More Early Potty Training

By Colleen Brunetti, MEd

Here’s another anecdotal account of early potty training, this one involving a mom who had personal interest in early training, both to avoid messy diapers and to help the planet. What are your thoughts?

http://coastalmommies.com/blog/2012/7/potty-training-infants

A Great Review!

By Colleen Brunetti, MEd

From time to time a blogger will take a look at the Potty Time program and write up a review. We love that Potty Time is spreading and recently saw some great independent insight into what we offer.

Amber over at JadeLouise Designs had this to say:

Potty Time is a fantastic combination of sign language, songs, verbal, PottyTime DVD & CDauditory, and visual stimulus to help a little toddler learn about how amazing their body is. In Potty Time you learn new sign language signs. Each sign is showcased with Rachel (the creator and instructor of the videos) showing the new sign and saying the name of the sign. Also showcased is the actual word written out, plus a photo to show what the word means. It’s a very well rounded instruction to ensure any learning style will be well received.

Thanks, Amber! We’re so glad you liked Potty Time! To read lots more about Amber’s take on our programming, and see what else she’s up to, please visit her blog at JadeLouise Designs!

Community Question: This One is Tricky!

By Colleen Brunett, MEd

Question: My daughter doesn’t tell me she has to go potty. I’ll sit her on the potty sometimes she goes other times she screams but she takes her diaper off all the time… when I put big girls panties on her five min later there wet… what can I do? She’s two.

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Book Review: “A Potty For Me”

By Kim Fries, MA CCC-SLP

A Potty For MeThis bright colorful lift-the-flap book follows a child, along with a very patient Mommy, through the potty training process. At first the child is hesitant to use the potty, then tries but has an accident and finally goes and gets to wear “big kid pants.”  The child is nondescript and could be seen as a boy or girl.  Parents will like the opportunity to discuss accidents and opportunity to “try again.”  The book has a sing-songy rhyming rhythm that flows easily, and the sense of pride the child feels at the end brings a smile to your face.

I have used this book for years in my Signing Classes.  I loved the vocabulary (potty, try, diaper, big kid, accident, proud) and emphasis on children trying rather than the pressure to succeed.  The author’s focus on child readiness and use of emotion vocabulary (happy, proud) was also a big draw for me.

With the release of the Potty Time board book, “Hopkins Uses the Potty”, I now use both.  They work well together and give the parents in my signing classes an opportunity to practice vocabulary while reading a book to a toddler. When parent go home and sign during the potty routine, or sign another book, they have shared with me that the additional practice helps them feel more confident and comfortable with signing. Signing with your child is good not only for potty training, but early literacy skills too!

A Potty For Me matches the Potty Time philosophy and goes well with the songs “Stop and Go”, “Accident” and “Celebrate!” (click on the songs to hear a sample!)

Kim Fries is a Certified Master Signing Time Academy Instructor. You can learn more about Kim and her signing and speech classes by visiting her website HERE

Community Question: Night Wetting

By Colleen Brunetti, MEd

Question: Do you have any tips for nighttime training? My daughter is almost 5 and still wears a pull-up to bed. Every once in a while she says she wants to wear panties and we encourage it, but she always wets. She will do it for 2-3 nights and then wants to go back to wearing a pull-up.

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Community Question: My Daughter Isn’t Interested!

By Colleen Brunetti, MEd

We get lots of great questions on our Facebook community, and sometimes we like to answer them on the blog too.

Question: Why doesn’t my 2-year-old daughter give a hoot about using the potty??? I thought they were supposed to train earlier than boys… Continue reading

Potty Training Adventure

By Colleen Brunetti, MEd

Here’s a great video chronicling one family’s potty training adventures.

Do you have an adorable video of your kid in the process of potty training? Share it on our Facebook page!

Like the chart they use? Be sure to check our version as a free download on the Resources page!

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!