great window of opportunity that exists while their child is still very young.

The Reason Your Child Has No Interest in Potty Training

Picture this scenario: You are three years old. For your entire life you wake up, you eat, you play, you nap, and you go about your day with absolutely NO thought about your bodily functions. You don’t need to pay attention to your bladder or your gut because whatever comes out seems to just happen without any thought or conscious effort on your part. Somebody is always there to clean you up and send you on your way. You have no idea what that big white thing in the bathroom is… but it is sure fun to play with – and the toilet paper can be turned into a giant fluffy (and shredded) pile! What fun!

One day your world comes to a screeching halt. Your life is turned topsy-turvy. The reason? Your mommy and daddy have changed the rules – and without any input from you! You are told that pee and poop belong somewhere other than your pants! To top that off, you are supposed to stop what you are doing, disrupt your playtime, and actually take responsibility for keeping yourself clean!

Put yourself in your child’s position, and you will understand why many toddlers reply to this invasion of their day with a skeptical and confused “Huh?!?”

The story of Lindsey

A friend of mine was considering toilet training her 19 month old daughter. For months, Lindsey had played with her potty, pretended to “use” her potty, and was very familiar with how the whole process worked. My friend told the other mothers at her playgroup that she was about to begin potty training and most of them looked at her like she was crazy. Some of them were envious or slightly jealous – thinking to themselves that they wished their child would show some interest in using the potty!

My friend then set upon toilet training her daughter. She chose a method (such as The Potty Boot Camp) and set aside a few days for training. She followed the instructions given to her in the training manual…and lo and behold Lindsay was reliably using the potty in a matter of days!

When my friend next saw her playgroup she was able to report that Lindsay was officially “potty trained!” Frankly, the other mothers were in a bit of shock that she was able to pull it off. I’m sure many of them secretly hoped she would fail! Fortunately my friend (with a potty trained 19 month old) had bragging rights!

Creating Your Own Success Story

Nearly every parent can have a success story like Lindsay’s. The best part is that it takes virtually no time or effort on your part to create the same result! The method is not complicated and is so simple I will be able to explain everything to you in just a few sentences. (Don’t blink or you might miss it!)

The trick to create potty-training interest and motivation in your toddler is to start “training” months before you start training! The premise behind this technique is to create familiarity with the toileting process long before you begin to ask your child to actually use the potty. Optimally, parents should start familiarizing their child with the potty as soon as the child learns how to walk.

Buy a child’s potty. Buy potty training books and/or DVDs. Let your child play with the potty – even if playtime involves putting it on their head and wearing it as a helmet! Let your toddler follow you and other family members into the toilet, and in a very matter-of-fact manner explain what you are doing. At diaper changes, take the naked child to the potty and sit. Read books and sing songs. Have “playtime” on the potty. (If they happen to actually use the potty, cheer loudly). Teach your child how to wipe.

That’s it. Start early, keep it low-key, and make the potty a normal part of your child’s every day routine. Before you know it, your toddler just might be pressuring YOU to begin toilet training!

Post by Suzanne Riffel, author of “The Potty Boot Camp: Basic Training for Toddlers” - a new, fast, easy toilet training method that produces remarkable results.

This article presents and interesting perspective on toilet training in the East.

read more | digg story

If the prospect of a diaper free infant is something you might be interested in, I recommend reading The Diaper Free Baby: The Natural Toilet Training Alternative by Christine Gross-loh. It teaches a “Western” version of this “Eastern” method.

Click HERE for the original link/article

If you have been doing some research about how to potty train your child, chances are that you may have heard about a potty training doll which is supposed to be a wonderful tool that can help your child understand what potty training is all about. However, before you rush out and buy a potty training doll, it would be advisable to pause and think about whether using a potty training doll will indeed prove to be worthwhile and whether it is in fact a necessary tool or not.

It is certainly a good idea to first of all look closely at what a potty training doll is and see how it can benefit your child so that you can decide whether to use it or not. Essentially, a potty training doll is a special kind of tool that is able to pee and which also comes with its own potty chair along with training pants. It also has a bottle from which the doll drinks water that is then expelled, usually when the doll is sitting on the potty chair.

Find Out More About Possible Benefits

So, now that you are acquainted with what a potty training doll is and what it does, it is time to find out how it will benefit your child in learning potty training. To begin with, once the child starts to get interested in using the toilet, it would be the right time to introduce your child to the doll and encourage them to feed the doll with some liquids and then put the doll on the potty chair.

Next, you need to inform the child about how grown-ups use their potty and that they do not pee into their diapers and at the same time you and your child should watch the doll pee into the potty chair. This should help establish a connection of sorts in the mind of your little one. And if you then ask the child to imitate what the doll does, it may result in desirable action on the part of your child.

The fact of the matter is that many children will show interest in copying what their potty training doll does and will thus become more amenable to also doing the same when it is time for them to pee. However, often children may even have an opposite reaction and may actually develop a fear or may not show much interest in doing what the doll does, In such cases, it may not prove to be a very useful tool.

Thus, the jury is out whether using a potty training doll will indeed prove to be a big help in teaching your child how to potty in the appropriate manner.

If you do indeed decide that a doll might be helpful, I recommend that you DON’T spend a lot of money on a doll. Below is a link to one on Amazon.com that is reasonably priced (Under $20 - unbelievably, some potty training dolls are 80 bucks!) Plus…who doesn’t remember having a Baby Alive when they were a little girl???

Post by Suzanne Riffel, author of “The Potty Boot Camp: Basic Training for Toddlers” - a new, fast, easy toilet training method that produces remarkable results.

Instead of another article on toilet training autistic children, here is a link I found to a Podcast about the subject:

Autism Podcast: Moms on Autism, Episode 4 Potty Training

This article by Dr. Andrew Oakes-Lottridge, M.D discusses bedwetting - and reassures parents that it is often a normal part of childhood. He also discusses tests your doctor can run as well as some treatment options. (Medications vs. Bed-wetting alarms, for example.)

Excerpt:
Getting your child to stay dry through the night can be a challenge. Potty training and bladder control are a part of development that can cause tremendous anxiety for some children and parents. Regarding bed-wetting, at what age should you be worrying about something more serious? What treatment options, if any, are available?

Click “Read More” for the Entire Article.

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Welcome Blog Party party participants. Thanks for visiting! My blog is dedicated solely to anything potty training so if you need help in this area, please look around. I’m also the author of a potty training guide entitled “The Potty Boot Camp: Basic Training for Toddlers.” During the blog party, I’m giving away one free download of the eBook. Just leave a comment and I’ll select a random winner when the Mommy Fest is over.

Warmly,
Suzanne Riffel

(This blog post is intended to supplement my original article/post entitled “Help! My Toddler Won’t Poop on the Potty!”)

I hear from parents over and over again about their child refusing to use the potty to poop. These kids inevitably are doing great with their pee training, but will absolutely NOT poop in the toilet. Some kids just go in their underwear while others actually run and hide. In my book, “The Potty Boot Camp: Basic Training for Toddlers” I dedicated a full chapter (The ‘Potty Poop Camp’) on the topic since it is such a common occurrence!

One of the most common reasons for a child’s refusal to use the toilet for ‘#2′ is fear. Some are afraid of the sound of the ‘plop’ or the feeling of the air hitting their bottom. The most common cause of fear, however, is that the child has has a previously painful bowel movement.

That’s why I am excited about this book by Howard Bennett, M.D. The book, entitled, “It Hurts When I Poop: A Story for Children Who Are Scared to Use the Potty” It tells a story about a little boy named Ryan who is afraid to use the toilet. Through the book, children follow along with Ryan’s “poop program” as he learns to overcome his fears.

Every review I have read about this book is a positive one. Below are a few comments from parents who had positive results from reading the book to their child:

• “When you have been through 2 years of poop problems, and not knowing what else to do, this book is the answer. It describes perfectly how my daughter felt, it was if she wrote it. I love this book, it is her favorite book. Some tomes we don’t talk about these kind of this because we are ashamed, but now with this book it is easy to help in this matter. I am so thankful I found this book, I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!! “
• “My daughter has had a poo poo problem for three years and FINALLY!!!!…..I purchased the book and from the first time I read it to her she started to relate to Ryan. She wanted me to read her the book at least five times a night and when she was on the toilet. People don’t understand the late nights crying on the toilet for three hours at a time unless they have been through something like this. My daughter was in pain every day and Ryan has the exact symptoms as my daughter had. I really wanted to thank the author of this book. I also purchased one for my daughters doctor. If your child has this problem please buy this book it really has done wonders for my daughter and the family. “
• “After months of abdominal pain, I was desperate for my son to find some sort of solution to his….err….ummm….going problem. He wouldn’t poop. No matter what he would not poop. Enemas, laxatives, fruit, it was all like trying to shave your head with a butter knife….. FUTILE I bought this book at Barnes and Noble (sorry amazon) on a whim. Without even reading it, my son was pooping himself right in the store! It was like he knew what was coming so he readied his bowels. When we got home I sat him on the toilet and read him the story. 5 months of impacted fecal matter came pouring out of him like water from a fountain! Oh we are so lucky to have found this book. Without it my son would probably have blown up like that blueberry girl from willy wonka. Yay Poop!”

In my book I discuss the topic of fear - and that every parent needs to address this issue first before they will ever get cooperation from their child. I think this is a great first step to take when you are constantly cleaning up poop!

Once the fear is gone, other issues can be tackled. Some children are just plain stubborn! When that’s the case, it’s on to “Potty Poop Camp!”………..

I love it! The folks at http://www.pottysong.com/ have come up with a downloadable, personalized, song that helps with potty training. Every time your child goes potty, you can play this song to celebrate their achievement! I’ll warn you, though…the tune is catchy enough that it is likely to get stuck in your head.

According to their website, benefits of the song are:

• The Potty Song generates excitement through a personalized, upbeat and easy to remember song that speaks directly to the potty training child.
• Toddlers at the potty training age know their name and get excited about a song made just for them.
• The Potty Song is so catchy that it’s hard for a toddler to get it out of his head. This reminds him that he wants to hear it again which in turn reminds him that he needs to use the potty in order to make that happen.
• The length of the song is just right for the attention span of toddlers. Toddlers get so excited to hear the song, but it’s short enough to leave them wanting more. The desire to hear it again and again generates motivation to use the potty again and again.
• Singing the song together can be a fun bonding experience for parent and child. This adds to the excitement and increases motivation to repeat the process.
• Unlike candy or prizes (other popular motivational tools), you always have The Potty Song with you (even if you have to sing it without the CD). Also, candy and prizes create an added cost and create a reward system that is materially oriented…not relationally oriented like The Potty Song.

  Post by Suzanne Riffel, author of “The Potty Boot Camp: Basic Training for Toddlers” - a new, fast, easy toilet training method that produces remarkable results.
  

I’d like to invite all of you potty training moms to the 5th annual Mommy Fest Blog Party. It’s a great way to interact with and discover other blogs written by moms just like yourself! Check back here during the Blog Party between May 12th-16th to participate. I’ll be giving away a free copy of The Potty Boot Camp eBook!

Post by Suzanne Riffel, author of “The Potty Boot Camp: Basic Training for Toddlers” - a new, fast, easy toilet training method that produces remarkable results.