Patience, persistence and the right tools can make potty
training a whole lot easier
n By Kelly Savio Staff Writer
Once Makenna Deeth celebrated her second birthday, her parents began showing her a DVD called “Once Upon a Potty.” Two months later, they began her potty training in earnest.
“Originally, we gave her a musical potty, but it was too much for her,” said Julie Deeth, Makenna’s mother. “It would play music whenever she sat down, and she didn’t like that. So, we took the batteries out and she did much better. After that, the hardest part was just getting Makenna to sit down and stay sitting long enough to actually go to the bathroom.”
To get Makenna to stay put long enough to use her potty chair, Julie and her husband, Dan, started giving her stickers to put on a chart or a few pieces of YoGo snacks, a dairy treat for kids.
“Whenever she went, we made a big fanfare over it, and more and more she got the idea of what she was supposed to do,” said Julie, a Hollister resident.
As the Deeths’ experience with their daughter illustrates, potty training can be a patience-testing endeavor for both parents and children. But with diligence, persistence and the right tools, kids can be diaper-free in a matter of weeks.
All of the things the Deeths did to encourage Makenna to start using the potty instead of her diaper are great tools for any parents if their child is nearing 2 years old, said Dr. Christine Levan, a pediatrician at the Gilroy Kaiser Permanente Medical Center.
“Start by reading books to your child about potty training or showing them a video,” Levan said. “The books and videos will usually show a little boy or girl using the potty. They can sometimes get a little graphic, but they need to be if a child is going to really understand the process. Have discussions about the potty. And never make pee or poop a yucky or dirty thing, or it will make children more fearful of the process.”
Talking about how grown-ups, older siblings and other, older children go to the bathroom can also help the potty training process, Levan said. The Deeths used this technique by pointing out to Makenna how the older kids at her daycare go into the bathroom to go potty rather than using a diaper.
This technique also worked well for Gilroy resident Jennifer Barbaglia. Her two younger children, ages 3 years and 18 months, want to be just like their oldest sibling, who is 5. Jennifer’s 3-year-old, Nate, picked up the idea of potty training in a snap, she said, and her 18-month-old, Mia, already looks up to her big sister, 5-year-old Gina.
“I’ve gone through potty training twice and I’m about to do it a third time, and the most important thing I’ve found is to let them move at their own pace,” Jennifer said. “I also have to make sure the bathrooms are set up for the kids. If they’re going to go potty, they have to have the tools to do it. I make sure there’s a little potty and a stool for the big potty. Sometimes, the big potty can be too scary for the kids if they’re just starting, so I give them options.”
To help make the big potty a less intimidating place for small children to sit, make sure to get a potty seat for the big toilet seat to alleviate the fear the child may have of falling into the toilet, Levan said.
“One thing that’s important to remember is that the toilet flushing can be very scary for a child,” she continued. “You don’t want to ever flush the toilet when the child is sitting on the toilet. They’ll think they’re going to be swallowed.”
The extra powerful flush of public toilets was particularly frightening for Jennifer’s children, she said.
Changing over from diapers into big-kid underwear is another big step in the potty training process and can also be used as an enticement for children to learn to use the bathroom.
When it was time for Makenna to get her first pair of panties, Julie took her shopping and let Makenna pick her favorite pair. Julie and Dan made a big deal over the first time Makenna wore her new panties, telling her how proud they were that she was wearing her special underwear.
“The specialness wore off pretty soon, but it was helpful for the training because it was really uncomfortable for her whenever she had an accident,” Julie said. “As soon as she felt that she was wet, she’d start saying, ‘Pee-pee-pee-pee’ and didn’t like how it felt. In diapers or even in Pull-ups, it was still comfortable if she had an accident. She couldn’t feel that she was wet. We’ve still got a little work to do on poo-poo, though.”
When asked if she knows how to use the potty, Makenna nodded her head shyly. She also nodded and smiled when asked if she goes potty like a big girl now and is happy to lead guests to the downstairs bathroom to show off her Dora the Explorer potty seat.
Other Tips from the Pros: Parents Who Have Been There
From Julie Deeth
– “Whenever Makenna has an accident at night we don’t get upset, but we do have her be a part of the clean-up process when we change her sheets and put clean ones on her bed.”
– “It’s important to get everyone involved. I talked to Makenna’s daycare provider who worked with her on the potty training during the day.”
From Dan Deeth
– “We bear in mind that it’s a learning process for us, too. We learned really fast that bribery was a great way to get Makenna started with potty training.”
From Dr. Christine Levan
– “Let older siblings of the same sex take the younger ones going through potty training into the bathroom with them so the younger child can watch how to do it correctly.”
– “Never scold for accidents because that makes potty training a negative thing. The process is just like a child learning to walk. They’re going to fall down; you just have to encourage them and go over the process with them again.”
– “Pull-ups can be an excellent transition tool because they help children get used to the act of pulling their underwear down and going through all the correct motions, but they still help when a child has an accident.”
– “Most parents know their child’s pattern of going to the bathroom, like right after a nap or after dinner. Around those times, ask a child, ‘Why don’t we go to the potty?'”
From Jennifer Barbaglia
– “You really have to plan. Know where every bathroom is when you go places. And just expect that as soon as you get in line at the grocery store, the kids are going to need to go. Planning ahead is key.”
– “I learned really quickly that you can do all you can to start potty training, but you have to go at follow (the child’s) lead. You can’t rush them, you can’t try and plan potty training according to your schedule. You just have to stick to their schedule, whatever that is.”
