Praise for the 3 Day Potty Training Method! A Milestone Revisited
While I'm away on vacation, I wanted to share one of my favourite posts from the goo old days of toddlerhood. There's a reason why this blog is called Humble Pie...My know-it-all attitude has me eating it on a regular basis.
I have written about potty training a few times and could never follow up with a "WE'RE DONE" post. It's been a long messy road and I found myself weeping with every case of diapers I bought. You see, I began training my daughter at 2 years old and only resorted to using diapers at night or long car trips. After a few months she regressed to the recent stage of refusing to sit on the toilet at all and relying on diapers 24/7. My husband offered to take over this monumental task and I agreed with a snicker. Sure buddy, if think you can do a better job go right ahead. He researched the 3 day potty training method, came home with a 30 page print out of rules and asked me to read it. I refused. I've heard a little about it and don't like it. If you're taking over, you do it.
On Wednesday I was awakened an hour early to strange stirrings. *Crinkle clatter bang* I stumbled out to see our living room re-arranged with furniture pushed back and a shower curtain spread on the floor. Hubby had showered and dressed, then moved on to make lunch and set it aside in the fridge (at 6:30 am). I went to the bathroom to get ready for work and saw that he had a laundry basket ready and the top portion of the Dora potty was set on the toilet. I was informed (very seriously) The 3 day training starts today. I am not leaving this house until she is trained. If you can't read the manual and support us then don't interfere. If you want to help, you need to follow the manual as written with no compromise. I shrugged, kissed them good bye, and left.
I went to work and returned home that afternoon with a sense of dread. I expected a mountain of laundry and a ticked off 3 year old. In reality, I found an exhausted Daddy and chipper daughter. Princess was a little emotional that evening, but had handled the changes to her routine better than could be expected. She was proud to show me her progress chart and dry (for now) undies (She had 2 accidents that day).
Day 2 was emotional for dear hubby since he was still mentally exhausted from the constant vigilance of the previous day. I offered to give him a break. No, you don't get it, you can't leave her for a second. She hasn't had a BM yet and I'm expecting she's going to try and hide away for a poo-tastic explosion. Princess had a stellar day filled with more success.
By day 3, hubby was confident that she was done her training. After lunch he left her to play in her room for 10 minutes and returned to find the poo-apocalypse he was dreading. By now I had read the manual and offered to gave him a break for the rest of the day. Some of the rules were completely opposite the methods I use for children at the daycare, but I stuck with them. We considered doing a 4th day at home but we had committed to a road trip to see his grandparents. I adapted some of the night-time rules to get her ready for the one hour drive before heading out that morning. She hadn't had anything to drink for 2 hours before we left, she sat on the toilet before we packed the car, and again before we buckled in to leave.
She stayed dry for the car rides, and in fact stayed dry all day!
The Challenges:
This method promotes copious amounts of positive re-inforcement, bans punishment (for soiled undies), and celebrates the transition to BIG KID. The download price tag is reasonable. It cost just $24 USD to download the file and get access to a membership complete with mentoring and support.
The method works though I wish I had discovered this a year ago. My 3 year old was resistant to the drastic changes on the first day because we were now trying to undo all the previous habits and training.
Where to find the complete information to download:
http://www.3daypottytraining.com/pages/how-to-potty-train.htm
(Original post 2012)
Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions remain my own.
Image credit: www.walmart.com
I have written about potty training a few times and could never follow up with a "WE'RE DONE" post. It's been a long messy road and I found myself weeping with every case of diapers I bought. You see, I began training my daughter at 2 years old and only resorted to using diapers at night or long car trips. After a few months she regressed to the recent stage of refusing to sit on the toilet at all and relying on diapers 24/7. My husband offered to take over this monumental task and I agreed with a snicker. Sure buddy, if think you can do a better job go right ahead. He researched the 3 day potty training method, came home with a 30 page print out of rules and asked me to read it. I refused. I've heard a little about it and don't like it. If you're taking over, you do it.
On Wednesday I was awakened an hour early to strange stirrings. *Crinkle clatter bang* I stumbled out to see our living room re-arranged with furniture pushed back and a shower curtain spread on the floor. Hubby had showered and dressed, then moved on to make lunch and set it aside in the fridge (at 6:30 am). I went to the bathroom to get ready for work and saw that he had a laundry basket ready and the top portion of the Dora potty was set on the toilet. I was informed (very seriously) The 3 day training starts today. I am not leaving this house until she is trained. If you can't read the manual and support us then don't interfere. If you want to help, you need to follow the manual as written with no compromise. I shrugged, kissed them good bye, and left.
I went to work and returned home that afternoon with a sense of dread. I expected a mountain of laundry and a ticked off 3 year old. In reality, I found an exhausted Daddy and chipper daughter. Princess was a little emotional that evening, but had handled the changes to her routine better than could be expected. She was proud to show me her progress chart and dry (for now) undies (She had 2 accidents that day).
Day 2 was emotional for dear hubby since he was still mentally exhausted from the constant vigilance of the previous day. I offered to give him a break. No, you don't get it, you can't leave her for a second. She hasn't had a BM yet and I'm expecting she's going to try and hide away for a poo-tastic explosion. Princess had a stellar day filled with more success.
By day 3, hubby was confident that she was done her training. After lunch he left her to play in her room for 10 minutes and returned to find the poo-apocalypse he was dreading. By now I had read the manual and offered to gave him a break for the rest of the day. Some of the rules were completely opposite the methods I use for children at the daycare, but I stuck with them. We considered doing a 4th day at home but we had committed to a road trip to see his grandparents. I adapted some of the night-time rules to get her ready for the one hour drive before heading out that morning. She hadn't had anything to drink for 2 hours before we left, she sat on the toilet before we packed the car, and again before we buckled in to leave.
She stayed dry for the car rides, and in fact stayed dry all day!
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| My favourite potty converts from a potty throne, to toilet seat cover. The top fits directly onto the toilet and the insert comes out. The base can be flipped over to be used as a step stool. |
The Challenges:
- Constant vigil on your busy child is exhausting. I had promoted my child's independence, ie. she could play in her room with no direct supervision - though I could see or hear her from my kitchen sitting room.
- Wiping your schedule clean for 3-5 days is hard, but worth the effort.
This method promotes copious amounts of positive re-inforcement, bans punishment (for soiled undies), and celebrates the transition to BIG KID. The download price tag is reasonable. It cost just $24 USD to download the file and get access to a membership complete with mentoring and support.
The method works though I wish I had discovered this a year ago. My 3 year old was resistant to the drastic changes on the first day because we were now trying to undo all the previous habits and training.
Where to find the complete information to download:
http://www.3daypottytraining.com/pages/how-to-potty-train.htm
My other potty training posts:
(Original post 2012)
Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions remain my own.
Image credit: www.walmart.com
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