I read Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day - Proven Secrets of the Potty Pro by Teri Crane earlier this summer. It teaches you how to have your toddler potty trained in a short period of time. It is an intense one day program followed by normal potty training maintenance. Kaylin wasn't quite ready for it, according to the quiz in the book, but she was very close. I think she scored 7/10 and you need to score 8/10 or higher to "pass". At the end of the summer I knew she was ready for it. I checked the book out again and this time she scored 9/10 on the readiness quiz. I picked a date about 2 weeks out for our Potty Party day. TODAY is that day.
This is going to be a long post because I know that some of my friends are very interested in how today goes.
I had two weeks to get all of my supplies together. You're supposed to have a theme for your party, but Kaylin isn't really into themes. I chose to go with streamers and balloons for the decorations, with a letter garland in the bathroom because she loves letters. I put together some activities she rarely (or never) does and checked out lots of potty books and one potty DVD from the library. I prepared treat cups. I outlined the process in the book so that I could look over it throughout the day more easily.
Last night I decorated. Here's what our kitchen and family room look like right now:
Notice the waterproof picnic blanket on the couch. That wasn't as important this morning as it will be this afternoon.This is going to be a long post because I know that some of my friends are very interested in how today goes.
I had two weeks to get all of my supplies together. You're supposed to have a theme for your party, but Kaylin isn't really into themes. I chose to go with streamers and balloons for the decorations, with a letter garland in the bathroom because she loves letters. I put together some activities she rarely (or never) does and checked out lots of potty books and one potty DVD from the library. I prepared treat cups. I outlined the process in the book so that I could look over it throughout the day more easily.
Last night I decorated. Here's what our kitchen and family room look like right now:
The present on the potty is Kaylin's doll's underwear.
I got up early so that I could be completely ready to go by the time Kaylin woke up. I followed the book and when I got Kaylin up I said, "There's a present for Baby (her doll) in the bathroom downstairs!" Kaylin was super excited and kept talking about it while I changed her diaper and got her dressed. We rushed downstairs to get Baby's present. Kaylin LOVED all of the crepe paper in the doorways. She was very excited to open Baby's present. There were 10 pairs of underwear for her doll. I decorated them with fabric markers to make them more interesting, which ended up being a good idea. Kaylin looked at each pair and every time Baby had to change her underwear Kaylin would decide which pair Baby should put on.
Here is Kaylin and Baby in her new underwear checking out all of the potty books:
The rest of the morning consisted of alternating between an activity, like reading a book or playing a game, and a potty activity for the doll. The doll rotates between staying dry, peeing in the potty, wetting her pants, and pooping in her pants. I had the baby pee in the toilet three times, once first thing, once in the middle, and once immediately before lunch to end on a good note. She stayed dry 8 times, wet her pants 6 times, and pooped in her pants (a junior mint) twice. The book outlines a dialogue for each type of incident. The doll got a treat (I used pretzels, Teddy Grahams, mini ranch flavored rice cakes, and one time an M&M) and a sticker on her chart every time she stayed dry or peed on the potty. After giving the treat to the doll and telling her why she was getting it, Kaylin got to eat the treat if she promised that someday she too would stay dry/pee on the potty. Kaylin loved this. She would tell me that she promised to do that and then would share the treat with the baby.
Kaylin was really funny when the doll "pooped" in her underwear. The book tells you to be all concerned about it, so I was. The first time the doll "pooped" Kaylin just about started to cry because I was so sad. She enjoyed flushing the "poop" down the toilet.
Kaylin did a good job with her baby. She would tell her that she needed to practice sitting on the potty when she had an accident. She helped tell the doll that she needed to go pee-pee in the toilet and not in her underwear. She was very excited for Baby whenever she was dry or peed in the potty and would cheer and hug and kiss her.
The second half of the morning was harder. Kaylin was losing interest in the books and activities. I could usually get her to do something for a minute or two and then I'd have one of the dialogues about the baby (wet/dry/etc.).
We started just before 8:30 am and had lunch just after 11:30 am. It's a busy morning and you're rotating through activities every few minutes. Lunch time was Baby's Big Kid Celebration. She got a present and lots of praise. We talked about how big Baby is now (hmmm... wish I could stop calling her Baby) and that she doesn't wear diapers anymore. I told Kaylin that she could have a party when she doesn't wear diapers anymore either. Kaylin was very excited about this. I told her that some family and a couple of potty-trained friends would come to her party and we'd play, eat cake, and she would get a present. She wanted her party right then.
At 12:00 it was naptime. Normally she goes down for her nap between 1:30 and 2. But we were busy all morning and she got up a little earlier than normal, so I'm hoping it will work out. We need enough time this afternoon for her to potty train. As of 1:00 she was still awake in her room and I think I still hear her, so hopefully she won't be too tired when I get her up.
The plan for the afternoon is that Kaylin will get up from her nap around 2:00 and then I will tell her that Baby stayed dry the whole time she was napping. Baby will get a sticker and a treat. Then I will tell Kaylin that Baby and I have a present for her. Kaylin will open her present, underwear. I will help her put on a pair and then immediately we will feel that her pants are dry. She will get a sticker and a treat right then. The rest of the afternoon I will get her to drink as much liquid as possible, which should be easy since Kaylin LOVES to drink. I will keep checking for her to be dry and she will get rewarded if she is. She will also get rewarded for sitting on the potty, even if she doesn't go in it. If she has an accident (this is why the waterproof blanket is on the couch), then we will sit on the potty for practice. The goal is that she will pee in the toilet about 4 times this afternoon.
I'm mostly worried about keeping Kaylin on the blanket. I know that she's not going to want to sit there for long, so we might have to play on the floor in the kitchen. Kaylin likes to play on her own in the bonus room or her bedroom a lot, which doesn't work today. I hope that she doesn't get overwhelmed with me being around her constantly and making her stay in specific areas.
I will post how the rest of the day goes late tonight or tomorrow.
I got up early so that I could be completely ready to go by the time Kaylin woke up. I followed the book and when I got Kaylin up I said, "There's a present for Baby (her doll) in the bathroom downstairs!" Kaylin was super excited and kept talking about it while I changed her diaper and got her dressed. We rushed downstairs to get Baby's present. Kaylin LOVED all of the crepe paper in the doorways. She was very excited to open Baby's present. There were 10 pairs of underwear for her doll. I decorated them with fabric markers to make them more interesting, which ended up being a good idea. Kaylin looked at each pair and every time Baby had to change her underwear Kaylin would decide which pair Baby should put on.
Here is Kaylin and Baby in her new underwear checking out all of the potty books:
The rest of the morning consisted of alternating between an activity, like reading a book or playing a game, and a potty activity for the doll. The doll rotates between staying dry, peeing in the potty, wetting her pants, and pooping in her pants. I had the baby pee in the toilet three times, once first thing, once in the middle, and once immediately before lunch to end on a good note. She stayed dry 8 times, wet her pants 6 times, and pooped in her pants (a junior mint) twice. The book outlines a dialogue for each type of incident. The doll got a treat (I used pretzels, Teddy Grahams, mini ranch flavored rice cakes, and one time an M&M) and a sticker on her chart every time she stayed dry or peed on the potty. After giving the treat to the doll and telling her why she was getting it, Kaylin got to eat the treat if she promised that someday she too would stay dry/pee on the potty. Kaylin loved this. She would tell me that she promised to do that and then would share the treat with the baby.
Kaylin was really funny when the doll "pooped" in her underwear. The book tells you to be all concerned about it, so I was. The first time the doll "pooped" Kaylin just about started to cry because I was so sad. She enjoyed flushing the "poop" down the toilet.
Kaylin did a good job with her baby. She would tell her that she needed to practice sitting on the potty when she had an accident. She helped tell the doll that she needed to go pee-pee in the toilet and not in her underwear. She was very excited for Baby whenever she was dry or peed in the potty and would cheer and hug and kiss her.
The second half of the morning was harder. Kaylin was losing interest in the books and activities. I could usually get her to do something for a minute or two and then I'd have one of the dialogues about the baby (wet/dry/etc.).
We started just before 8:30 am and had lunch just after 11:30 am. It's a busy morning and you're rotating through activities every few minutes. Lunch time was Baby's Big Kid Celebration. She got a present and lots of praise. We talked about how big Baby is now (hmmm... wish I could stop calling her Baby) and that she doesn't wear diapers anymore. I told Kaylin that she could have a party when she doesn't wear diapers anymore either. Kaylin was very excited about this. I told her that some family and a couple of potty-trained friends would come to her party and we'd play, eat cake, and she would get a present. She wanted her party right then.
At 12:00 it was naptime. Normally she goes down for her nap between 1:30 and 2. But we were busy all morning and she got up a little earlier than normal, so I'm hoping it will work out. We need enough time this afternoon for her to potty train. As of 1:00 she was still awake in her room and I think I still hear her, so hopefully she won't be too tired when I get her up.
The plan for the afternoon is that Kaylin will get up from her nap around 2:00 and then I will tell her that Baby stayed dry the whole time she was napping. Baby will get a sticker and a treat. Then I will tell Kaylin that Baby and I have a present for her. Kaylin will open her present, underwear. I will help her put on a pair and then immediately we will feel that her pants are dry. She will get a sticker and a treat right then. The rest of the afternoon I will get her to drink as much liquid as possible, which should be easy since Kaylin LOVES to drink. I will keep checking for her to be dry and she will get rewarded if she is. She will also get rewarded for sitting on the potty, even if she doesn't go in it. If she has an accident (this is why the waterproof blanket is on the couch), then we will sit on the potty for practice. The goal is that she will pee in the toilet about 4 times this afternoon.
I'm mostly worried about keeping Kaylin on the blanket. I know that she's not going to want to sit there for long, so we might have to play on the floor in the kitchen. Kaylin likes to play on her own in the bonus room or her bedroom a lot, which doesn't work today. I hope that she doesn't get overwhelmed with me being around her constantly and making her stay in specific areas.
I will post how the rest of the day goes late tonight or tomorrow.
7 comments:
Dang! That's quite the morning. Can't wait to hear how the rest of the day goes.
Good luck!
Kelsey told me about your potty day. I want a potty day where someone decorates my house and gives me presents!
Keep posting follow-ups and let us know how it works!
Wow, very involved! I really enjoyed reading the process and am curious how it goes...
Keep me posted on how the rest of the day goes...sounds very interesting. I ordered the book and it should be coming in the mail very soon. I would love to try this method. Ashley F.
sounds like a great start to the day -- can't wait to hear about the afternoon! :)
Wow, that is very intense! Sounds like it went well. Yay!
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