Potty Training: Take Two?

When T and I decided to start potty training with Tiny, it was an easy decision to make. I had done a bit of research and knew that she was showing at least a few signs of readiness. Buba, on the other hand, was showing zero signs of readiness. And so we decided that we would just focus on Tiny and wait until Buba was ready. However, after trying the three day plan (with some modifications), and having such great success with Tiny, we figured why not give it a try with Buba. After all, the three day plan says a child need not show signs of readiness as long as the child is 22 months or older. So we decided to go for it. Three more days at home and big kid underpants for all.

Unfortunately, potty training with Buba this past weekend was not as successful as the weekend before with Tiny. We stayed right by his side and watched him like a hawk, but still had an extremely hard time getting him to be successful on the potty. And the few times that we did get him there in time to praise his efforts, he could not have cared less. Twice he tried to get up from the potty in mid-pee to go off and play. There just seemed to be no connection for Buba that he had control over his bodily functions and that he could make them happen while sitting on the potty.

We stuck with it for the weekend, but by Saturday afternoon, I knew that I would not be going ahead with day three. I am even more convinced now that Tiny’s quick success with potty training had more to do with the fact that she was ready than the combination of methods I used. Being consistent in helping her practice using the potty that weekend made all the difference in potty training her, but in the end, I truly believe that she was easy to potty train because she was ready to do it.

I know that someday Buba will be ready too. It might be in a few weeks or it could be months away. In the meantime, I’ll continue watching for those readiness sings. And once he’s ready, we’ll try again.