Potty Training

Melanie was fully potty trained by 20 months.  I knew kids each had their own time schedules so I didn't put any pressure on Kate, but she got interested fairly early just from observing Melanie use the bathroom.  We got her an Elmo potty that said encouraging phrases when she sat (in English & Spanish!) and she liked it at first, sitting on it all the time, in her clothes.  But she did not like to sit without her diaper on, so that was a bit problematic, though I just let it go, figuring she'd get around to it eventually.  We moved into our own apartment and got a special child seat that could sit on the regular toilet seat since she wanted to be a big girl.  But she refused to use it or the Elmo seat anymore.

She was now able to come tell me when her diaper was wet or dirty and insisted on being changed immediately, but still refused to sit on either potty.  She became familiar with her body's signals and would go in a corner to hide while having bowel movements, but refused to come do it in the bathroom.  We got an Elmo Uses the Potty DVD, which she loved, but no inspiration.  I recognized that she was a very willful child, so I just let it be and never put any pressure on her, knowing she would just dig in her heels if I did.

Her 3rd birthday came and went, and about a week later she walked up and told me she didn't need diapers anymore, because she was a big girl now.  I seized the moment and took her straight to her dresser to pick out a pair of her pretty new princess panties which had been waiting there for her.  She picked out Sleeping Beauty, her absolute favorite and "best friend" at the time, and was extremely cautious the rest of the day to keep Aurora from getting wet. Those first 2-3 days, we set a system by which she got to have a Skittle every time she sat on the potty (to encourage trying) and another one if she actually went.  She knew enough to stop her urine flow after a little dribble, wipe and leave the bathroom, claiming her Skittle, and then come back in 15 minutes to do it again!  She only had one accident that day, and only one the next, and was through with diapers just like that!

Stubborn little dickens!  Her ability to work the system for as much candy as possible proved she was more than capable of controlling things and must have been for a while, she just didn't want to be bothered until she was good and ready!