Potty Training

Now that we have a potty, are we ready for potty training?? Somehow, my relatives (including) mom makes it sound really easy to potty train a child. Just put her on the potty every half hour or so and she will get the idea sooner or later. You mean I have to get her nappy off, put her on the potty for about five minutes or so, do up her nappy again and repeat the procedure in about 20 minutes' time? I don't know but I am already tired just thinking of it.

I think potty training needs some PEE, literally. Which is why I am spending some time Planing & preparing, getting the right Equipment & education and Evaluate.


PLANNING AND PREPARING
Most books from the West says that the best starting age to potty train a child is from 18 months. Some children still have accidents until they are four years of age. Amazingly, the Eastern part of the world start potty training as young as from birth! Anyway, there is probably no right age for potty training. Different ages present different pros and cons. Just do it when you and baby are ready. If you are interested, you can read more on researched-based potty training.

Anyway, the plan has been to stop buying more disposable nappies soonest possible since she was about a year old. We are now 4 months over due! It is also best to potty train a child during a time where there are minimal disturbances in her routine eg. teething, weaning, travelling, new environment, etc. Hmm... her lower molars are erupting anytime and we are thinking of weaning off the breast... However, we are not planing any travelling these coming few weeks so we can maybe start with some pre-potty training!

EQUIPMENT AND EDUCATE

A potty, some pull-up nappies and/or a dozen undies should suffice. I also bought this book at a second hand store previously in the UK but to be honest, I wonder if it will help. Every time I read this book with Baby O, she just goes pointing at all the familiar objects and naming them instead of focusing on the subject.

Reading up on the subject doesn't hurt too. I know now that most toddlers urinate averagely every two hours, about four to eight times a day. This means I need not put Baby O at the potty every half hour!

A friend gave me the Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day book by Teri Crane (the acclaimed Potty Pro). Sounds good eh? Read a few pages and found that this book is more suited for training older toddlers two years and beyond. It also involves having a Potty Party and having lots of rewards. I might come back to this if I still cannot manage to get Baby O to pee-pee in her potty when she hits 2 years of age!

Other sites I relied on are Babycenter, What To Expect, and Elizabeth Pantley's No-Cry Potty Training Solution.

EVALUATE
I did the Potty Training Readiness Quiz by Elizabeth Pantley (author of The No-Cry Potty Training Solution and other No-Cry books) and feel that we are probably at the pre-potty training stage. I can tell when Baby O does a pee or a poo but I will need her to start telling me when she wants to go. I often ask Baby O if she had done a poo-poo right after and to my dismay, she shakes her head and says 'No'!! I also need to introduce her to her potty and let her feel comfortable sitting on it. She currently probably views it as a toy and refuses to sit on it. This probably means that I will have to continue my groundwork and keep evaluating for a sign of readiness.

I can't believe that potty training is like a course on its own! Hopefully in a few month's time, both Baby O and I will be able to receive our full PT cert passed with flying colours!