New and expectant parents are faced with a mountain of decisions. Breast-feeding or formula? Home care or daycare? And then you have the diaper dilemma. For many, it’s tough to decide between the two basic choices; disposable or cloth. However, there is a third option you might not have heard about. There is a growing movement of North American parents who are choosing to use no diapers at all. They are advocates of the elimination communication method (Also known as infant potty training, natural infant hygiene and potty whispering). Followers of this method say that you can start training your baby to use the potty almost from birth. Continue reading
Tag Archives: potty training girls
Potty Training with a Signing Time Academy Instructor
As told to Colleen Brunetti, MEd
Our fantastic Signing Time Academy instructors are using Potty Time right along with you and their clients!
Meet Elisha Hamburger. Elisha is an Academy instructor in Holden, MA (you can contact her HERE) and she had this to share:
I have 2 daughters; Lucy who is 4 and has special needs and Macy who is 3. They both love Signing Time so I was thrilled when Potty Time came out! I know Lucy will take longer due to her developmental delays, but she loves the video and signs potty. Continue reading
Potty Training Success: A Child with Special Needs
We hear a lot of wonderful stories over on the Potty Time Facebook page. One in particular that stood out to me came from mom Denille, about her son Quinn (now 39 months).
My son is 37-months and loves Potty Time just as much as he has loved his entire Baby Signing Time and Signing Time DVDs. Although he is still scared to sit on the potty (he has Down syndrome and we do things on our own timetable), he seems excited about the new
Quinn at the beach
signs and is stringing them together to communicate in new ways. Today he signed “Body Amazing Time Thirsty” and then signed “drink milk please”. He signs “Potty, wipe, flush, wash” when someone else goes to the bathroom. Potty Time is helping him make more connections and communicate about his world- yet another step toward independence and potty training. Our path will no doubt be easier and filled with more fun and songs because of Potty Time. Thank you!! Continue reading
Community Questions
Here’s another question/comment from our Facebook community:
“I don’t know what to do about the regression. It’s so frustrating.
Regression is frustrating, no doubt! Just when you think you’ve gotten somewhere with this whole potty training thing, your sweet little ones get another idea in their heads and it’s back to accidents, wet clothes, and maybe even diapers.
Keeping Little People Motivated to Potty Train
Using Non-Tangible Rewards
Many parents like to use stickers or candy as rewards, and if that works for your family, great. Others prefer non-tangible (sometimes called “intrinsic”) motivators: things that are not “stuff”. Perhaps a combination of the two will work as well. In this article, we’ll discuss some ideas for non-tangible rewards. Continue reading
When There’s a Will, There’s a Way
Adventures in Potty Training a Willful Child (Part one of a three part series)
Monkey see, Monkey do
From early on, Evalyn took an interest in the potty time routines in our home. She was familiar with the signs of bathroom-related vocabulary thanks to the fact that we use American Sign Language in the house. So, she was taught and understood the terminology and was able to communicate it from infancy (6 months). Evalyn also had a wonderful role model in her older sister, Elizabeth. So, as the saying goes…monkey see monkey do. Continue reading
Hand Hygiene
Now that your little one is learning how to “go potty,” it is time to be sure that he knows how important it is to wash his hands and how to do it correctly. Continue reading
Public Restrooms
A couple of days ago we had a little fun with the horrors of public restrooms.
Today let’s look at a little bit more serious side of things, a decision that comes after the potty training is more or less complete: When do you allow your child to visit a public restroom alone? Continue reading
It Just Might be My Worst Nightmare…
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.