Potty Training Tips

By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed.

I recently came across this resource from Parenting.com on mom generated tips to go about potty training: Potty Training Strategies

What are your best tips? Be sure to visit our TIPS page for a list we’ve generated too!

Book Review: Uh Oh! Gotta Go! Potty Tales from Toddlers

Uh Oh! Gotta Go!By Colleen Brunetti, MEd

Fans of Sesame Street will recognize the author of this story, Bob McGrath, who has spent 38 years on the show to date. This isn’t a Sesame Street book though – it’s one of his own creations.

Each page shows a different child up to something involving the potty, some making it just in time, others being a little creative with what they do with it, and of course the one who has the accident (it’s okay!). This book really showcases the creative and fun personalities of the potty training toddler, as well as children from many different ethnic backgrounds.

A really fun bonus in the back is a special page where your child can glue in their own picture and become a part of the story.

To read our other book reviews, click HERE

Book Review: Potty Time (a Sesame Beginnings publication)

By Colleen Brunetti, MEd

Potty Time! A Sesame PublicationThis book is listed for ages 24 – 36 months on the cover and contains simple illustrated representation of the loveable Sesame Street characters. What I particularly appreciate about this book is that each character is at a different stage of development, one who goes all the time, one who has the occasional accident, and one who is just not interested at all yet. This may be very reassuring to children and parents alike!

The text invites children in by asking occasional questions and explains what each character is doing and why.

One page even mentions how a character calls her time in the bathroom “potty time”, which is a rather convenient link to the Potty Time program too!

To read our other book reviews, click HERE

Book Review: “Too Big for Diapers”

By Colleen Brunetti, MEd

Too Big for Diapers (a Sesame Street Babies publication)

Too Big For Diapers bookToo Big For Diapers sample pages

In five quick page turns, this book follows Baby Ernie (shown as a stuffed doll) through the potty training process. It has very simple words describing what he is doing on each page, stressing the “stop and go!” concept in a similar way to Potty Time.

The photos of the dolls and props are large and bold, likely very engaging, especially to children who are training a little bit on the younger side, or who absolutely love Sesame Street.

Baby Hopkins plushA really nice companion to this book might be our Baby Hopkins plush who can be snuggled with as the story is read, and used to act out what Baby Ernie is doing in the book.

 

 

To read our other book reviews, click HERE!

Book Review: “You Can Go to the Potty”

By Colleen Brunetti, MEd

We are reviewing some potty training books! Our entire collection of reviews will be housed HERE.

You Can Go to the Potty
You Can Go To The Potty book
By William Sears, M.D., Martha Sears, R.N., and Christie Watts Kelly

This book is from the Sears pediatrician team, particular favorites of those who like the attachment parenting method. It’s also one of the books I (Colleen) used with my own son! It actually starts out with tips for parents, and explains some of the choices in the book, as well as giving a few tips if you are experiencing any difficulty during the potty training process.

The story starts out talking about the baby days. In line with the attachment parenting approach, the illustrations show both nursing and co-sleeping, which some families will greatly appreciate and others may not as much. It then transitions into what big kids can do, and talks about where pee and poo-poo might go, first in a diaper and now into the toilet.

This book takes a specific approach to the timing of potty training, telling children they will switch to underwear when they can keep their diapers dry. Some families will do well with this timing, whereas others may find a different approach is going to work better for their child.

The book moves on to the process of potty training, including a supportive take on accidents and of course lots of great celebrating. A particularly nice aspect of this book is the little insets on some pages called “Answers for the Very Curious”. These boxes contain questions children might ask about going potty and simple answers that they can understand – very helpful!

Hopkins Uses the Potty board book

As this is geared towards little ones but is very factual, it would make a nice companion to a more playful approach, such as our book “Hopkins Uses the Potty”

10 Tips for Night Training

Potty Time

By Sue Rouillard, MEd

So the daytime potty training is going well. You’ve worked your way from diapers, maybe to pull-ups, and now to undies, and those puddles on the floor are becoming a distant memory. Congratulations!! It’s been a month or more without any daytime accidents and you wish potty training was done and you could forget about it. You’re almost there.

Like daytime training, there’s no set timeline on how soon you’ll get through nighttime training, but let’s see if I can make it just a bit easier for you.

Ten Tips for Night Time Toilet Training

1) Continue with your consistent daytime expectations. Good daytime routines pave the way for successful nighttime routines! Continue reading

Potty Training Multiples: Part One

By Colleen Brunetti, MEd

Potty Time for twins!With the help of Professional Twin Mommy, Maggie Martin, (you should totally check out her blog!), we’ve put together a list of tips for potty training your multiples. These will be presented in a two-part installment.

Potty training by itself can feel like a pretty daunting task, but how about tackling it for two, three, or maybe even more toddlers at the same time? How do you even begin?

Well first, you have to remember that you have already managed to have them all and feed them all and change them all for a couple of years now… so you’re probably going to be better at this than you might think! Continue reading

Potty Training Twins (from Twinversity)

Potty training one is an adventure. But two? Or three? Or more?

Here are two blogs from a great multiples site, Twinversity, to help you get started.

PART ONE

PART TWO

Potty Training While Traveling

By Colleen Brunetti, MEd

So you’ve started the potty training process and everything is going pretty well. And then a holiday rolls around, or it’s time for vacation, and you’ve got to take this show on the road! The idea of potty training while traveling can be quite daunting, but thanks to our Facebook community, we’ve compiled some great tips to help you make it through. Continue reading

It Just Might be My Worst Nightmare…

By Colleen Brunetti, MEd

By definition, I am not a germ-phobe. I don’t carry sanitizer in my purse, although I occasionally have aspirations of doing so, and I don’t even (gasp!) make my kid wash his hands before every snack at home (but most snacks and meals, yes). In fact, I am solidly in the camp of “A little dirt is good for them! It builds the immune system!”

But what gives me the willies more than anything else (besides large hairy spiders) is public restrooms. Let’s all pause for a collective shudder. I don’t care if you are in the nicest place in the world, all public bathrooms are gross-gross-gross!

I was like this before having a kid. But once my son was potty training, I realized that public bathrooms are in fact the stuff of nightmares. I don’t care how wonderful a parent you are, it is impossible to simultaneously handle an active toddler/preschooler, their clothes, the (filthy) fixtures, not touch anything yourself and, most importantly, shield your precious little one from what is sure to be some form of the plague.

I could go on and on, but Amber Dusick of  Parenting Illustrated with Crappy Pictures does a much better job describing the true horrors. Enjoy!

BLOG: Public toilets vs newly potty trained boys and girls

How about you? Any funny potty training in public restroom stories to share?

Editor’s Note: We here at Potty Time really believe potty training comes with a sense of humor. This blog link is one perspective from a parent who writes with a certain sense of humor of her own. Any opinions or choice of words do not necessarily reflect the position of Potty Time or it’s affiliates.