Potty Training - Day 1

Today's Score: Potty - 1; Training Pants - 5

We started training in the afternoon. He did a great job learning all the potty steps; run to the potty, pull down pants, sit down, etc. However, most of the day went like this: I would have DS2 sit on the potty about 5 minutes out of every 15. He would get up, and 5 minutes later, would wet his pants. I was a bit frustrated, not at him, but at myself, because a couple times I noticed him squirming but did not pick up on his cues until it was too late. Then at the very end of the day - success! He self-initiated sitting on the potty, with some pee pee in the potty and some in the pants.

I am using the method described in the book Toilet Training in Less Than A Day. Why did I pick this method? Because it is the only adult book on potty training that our library has. Seriously. "Less than a day" is somewhat misleading. The initial "training" takes only a few hours, but it will take several weeks to really get it down, depending on your child.

I like this method because it focuses primarily on teaching your child to do all the steps needed to toilet independently, with less emphasis on the potty "act". That comes later. The book tells you exactly what to do and what to say while potty training, instead of just giving you some helpful hints and letting you figure it out yourself. The only thing that bothers me about the method, however, is its dependence on rewards (candy or other treats) to motivate your child, and verbal disaproval when he has an accident. The book was written by behavioral psychologists, what do you expect? We don't use a reward system for anything else. It does work, though.