Challenges of Potty Training

Whoever says potty training is easy, is not sharing the whole picture. Potty training is a learning process and there will be challenges along the way. Here are some of the challenges that I faced and how I survived them. 

Going Out and About

I really struggled with hanging around the house with just the potty for company in the first week of potty training. But going out felt impossible. The first couple of times that we went out it was a team approach with a sympathetic family member. I knew the worst thing that could happen was a wet patch and on the scale of things it really wasn’t a big deal. But just when my bag was getting lighter, it filled up with changes of clothes. The first couple of outings were to the park or understanding relatives and really it was fine. I’d built it up to be more daunting than it actually was. They weren't completely puddle free trips but we all survived.

It took a while before I returned to the supermarket with Little Lady because I was terrified of her announcing that she needed a wee in the frozen food aisle at the furthest point from the toilets. I quickly converted to internet shopping which was infinitely more practical. We did eventually return. I picked my moments and encouraged a wee before we went. I also meanly limited Little Lady drinking huge amounts from her favourite straw cup whilst in the supermarket- this could have spelled disaster.

I took a potty with me when we went out and about. I think that very few people actually do this but the stress of finding a toilet and waiting in a queue was too much! Initially, I took a small potty that we used at home before purchasing a travel potty with disposable plastic liners. It took a moment or two to set up the travel potty but it  fitted  easily into my usual bag meaning that I didn’t have to trundle around an extra potty bag!

In the car, amazingly, we have only had one accident. Again, I tried to encourage a wee before we went out anywhere. I used an old towel as a cushion in the bottom of the car seat because washing a car seat is a major pain. (I know!)

Nap Times

Nap time presented another challenge. As part of the routine before nap time, Little Lady would sit on the toilet or potty and have a story. She usually produced something and this helped her to go long enough during her nap. She wore a nappy during her sleep and if it was dry afterwards she was rewarded with lots of big girl praise and a small chocolate. Her nappy was usually dry unless she has drunk an exceptional amount during lunch. When we were out of our normal routine and she was likely to nap in the car or pushchair, I did put a nappy on her. Again giving lots of praise if the nappy was dry when we took it off.

Illness

About a month into Little Lady being trained she picked up a sickness bug. I was absolutely dreading it becoming diarrhoea as well but we largely escaped.  We did have some regression in potty training during this time. I have a friend whose theory is that children regress slightly in what they are able or willing to do when they are ill. This was definitely true with Little Lady in other areas such as the range of food she ate or her willingness to feed herself when she was younger. During the bout of illness she had a couple of accidents.

As Little Lady’s illness subsided she went back to where she had been with potty training. There was a temptation to put a nappy on whilst she was ill but I knew deep down that this was a bad idea and resisted the temptation. She had a couple of occasions where she needed to go on the potty pretty quickly and produced a very loose poo but she still managed to let us know!