Pull Ups has tools to help with potty training

Lately, my mind has been in the toilet.  Potty training is a topic that is front and center to any parent of a toddler.   Toddler Mojo is just over two and a half and is curious about the potty.  For the sake of our potty training lingo, potty mean urination and poop means solid matter.  However, all of these terms are  hypothetical because Toddler Mojo is just starting the process of potty training.

We purchased the training potty.  He sits on it before he takes a bath and that’s about it.  He’ll put his toys in the urinal or pretend to drink from it which is obviously disgusting.  However, as the training potty has never been used this isn’t too disgusting, but will cease the moment he uses the potty for its proper purpose.

Some of the challenges that we’ve face in potty training Toddler Mojo are knowing what to look for, when to time things and how to reward positive steps.  We now know that the ‘when’ is usually about 20 minutes after he eats.  The ‘what’ to look for is when he suddenly stops doing whatever he’s doing.  Sometimes he’s more obvious and at times very subtle, but now that we can tell what’s about to happen we need to get to the next step.

The next step is getting him to the potty before we see that he’s about to go.  We used some of the tips from the Pull-Ups Potty Breaks and they’ve certainly helped.  Some of the tips on the site include Big Kid Timer, that counts down to when you need to ask your toddler if they need to potty.  The timer is good for you and them as it gets you in the habit of asking them if they have to go potty.

What we liked about Pull Ups is that they’re very easy to put on and take off.  They have Velcro on the sides that allow them to be lifted down much quicker than a traditional diaper.  Because they don’t slip over their legs like a traditional diaper it lets the child know that this is something new.

In hindsight, we didn’t sell it well enough to Toddler Mojo.  He needed to know that this was something new and not scary.  We sold it as ‘big boy’ diapers.  Since the initial try we explained it to him as ‘big boy underwear’, emphasizing more of the big boy elements and less on the diapers.  Diapers are for babies, he correctly pointed out to us.

Some of the other tips on the site include kid’s computer games, videos to help parents, check lists, rewards and many more.

If your kids are into Cars then they can also receive a phone call from Mater.  Likewise if yours likes princesses, then they can receive a call from Cinderella.  Our little guy has seen parts of Cars, but didn’t recognize Mater when he called us.  The good news to that is that we need to watch Cars again.   It’s almost guaranteed that your child has seen Cars (or Cinderella) more than ours; you can schedule your own call from them too.

One great thing on the website is The Potty Dance.  If your child has ever seen anything on Sprout they’ve seen a commercial for The Potty Dance.  It’s an infectiously catchy song about growing up and using the potty.

For potty inspiration check out this graphic.  It reminded me that I’m not alone in trying to potty train a toddler and that there are little things I need to do in order to make it more pleasant and effective.

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Pull-Ups. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for participating.