Adventures in Potty Training - A Reflection

What an adventure potty training has been. I set out on this journey hoping to have my daughter fully potty trained before I had to return to the classroom in September and I think we have accomplished this goal.

I remember those first few days of potty training – boy were they stressful! I thought we’d never master the art of using the potty. I know that you don’t see many typically developing 5-year-olds still in diapers so I knew that my daughter would eventually learn to use the potty but I’m not going to lie, those first few days left me doubting my ability to teach her and her desire to learn! I think about our very first attempt a few months ago and what a terrible disaster it was. There were tears – lots of tears from my daughter and myself. It was a fight just trying to get her into the bathroom and finally after two or three days of crying I decided it just wasn’t the right time. That first attempt left me a bit intimidated by the idea of trying to teach a 2-year-old to use the potty, but I knew I had to try again!

So what have I learned from this experience? I learned that you have to really listen to your child – they will show you signs in their own way to help you know it’s time to start potty training. I didn’t read potty training books, but I did use the Internet to help me learn the typical signs of potty training. I was so focused on the typical signs that I wasn’t paying attention to my daughter’s signs right away. My daughter never cared if her diaper was wet or dirty and it took her a long time to start telling me she needed a diaper change. I also learned that sometimes finding the right motivator takes time. We went through presents, stickers, and so many other rewards before anything worked. I think it took my daughter a while to associate a special treat with using the potty (of course now we are trying to wean off of getting a reward every time she goes to the potty!) I learned that potty training can be a scary and intimidating experience for both my daughter and myself but you don’t have to be an expert to be able to potty train your child. I was convinced for a while that it would be a lot easier and quicker if I could find a potty training expert to come to my house and train my daughter – but in the end, I’m glad that those people don’t exist (or if they do I’m glad I didn’t find any of them) because this really was a bonding experience between my daughter and I and I wouldn’t change it for the world. As a teacher I feel that I miss out on so many experiences and things my daughter goes through on a daily basis during the school year and I am so glad we waiting and did potty training over the summer. I feel closer to my daughter now!