I didn’t plan to potty train my son until summer.
But then … quarantine.
What better time to potty train?
Seriously, it's like these days were made for potty training. We are facing days on end at home and that’s often the ticket to successful learning. So, with nothing but time on our hands, we declared it Potty Training Week for my 2-1/2-year-old and got to it!
For months, my son has been interested in the potty, so I knew potty training earlier than my other boys — who were closer to 3 when they did it — was within the realm of possibility. If I’ve learned anything about potty training, it’s that the child really needs to lead it. Start too soon and it becomes a battle. Or, in the case of one of my kids, you try and try and try and then give up and end up doing two rounds of potty training: one when you wanted to and another when they decided to.
My youngest was clearly interested
He'd been following me into the bathroom for months, was infatuated with toilet paper and flushing, climbed onto the potty before bath time, and on occasion, wore a pair of his brother’s boxer briefs just for fun.
Since I'm limiting runs to the store, I didn’t buy any pull-ups and I had long ago let go of our child-size potty. I didn’t even have any fun candies to incentivize him. Apparently, we were going full throttle with a stack of his brother’s too-small underwear and our home’s three toilets!
On the first day, we put on underwear and a T-shirt first thing. Skipping pants made one less thing to juggle when we ran to the potty a hundred times that morning. I explained to him that he was a “big boy” and big boys use the potty. I even added that we could give his diapers to his cousin, since he would only be wearing cool, big-boy underwear now. He thought that was a great idea.
After lots of trips to the bathroom, lots of cheering, a few messes, and near constant hand-washing, we chalked the first day up as a success! We even attempted naptime in just underwear! Risky, but hey, what else am I supposed to do these days for a little thrill?
We talked about listening to our body all day long
We drank lots of beverages. We read stories about going potty and even found a few YouTube videos and songs that played into our week’s theme.
Day 2 went even better than the first and the third day was near perfect. Then, I got a little lazy. Day 4, we regressed some because I forgot to be as prompt with the potty reminders. He had been doing so well, but was obviously still new to getting to the potty on time. We rallied, though, and got back on track. By Day 10, the only mess we had was a sink and counter full of bubbles because I left the bathroom while he was washing his hands and he went to town with the foaming soap pump. Rookie mom mistake.
I’m so happy I took advantage of the time at home in this way
I can’t accomplish a lot right now, but helping my youngest graduate from diapers will definitely be a highlight of this odd season. If the idea has crossed your mind to potty train during your family isolation, go for it. As long as it's fun — no one needs an extra stressor right now — and your child has bought into the idea, there's really no better time.