Big Sister stares out into the room. Her eyes full of concentration. "Peeeeeee!" she says. And then I hear the tinkle of pee hitting the water in the toilet bowl. She claps her hands and has the biggest smile on her face. She is so proud of this accomplishment. I put my hand up and she gives me five. I, too, am very proud of her for this accomplishment. Not only has she managed to pee in the potty but SHE told ME she had to go.
That is a huge step. That means we are moving into a new stage. Now she not only knows how to control her bladder but she also knows how to listen to it. This is awesome. And it has only been three weeks. I am so impressed. This is the thing that generally takes kids the longest. And it is the thing that I am always so anxious to move on to. See, I hate listen to people bombard a kid with, "Do you need to go potty?" "Don't you think you should go to the bathroom?" "When was the last time you went to the bathroom?" etc, etc, etc. I mean really how would you feel if someone asked you questions like that all the time? It would make me crazy. So, it is always my favorite thing when a kid I am potty training starts to ask to use the bathroom. That is when I know we are moving in the right direction.
The down side to this stage is it also means that she will not necessarily go when I want her to. If we are heading out the door and I know we are going to be in the car for 30 minutes I want her to go potty before we leave. She does not think she has to and she refuses to sit on the toilet. She does not understand my logic. She is also experimenting with how long she can hold it. And sometimes, she thinks she can hold it longer than she can. But, truthfully, accidents do not bother me. Not at this stage anyway.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says that a child is not considered fully potty trained until they go six months without accidents. With that in mind we have a long way to go before she is completely potty trained. But to my mind a child is fully potty trained when they make it through most days without having any accidents. And that is about where we are and certainly where we are headed. I am happy and content with this. I think she has a lot to be proud of herself for, I think she has accomplished a lot and I think she is doing really, really well.
That is a huge step. That means we are moving into a new stage. Now she not only knows how to control her bladder but she also knows how to listen to it. This is awesome. And it has only been three weeks. I am so impressed. This is the thing that generally takes kids the longest. And it is the thing that I am always so anxious to move on to. See, I hate listen to people bombard a kid with, "Do you need to go potty?" "Don't you think you should go to the bathroom?" "When was the last time you went to the bathroom?" etc, etc, etc. I mean really how would you feel if someone asked you questions like that all the time? It would make me crazy. So, it is always my favorite thing when a kid I am potty training starts to ask to use the bathroom. That is when I know we are moving in the right direction.
The down side to this stage is it also means that she will not necessarily go when I want her to. If we are heading out the door and I know we are going to be in the car for 30 minutes I want her to go potty before we leave. She does not think she has to and she refuses to sit on the toilet. She does not understand my logic. She is also experimenting with how long she can hold it. And sometimes, she thinks she can hold it longer than she can. But, truthfully, accidents do not bother me. Not at this stage anyway.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says that a child is not considered fully potty trained until they go six months without accidents. With that in mind we have a long way to go before she is completely potty trained. But to my mind a child is fully potty trained when they make it through most days without having any accidents. And that is about where we are and certainly where we are headed. I am happy and content with this. I think she has a lot to be proud of herself for, I think she has accomplished a lot and I think she is doing really, really well.
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Thanks for your kind words! I love hearing from you.