Christiana Hope is my fourth child and she is now three. I potty trained all my other girls (including Christiana) at age two. Every child is different when they show signs of being ready. What I have come to know very well, is that mom must be ready too. If mom is not ready then the child is not given the proper chance to be successful. At age two Christiana was trained and then I failed her. I was busy with schooling my other girls and the distractions of the frequent bathroom visits were disruptive. My failure to take her on a regular scheduled time as I had been was leading to accidents. I found I was not ready to have the cleaning up of an accident on my agenda as well. So I decided, back on with the diapers and when I was ready we would tackle it again.
Here is one thing I have found that works for me and that is to set up what I call the Potty Party Zone. On my hard floor I set up an area full of toys and for the day she stays and plays in that area. That way cleaning up an accident is easy and less frustration for mom. Making a fun place helps encourage the child to want to go potty on the potty. Giving the place they must stay a fun name also brings excitement to the child. I also set a timer to remind myself and Christiana that it is time to potty. Once she has gone, then we celebrate and off we go to put a sticker on her chart. I also reward with a single M&M for pee pee and two for poo poo.One more helpful tip, give your child lots of liquids! Juice is a great one for potty training since it travels through the system so quickly!
So all you potty training moms... let's party!
Excuse my very quick, thrown together chart. Hey it works and she is happy!
