Being a mom, and having fellow moms (and dads) as friends, I’ve noticed that the two words most likely to raise anxiety are “potty training.”
New parents, especially, are inclined to suffer through this landmark stage. We’re so desperate to get to this milestone “on time” that we sometimes forget to see the big picture. We get too involved in the minutiae of the process rather than letting it take its natural course.
There are so many products out there that tap into our vulnerability. The gamut of toilet-training products ranges from actual potty seats to potty watches (yes, watches) to targets (use your imagination) to books.
Will most people need all these aids to help them train their toddler? Probably not. Most likely, you will need just some kind of seat and a large dose of patience. For the types of seats out there, see our report on some potty training products that are available.
My first son, who’s now almost 11 years old, was my potty training experiment. Unfortunately, neither one of us knew it at the time. After hearing from friends and friends-of-friends (nowadays I would certainly consult the Internet, too) that most of their kids were ready to train at around 2 years of age, I decided I would start “training” my firstborn. I purchased a potty and “encouraged” him to use it. He showed little to no interest in using it. I panicked—the new parent panic—and decided to “encourage” him further. Over the next few weeks, neither one of us was too happy with ourselves. It didn’t occur to me that he was simply not ready for it (although it seems awfully obvious in hindsight). I simply thought I was not doing a very good job of teaching him.
Worn out and broken down, I resigned myself to the fact that this was just not going to happen. I completely gave up the potty training boot camp. I didn’t bring up the potty, and neither did he. The subsequent weeks were admittedly happier and less stressful.
Fast forward a few months (no, not days, or even weeks!), and my son came up to me and asked for his potty. I found it, dusted it off, and set it out for him. Over the next few days, he asked to use it more and more. I didn’t reward him with stickers or candy. I did congratulate him on the use of the potty, though. His drive and my congratulations seemed to have been sufficient. He trained himself in a week or so. In hindsight, this seemed like a no-brainer—why did I suffer through this experiment so many months earlier?
I learned my lesson. After my other two sons came along, I knew to wait for their readiness cues. But it turns out I didn’t even have to. Each one wanted to be like his older brother and they literally trained themselves (I occasionally assisted with putting the potty seat on the toilet). They were both done with diapers (during the day) by the time they turned 2 years old. I wish the rest of their upbringing were as simple!
—Ina Gozenpud, associate product analyst
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