Our holy grail book for potty training was the “Oh Crap Potty Training Book.”
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Critical Feedback
I was not the biggest fan of how the book is organized. There are multiple “blocks” which your child will progress through as they learn skills such as **Block 1: potty trained while naked. Block 2: potty trained with clothes on. Block 3: Outings** I may not have the wording exact, but there are at least 5 blocks. I was kind of hoping that each block, or at least the first few major ones, would have their own chapter. They are all within a single chapter of the book which makes finding the specific block information hard to find. I mean, a simple post it would suffice in marking where to look for the blocks, but still. I might come back to add more…but notice the only critical feedback I had was about the publishing of the book, not the content.
Oh wait…one last critical feedback. I am a father and although the author does acknowledge that some dads may play a larger role in potty training, if you are a father, you just have to read the book as if she is talking to you and gloss over any indication that she is just talking to moms. It’s not a big deal and I really only noticed when she had a specific part of the book for dads. I get it, some dads are just really busy but hey, some moms are also really busy. I reality, the first few days work best when all caregivers 100% prioritize potty training. The author says it pretty clear, something like ‘potty training is a life skill and is very important to teach your child. They will be okay if they miss a music class or a play date to learn such a valuable skill.’ We decided to wait until after our second child was born to potty train our first child. I can probably write another post about this. The point is, my wife was focused 100% on our 3 month old so I took the lead on potty training (of course she helped greatly, but it was not her main priority). Potty training can certainly be done with just one parent, even if that parent is a dad.
Why I Loved This Book
If you truly follow the advice and guidelines in this book, I truly believe that you will have a very successful transition from a diapered baby to a potty trained toddler (full disclosure, we will probably wait a bit to nighttime potty train). Ultimately, I loved this book because it begins with talking about the mindset of the caregivers while potty training. This may seem like you can skip over, but I assure you some of the best parts of the book are in the mindset chapters. If me and my wife (and Au Pair…more on that in another post as well), had not read the book or even if we just researched strategies online, I am confident our potty training journey would not have been as smooth. Of course you can potty train without this book, but it makes it SO much easier. The author has been potty training kids for I think 20 something years. She has credibility to say the least. Here are my main takeaways from the book (still, you should get the book and read it)
Mindset
When it comes to mindset, the caregivers should treat potty training just as they do any other skill that they help a child learn, like walking. Most kids progress towards walking. They start by pulling themselves up. Then they use furniture to cruise around. Then they start taking steps and try to balance on their own. They fall. They keep learning and growing with positive encouragement. Potty training is no different. Make the time positive and fun for your child. It’s exciting! But you can still play games, eat, have a normal day while learning the skill. Accidents will always happen. The book is fantastic in teaching you how to best respond. Like word for word. We use the exact wording that the book suggests. It helps our child understand what success looks like, that they are learning, but we NEVER say “it’s okay” if they pee or poop on the floor. If I had not read the book, I am sure I would have said that if my child seemed sad that they didn’t make it to the toilet. You can still be positive and encouraging without telling them that it is okay to pee and poop on the floor.
Be Attentive
By attentive, I mean for the first few days, an adult has their eyes on the child 100% of the time. The 30 seconds it may take you to go to the bathroom without them, you will return to a puddle of pee on the floor. Happened to us a few times and we just new we had to re-focus. No phones, no email, no distractions. We put in the work early and often to get to the level of success we have now. You will tell your caregiver the same thing and they will listen but maybe give the child 99% attention and your child will pee or poop during that 1%. Remind your child’s caretaker of the importance and give them some paid time to read the book. Bring your child to the bathroom with you. It will help them learn. Engage your child in every activity you do while they are awake. Cook while they are sleeping or meal prep the day before you start potty training.
Go Big or Go Home
I would not have done potty training this way if I had not read the book. Day 1 (maybe multiple days) potty training is naked day. Butt naked. Seriously read the book, it will go through step by step how to introduce the day to your child and how to have a successful day. This stage is pretty fulfilling. We chose to use diapers for naps and nighttime but the book provides options for both routes. We just have not gotten into a routine of weaning off liquids before bedtime. Think…if you had a couple large glasses of water before bed you would certainly pee during the night. We did not want to interrupt our daughter during her sleep or teach her how to use the potty in the middle of the night yet. We will probably wait until she is 3 or 4 years old for that, I don’t know yet. Anyways, we use zero diapers while our daughter is awake. I think kids will learn much quicker this way. Read the book for suggestions but if you keep your child in a diaper, they can pee with no connection to the fact that they should have used the potty. When they have pee running down their legs or all over their pants, they are like “WHAT THE” this is new, and it creates an opportunity to learn how to use the potty. Speaking of accidents, have plenty of towels for the first few days to soak up pee. If pee gets on rugs, carpets, or furniture, we found a good non-toxic enzyme cleaner. Make sure you get an enzyme cleaner otherwise it won’t really get rid of the smell. We did not even use a full bottle, not even close yet. We also used this Little Green Machine with the cleaner just to make sure we were getting our carpets cleaned pretty good. Accidents will happen, but if you follow the plan that this book lays out, you will have a potty trained kid fairly quick. After the first 3 days, of course you will still have some accidents here and there but it really does improve pretty quickly. I cannot imagine waiting months and months or years to potty train my child because we kept diapers on to avoid accidents. It’s great to teach that mistakes and accidents are a learning tool.
Questions, Comments, Concerns, Complaints?
Feel free to “contact us” with any questions, comments, concerns, or complaints you might have. I am happy to write more about the book or any other aspect of potty training. Let me know!