I really don’t want to talk about poop. This is my blog, supposed to be about my life. My non-kid life. Poop should go to Paul’s Page. That’s the page about the kid’s life.
But as I consider possible blog entries I could write, blog posts that might have some relevance to my current, everyday life, this is the post that keeps coming to mind.
What does that tell you about my life?
It started with Signing Time. Volume 2 has a sequence dedicated to “Potty.” (Can I tell you how much I hate that word? If I hear the segment, I reinforce that the word is “toilet.”) So Paul now has the sign as a part of his every day vocabulary. Maybe I should say “every hour” vocabulary.
Then a few months ago, I saw a “potty training flyer” at the doctor’s office when I was last there. It suggests saying things like “The pee/poop needs to come out!” at appropriate times. So I have been. Like those times when his face turns all red and he gets that look of concentration? Good time to mention it.
Paul loves the toilet. He gets very excited if someone says “I need to go to the bathroom” and he likes to follow the person in, hand over some toilet paper, and help get the hand towel for drying the hands after washing. The entire time, he blabs about something that he thinks is important.
I think he’s telling the person to make sure and get the pee out.
At 21 months, I really didn’t think Paul would comprehend the machinations of his body. I figured I had another year (at least) of such talk before it sank in.
For the last few days, he’s been saying “toilet” and we go and sit. But he doesn’t even wait. He just grabs the toilet paper and flushes the toilet. So I figured it was just a game for him: take off diaper, sit down, wipe, flush, put on diaper.
Today he came running to me, signing “toilet” as usual, with the same non-success/quick sit. Then about ten minutes later, he came running in even more eagerly, again signing “toilet.” I realized that he had come because the poop was coming out. It was kind of exciting to realize that he really did notice the happenings of his body. This is a very good sign! Maybe he’s always running in because something is coming out: he just hasn’t figured out the “it’s about to happen” moment yet.
And yet, this means I’m entering a new phase of poop. No longer will it be contained in a tidy little diaper. Don’t get me wrong; I’m very excited. I’m going to go get a kid-sized toilet seat and a box of Pull-Ups.
But then again, is this just a teasing stage? Is he going to regress very soon again? I’m suspecting that this is a “this is new” phenomenon and he’s going to be very tired of it in a week. Maybe starting now will just prolong the cost and bother.
What do the other mothers think? Is 21 months way too young to even consider beginning this process?
No, he’s not too young. If he can understand the concept, he can be trained to use the toilet. It takes longer when you start younger, but I think you should encourage him. Let him try; we call it “practicing” at our house. Keep a positive attitute and someday he’ll turn the corner where you decide it’s time to put the diapers away. He will probably be interested for a while and then lose interest. Don’t make it a battle.
I only have 1 kid’s worth experience, and it is different with each, but Cole learned how to use the toilet around age 2 1/2. Then we practiced a bit (wearing underwear). He learned to wear them for a while and learned that if he had an accident they felt wet and uncomfortable. Some days I would ask if he wanted to go to the bathroom or wear underwear and he cried and said no, so I didn’t make him. We were moving in the middle of prime potty-training age and I didn’t want to stress him out, so I didn’t push it. But then I asked him one morning if he wanted to wear underwear and he said yes. He wore them for the morning, then got a diaper in the afternoon. After a few days, he was wearing them all day, then a month later we tried wearing them at night. So he learned the concept, practiced some before he was ready, then when he decided he wanted to, he was potty trained. I didn’t give him any rewards during the first phase, but when he actually started doing it on his own I gave him miniature marshmallows as a reward.
That’s my long 2 cents. Hope it helps.
If he can recognize his body mechanics enough to know when its about to happen, great! Try the <strike> potty </strike> little toilet seat–you should decide, though, if you are going to use it just when he makes the sign and decided to when he feels like it, or if you are going to sit him on it at half hour intervals. That is the difference between “practicing” and training, I think.
Hey thanks for your two cents, Holly and Jenny.
I don’t want to make it a battle. Since he can’t even take off his own pants, I feel ridiculous considering it. But I think I’ll start with encouraging “practice” for a few weeks and see if he remains interested.
I bought a training toilet seat for eight dollars today so now he won’t fall in the toilet. It has Winnie-the-Pooh on it. Ryan thinks that’s hilarious. A real “Poo”h chair.
I’d encourage him when he mentions it, like just a fun little game to try when he wants, to build the idea that using the toilet is a fun, grownup thing to do. But I definitely wouldn’t try to get serious about it or train him to go without diapers.
angela, that’s what it’s come to. I don’t mind! It’s exciting that that is a particular fun game right now. I imagine it’s going to be a while yet…
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