As I'm writing this we are on day 6 of potty training using the Oh Crap! Potty Training method. My son is 20-months old and very chatty. This book had good reviews on Amazon and my sister already had the book so I decided to give it a try.
I didn't have strong intentions to potty train my son before turning two years old but he just seemed ready.
This is what "ready" looked like for us...
1. He was able to say and understand what potty, pee, and poop was. He was fascinated by the regular toilet.
2. He would tell us when he was pooping in his diaper.
3. He liked completing independent tasks.
This may look different for your kid. The book said 20-22 months of age is a really good time to potty train as well, so it worked out perfectly. Sometimes older toddlers can be resistant to learning something new like using the potty.
Here's the potty we're using -- click for the amazon link. Easy to clean, light to carry from room to room! We are also borrowing a training potty that looks like a real toilet, too.
Training method: 10/10 (What actually matters) Easy to understand to all parties involved. No rewards needed... no candy jar, surprise box, etc.
Book language: 5/10 -- My background is in journalism so I can't help but critique the way this book was written. No shade to the author, I'm sure she's a nice lady, but goodness the way the book is written is so condescending. She's clearly trying to sound conversational and relateable, but I kept finding myself being annoyed by her 'tone' in the book. The book is also way too long for the information that's actually being told. I talked to someone else about it and it made me realize I wasn't alone in thinking the author was talking down to me! I was about to put down the book and just 'wing it' with potty training but I put my own ego aside and finished the read. Method is great, the read is not my fav. The author is a mom, social worker and potty expert.
Where to begin: As suggested by the book - read the book at least two weeks BEFORE potty training day one. You want to be mentally and emotionally ready. Pick a date in advance and clear your schedule. She suggests to start on a three day weekend and I agree with that. Make sure all caregivers are on board. For us, that meant me, dad and nana. For you, that may mean daycare!
DAY ONE SUCKS.
Okay it's not that bad, it's just messy. With this method, your kid is running around without pants for several days and you have to watch them very, very closely ALL DAY. No phone usage, no reading books, nothing. Watch your kiddos every move so you learn their potty cues, etc.
Day one - Pee everywhere. My son was clueless. This is normal. He kept asking for his diaper back. You will want to quit after day one, probably, lol.
Day two - He was still clueless but I was able to get him to the training toilet about 1/2 way through the pee to get some in the potty. We celebrated big and let him pour it in the big toilet and flush it.
Day three - He would pee when I sat him down on the potty. This was the turning point I needed because your girl was reallllly questioning herself. Plus, I learned his cue that he was about to go so I knew what to look for.
Day four - He sat on the potty with no prompting from me and went potty. Pooped on the potty in the evening, twice. Big win for the day!
Day five - He verbally told me he needed to use the potty..... but by the evening he turned it into a game for dad. He thought it was funny to pee while running down the hallway. (It is kind of funny since it wasn't on my watch, sorry Dada!).
Day six - Back on track. No Ms. Rachel on tv if he doesn't pee on the potty! He understood and went back to peeing on the potty.
Throughout these days he was with mom, dad and grandparents. We skipped sign language class, tumbling and running errands. He needed to be home and by a potty ALL DAY.
Tomorrow I will implement pants! Yeehaw! He will have to learn to push them down and pull them back up.
*I did notice a small uptick in tantrums since we started this, but not toward the potty. He was just short fused with other stuff. I'm sure it's a lot for him to absorb. He was sleeping a lot more this week, too. Buddy must think this potty stuff is exhausting!!
Again, while I don't like the way the author writes, the method WORKS.
If you think you're ready -- ask a friend if they have the book already.
Or, it's about $15 on amazon.
I plan to update this blog in a few weeks about the rest of our progress - I just wanted to document our experience while it was in recent memory.