Ok why on earth would I call this "From Diapers to Desasters" ? We have covered potty training a few times in our blog files. After all potty training is something every parent lives through. So why call it disasters then?

Lately I have had an over whelming complaint going on around me about mom's and dad's who have done everything on earth to potty train their child and
it just is not working right.

I have two parents that called me up and said "Shar my child is pooping on the floor." One mom was in tears. She had done everything right. She had already potty trained two of her nephews for her sister. She had trained her first child with no problems. But this second one was not having a terrific time at learning the concept of using the potty.

She had given up twice and went back to diapers. In my point of view that was her first mistake. We talked about that. Her son just figured if he did it on the floor or in his big boy pants that he would get his trusty old diapers back.

So the third time should be a charm. NOT. She would wake up in the morning and set her little boy on the potty. She would even sit on the big potty with him. She would run water and say lets go pee pee. After several minutes and no pee pee. She would get off the potty and go about washing his hands and fixing some breakfast. She said after breakfast she would take him back to the potty.

She said she tried several times during the day to do the potty with her son. When he did achieve and use his potty she praised him and gave him a treat.
Which is good for assuring him that using his potty was positive behavior.

Ok now seems like mom is on track so what is the problem? When she is going about the day she finds he has at some point during play time took his big boy pants off and pooped on his bedroom floor. Usually in corners. So how do we let her child know that this is not an except able behavior?

1.) Never clean up the accident by yourself.

2.) Bring the child in to the room and show them
what the problem is. Ask them what that is on the floor? Ask them who did it?

3.) Of course they are going to act like they have no clue. But toddlers learn from repetition and good verbal orders.

4.) Take your toddler into the bathroom and get toilet tissue. Take them by the hand and clean up the bobo. Walk them back into the bathroom and put it into the toilet. Then flush.

5.) Each time this happens make them help you clean it up. Eventually you will hand them the tissue and let them clean it up and take it to the toilet and flush.

6.) While you do this look your child in the eye and say this belongs in the potty. This is why we use the potty chair.

7.) Try to track your child's bathroom needs. What time he or she usually goes potty in their diaper. Take your child to the potty at the same time each day. As close to the needed time for bathroom relief as you can guess.

8.) Remember retraining is not easy. It will take time and they will make the same mistakes over and over. That's why being consistent in cleaning it up together and making sure they know poop po goes into the potty is so important.

This type of habit is what I would call a potty training disaster. Sometimes the child may be observing the bad habits of a family pet. However they have decided to repeat this action. It is one that has to be addressed and corrected as soon as possible.

But don't fret. There are always puppy pads ...smile.