Potty Training in a Weekend

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Potty Training in a Weekend - It's A Myth!
by Sharon Hurley Hall

Potty training, toilet training – whatever you call it, the process takes far longer than you might think. Yes, there are some marvels who get the whole thing done in a weekend. My friend's son woke up one morning at the age of two, announced that he wouldn't be wearing diapers any more and thereafter never had a dribble out of place. He's the exception.

In spite of what the parenting books tell you, potty training does not take a week, nor even a month. It takes years. After all, the goal is to have our little darlings behave like adults and to be freed from the tyranny of not only diapers, but anxious looks and quick reminders. It's my theory that that process can last a long time. For me, potty training takes place in three stages.

Stage 1 is the ready, aim, fire stage, which usually happens around the age of two to three. This is the stage at which we leave potties ostentatiously around the house in the hope that our offspring will sit when they need the bathroom. The more active parents may tackle their child at the first sign of imminent bathroom activity and throw him or her onto the nearest potty. This stage is often accompanied by story reading, games and anything that will keep the child on the potty. There are also a lot of wet floors – I won't even talk about the other –

The second stage is when the child has mastered using the potty and is ready to graduate to the toilet, either with a child seat or without. This is a damp stage too, as the process of getting out of clothes and getting the lid up can test any child's bladder control. They're still learning, so they don't know how much time to leave to accomplish the necessary before sitting on the seat. At this stage you often hear children say: 'I need to go now!' By the time you hear that, it's often too late – another cleanup job for mum or dad.

At this point, most parents think that their child is toilet trained. It's true, they aren't wearing diapers during the day and they don't have many accidents, but you still have to remind them to go at regular intervals and they are almost certainly still wearing diapers at night. Adult style bladder management is still some way off, I'm afraid.

The third stage is when you and your child decide to go for the big time – no nappies at night. Take my advice and buy a rubber sheet. This is a very wet stage. Any late night drinks, undue excitement or nightmares can bring on an accident. If you're lucky, you'll manage 5 or 6 dry nights a week. If not, it's back to diapers till it's time to try again. Despite already being 'toilet trained', it may take several attempts before your son or daughter is ready for this.

Ok, so your child is out of diapers altogether, but the training process is still not over. Want to know why? It's because your child still needs to take full responsibility for his or her toileting. That stage takes a long time to achieve. Some children don't get there till eight or nine. If your child wakes you at night because he needs to go to the toilet, hang tight, you're nearly there.

When your child passes through this stage, she will be able to know when to wake up and go to the bathroom, flush, wash her hands and go back to bed without waking you. He will know whether he needs to go now or whether it can wait a while.

In other words, your child will have achieved the nirvana of full bladder control, adult style. OK, you might give the odd reminder before you set off on a long trip, but otherwise you can stay well out of it. Free at last!

Hire Sharon Hurley Hall to write posts like this for your blog or web site. Sharon is a professional web content writer and blogger who writes about parenting, travel and much more. Follow her on Twitter:@shurleyhall.

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