Potty Training: Third Time's A Charm!

     Last week I took a break from posting for several reasons. One, I scheduled our Spring break for last week. No it was not spring, but after nine consrcutive weeks of lesson planning, I needed that break. Two, my parents were here visiting on a short stay with us from Florida. They arrived on Ash Wednesday so I knew the rest of the week would have been shot for focusing. Three, I figured it was time to see how my son would do with potty training since it had been over two months since our last unsuccessful attempt.

     Monday we woke up and with no high expectations (after two failed attempts the bar had been set pretty low...) I let my kid run around bare bottomed. Armed with my urine carpet cleaner and energy drinks and lots of his favorite salty snacks we began the tricky process. He had several accidents on Monday morning, BUT unlike last time, he was content on his potty listening to me read books or sing songs. The last time he would only sit down on his potty if he could watch elmo potty time while trying to go.

     I was thouroughly surprised Monday afternoon when he started to have an accident, because we got him to his potty in time to finish what he started.  My child finally got pee in his potty at almost 3 1/2 yrs. old for his first time. There was hugging, cheering, and doughnuts in celebration of this momentous occasion. That is pretty much all it took for him to finally go potty on his potty chair from start to finish. Yes, we have had some accidents, but the majority of them were when we attempted big boy underwear on him while he went out to play. After several days of those types of accidents he realized we only had so many pairs of shoes for him to change into before we had to keep him inside since it was too cold to let him run around barefoot. Yesterday it was actually HOT for us. He could have run barefoot if we had no more clean shoes, BUT he ended up keeping his big boy underwear dry the entire three hours we were out there. We had him come in to try going every half hour and he acted like a champ.

     Now, my kid still refuses to poop in the potty, and I am cool with that. Pooping can take kids a long time to figure out. I am just excited to see the beginning of the end of diapers for us. Also, pull-ups for nap and outings and overnight are still a must. Maybe in a few more weeks I will attempt a short outing in big boy underwear, but not just yet.

     What did I do differently this time around that I did not do the last time? Other than having him try every half hour for no more than five minutes is about it. Hobestlt, it has been all him. If he was not feeling ready, nothing I would have done would have made him anymore ready.

Patience and acting chill when accidents happen are key. Offereng favorite snacks to help pique your child's interest in just trying it out is a great thing. Some kids do netter with a different thing like a special toy they love, but you normally avoid for whatever reason. Anything you think your kid will react to best is what you should do.

What other potty training tips do you have to share???