I’ll never forget the time I was talking to my good friend Nikki about parenting when the subject of potty training came up. I gave her a whole ear full of excuses about why my daughter wasn’t out of diapers and completely potty trained yet. I explained that we had tried the gold stars, the M&M’s, the pull-ups, blah blah blah. The kicker was the fact that she was easily going on the potty for the babysitter, without the dreaded accidents I seemed to be blessed with! That’s when she looked me straight in the eye and said, “Pam, she’s ready. You need to be ready too.” Of course she was right and it took making the leap and not looking back to get the deal closed (one very long weekend at home base, extra undies, paper towels and clorox wipes ready).
Everyone seems to have a potty training story and being ready and determined is absolutely key. We’ve just been introduced to a fantastic potty training system called Pot-Tee Prize. The Pot-Tee Prize system gives you all the tools you’ll need to easily and effectively potty train your child in one convenient, cheerful package. This product, created by mompreneuer Janet Harris, has been featured on both TV and the web. Janet says, “Naturally, this critical step in your child’s early development can be stressful and time consuming. Our system adds structure to the potty training process creating a positive and memorable experience for you and your little squirt.”
Each kit includes a gender specific Grab Bag with a chart with stickers for marking potty- training milestones, toy prizes and a diploma to commemorate “graduation” from diapers, along with a guidebook for parents. For a process that can often be a long bumpy ride, a $22.95 package is well worth it. A system designed to make potty training easy for parents and fun for kids! Who knew it existed!
NEWS FLASH!! We are giving away one Pot-Tee Prize complete training system to a lucky Project Nursery reader. Enter to win by commenting on this blog. Follow the steps below:
1. Comment on this post with a humorous potty training story or helpful tip for other parents. 2. If you haven’t subscribed to our daily blog or Share Forum, do so for an extra entry. Just let us know! 3. Contest ends at 11:59pm, Friday, October 17, 2008. CONTEST CLOSED CONGRATULATIONS TO LUCKY PROJECT NURSERY READER AND WINNER HEATHER COLLINS!!
We are going to start potty training our son and this would be of great help :)
We’re trying to train our 19 month old right now! This would be great!
The one thing I find works the best is make going to the potty fun in any way you can, use dolls as a show and tell, tape up a potty chart in the bathroom and use stickers of their favorite things and characters. My son is still working on potty training but it is really coming along great!
my little girl climbed up on the potty and said she was pooping she needed her magazine like daddy.
the key to potty training is being consistent with taking them to the potty :)
My niece would always get the training seat from the bathroom, walk to the kitchen and set it down and go potty.
We’re not there yet, but are thinking about it – we had some peeing and pooping on the floor incidents already. It was gross (but really cute) how upset my daughter was when she pooped on the floor and then stuck her hand in…she knew she should be ashamed of herself!
Thanks!
If you put too much pressure on their poop, they can hold it in. The trouble is, it’s hard to tell that they are holding it in unless you know that’s what they’re doing. Their holding-it-in face can look just like their pooping face.
This is SOOO cool! We are potty training right now and it hasn’t been going too well. One thing that has worked well for us is letting dd run around diaper less. When she has to go she’ll go on her potty. She has yet to go on the floor that way although she may be a nudest when she’s older and if she is I’ll have to take the blame for that. I do have an awful potty training story involving a ruined pair of Elmo undies, messy footprints, baby brother, and a long bath for both kids… I’m sure everyone can figure out where that one is going though so I won’t get into the details. It was pretty bad at the time, but now I can look back and laugh!
Don’t make them sit there forever.
My son is 29 and stil sits there forever.
When my daughter was being potty trained, we tried everything. What worked for us was making a chart and every time she went potty in the toilet she got a sticker. We also cheered so that she felt very special and kept wanting to use the potty. When she got to one week of using the potty regularly with no accidents (we still used pull-ups overnight) we had a “potty party” at the party we got to have snacks and she got to go to the store to pick out a new pair of undies!
Tip: when my 3 yr. old watches her potty video, they tell her to wipe and she’ll unroll a whole roll of tp, you know, so I save rolls that are almost gone, and give them to her. that way she doesn’t leave her video to go do the unrolling of the whole roll and she has her own roll of real toilet paper to practice. It works and has saved alot of tp here at my house!!!
I am a subscriber.
My daughter isn’t quite there yet but I remember when my nephew was potty training. He would always want to sit on the potty but never “go”. So one day he drug his potty chair into the living room floor and sat on it while he watched elmo.
I am the one that needs helpful tips since my daughter is being so hard headed about potty training!! HELP!!
I just purchased a potty my son is 18 months and this would be great!
WELL…we havent potty trained our own yet…we’ll probably start trying after christmas!
So my story isnt that great…but to get him used to the potty we sit him on it before a bath…and he gets a kick out of it and laughs and laughs!
NOW he has a love for the potty…i was getting ready a few weeks ago and had just brushed his teeth…….well he took the toothbrush and decided to brush the potty! LOL..needless to say..that toothbrush is in the trash!
My 3 year old is just not ready. (I’m so ready!) Recently he decided to give it a go because he found out I had some Thomas trains for a prize when he went 3 days without a diaper. (I have some smaller prizes for smaller successes.)
One day, he sat on the potty. I left him for a few minutes and when I returned he told me he missed. He peed on the floor. But he was sitting on the potty. He finally figured out why I tell him to “point it down”.
I rewarded him for his effort since he was ON the potty. When Daddy got home he told him “I got a prize for peeing on the floor!” Um….not quite the message I was trying to convey!
The only advise I have is patience and perseverance
I’ve found that if you leave the potty out months vefore the child is ready it is not as scary as a new object in the house.
Give your toddler opportunities to use the potty.
Use a reward system, with a chart.
It gives the child incentive to go to the potty.
janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com
I stumbled upon your website in doing potty training research. As we are having a very hard time with this. This kit you mentioned sounds great. Too bag we can’t pay someone to potty train our kids, it would be so much easier. lol
We are currently trying to potty train our last child. It’s been awhile for us, as my other child is 16. So we are definately out of the loop and clueless.
We bought Lexi a potty recently. It recongnizes when they potty and sings a song. She has figured out that if she puts a toy in there it will sing for her. lol
I say she is like a dog b/c we will work with her and work with her. First thing in the AM, I take her to the potty as was suggested to us. She gets off and on, off and on for about ten minutes. I think maybe she dont have to go, I will try again in a few minutes and let her run around with nothing protecting our furniture. Then she will run into the hallway and stand there and tinkle. Every time! It’s like she has a spot and I have tried to move the potty to her spot to no avail.
My son is 22 months, so potty training is on my mind….again!
Great we are trying to potty train right now and something like this would help.
I get Kora, my 20mo daughter, to sit on the potty by having a “potty basket” sitting by her little potty. It’s mostly filled with books, some toys, and stickers that she isn’t allowed to play with except when she’s going potty. I also put a small kitchen stool in front of her little potty to use as a table to rest her books on. It’s easier for her than trying to keep them on her lap. She wants to sit on the potty all the time!
When my son was potty training he was infatuated with the “CARS” movie…so we were having trouble going #2 in the potty so I started purchasing the cars from the movie he didn’t have and used them to bribe him and luckily for me it worked like a charm!
My sister is having a difficult time with her daugher who turned 3 in June…she does NOT want to go #2 on the potty so I will be giving her this great prize if I win.
gratefulsoul at hotmail.com
I subscribed to your feed :) (and was already a member of the share forum)
I don’t have a potty training story yet, as little man isn’t quite there, but the tips have been great (and the stories a little scary, lol). As for tips, my mom has purchased a little “target” for him for when he gets old enough to learn how to go in the toilet. And as I learned from one of my friends, don’t interupt/talk to little boys when they’re standing up and doing their business – they turn to look and so does what they’re holding…both she and the floor were covered.
I have three in diapers and am not looking forward to the task and have been putting it off! I really hope I win this, it might just be the incentive I need!
Hmm… I’ve tried to potty train my son numerous times now… he’s very capable just not motivated. He thinks it’s fun when it’s before a bath or bedtime but looses interest when I have to remind about it during the day:)
Hmmm, my favorite story?? Probably this last attempt when he was trying to be potty trained and my 19-month-old partially potty trained herself during the week!! So while bringing her to the potty I lost track of where my son wandered to… yep, his favorite pooping-in-his-pants spot!! I ask him, “what are you doing?” And my 2 yr old responses, “making stinky in my britches!”
Whay do they have to be soo cute when they have accidents??
All I can say is peeing on the wall.
My daughter thinks she has to have a magazine in her hands to go to the bathroom. As long as she goes I’m happy!
Now I can not begin to tell you how much I need help with this
I look at Potty Training…and crindge. It takes a lot of time, patience, and it can be messy. I’ve always heard to let your kids run around outside w/o diaper or pants and they will learn. Never tried it because seems too gross to me! I think reward systems work and would love to get my 2year old rollin on this b/c baby #4 is due next month! Thanks!
A friend of mine is trying to potty-train their child and the child is winning. They have tried everything from praises to punishment – nothing seems to work with this child.
Thank you for this great contest and prize!
get plenty of picture books to look at while waiting
I love the idea to put cheerios in the toilet for boys to ‘target practice!”
My son still needs to be potty trained. He don’t want to wear underwear but does not mind using the potty once in awhile. I wish I had tips but it’s been forever since I last potty trained my daughter and it just seems impossible to potty train my son. For awhile he wouldn’t even sit on the potty till I gave him a calculator. But he has since lost interest in the calculator.
My best tip is try to potty train in the summer months. It makes life so much easier.
well my easiest potty training was my second becuase he hated diapers and ripped them off and decided he was a nudist- the potty soon came after but the fact the diapers were not his thing saved us alot in money on diapers and washing, but he did like the praise- each child has been different..my biggest advice to others patience and encouragement- I have seen some moms with 4 year olds still in diapers- that is lazy
subscriber
I am just starting to think about potty training now that my daughter is 18 months old. I am going to buy her an elmo potty because she LOVES sesame street. I don’t have any potty stories yet but I have plenty of diaper stories!! I would love to win this to make the process a little easier & more fun!
wow i realy love to try and win this so i may give it a try with my little one whos going to be geting strted it well may help her out a lot thanks
I’m a subscriber too, at katwalck at hotmail dot com
I’m dreading potty training, even though my son is only 6 months old. I grew up in a house with 4 boys, and I always remember lots of potty issues, like not lifting up the seat and bedwetting. I hope things don’t repeat themselves with my little guy!
I’ve heard that it’s good for a boy to watch his dad go pee. Is that too creepy? I would guess that kids learn by modeling adult behavior, and since most boys want to be like their dads, that it might be the incentive they need to start potty training. Plus his dad would be the one to teach him, getting me off the hook!
My daughter really liked the Boon Potty Bench. When she was first starting to potty train, we even kept it in her room at night so she wouldn’t be afraid of having an accident on the way to the bathroom. We didn’t use any incentives with her but I can already tell my son is going to need some motivation when the time comes…
we are subscribers and we blogged it here:
http://www.prizeatron.com/2008/10/contests-for-october-12th.html
stickers and charts worked for us! this would be a great gift to my niece that is currently potty training!
thanks!
moore.g@insideconnect.net
I’ve subscribed with google reader :)
I think focusing on the positive and making it a fun experience helps! Sing songs and give lots of love!
We havent started potty training yet and since this is my first I am no help. But everyone says wait until they are ready, but how will you know?
I have to give credit to my son’s wonderful teacher. She really encouraged me to be “serious” with my 2-year-old’s potty training. He’s been so good the last 2-3 weeks… with less and less accidents. He hasn’t had an accident in over a week, and only wears a diaper at bedtime. Those first few days were crazy though— accidents everywhere – on the carpet, on the carseat, even right outside the bathroom!
Our 4 year old pretty much potty trained himself – he knew when he was ready and did it (fully potty trained at 2 yrs 8 mos, 1 motnh after baby brother arrived)! However, I have a feeling our 2 year old is not going to be so easy – he’s stubborn and doesn’t care if he’s dirty or not. Would love to win this!
Well…I don’t have any potty training stories or tips because we haven’t really started yet. My son is just 2 and not really “there” yet. We’re getting there though, and I’m so proud of him that he at least likes to sit on the toilet and “try.” Anyhow, I thought it was rather humorous that when my son was only a year a waitress in a restaurant told me her “best tip for potty training” boys…”to put a fruit loop in the toilet and tell him to ‘sink it.'” Lol! I was in a bit of shock that she would just volunteer this little tidbit while we were eating, but…whatever. My hubby and I got a good laugh!
My daughter is 19 months old and she understands the concept of “pee-pee” and “poo-poo” and points to her diaper and says those words. She sits on a potty and enjoys the idea of it but has yet to really use it – only a few times. But it’s fun, and we are just easing her into it. I want her to feel comfortable, and when she’s ready, she’ll potty train.
Great idea. My grand-daughter is at the potty training stage right now, with little success. This might really help. Thanks for the chance.
Let the kids feel like they are in charge! Kids at potty training age also tend to be defiant so if they think they are running the show things go much smoother!
Subscribed!
I have ou on my blog reader!!
I don’t have any potty training stories yet cuz my kid is only 15 months. My grandma taught all my uncles how to pee in the toilet by ‘shooting’ Cheerios! LOL
Kritta22@hotmail.com
i didn’t think I would ever be able to get my 3 year old potty trained! but one day we were out of diapers and all i had was the new underwear we just bought. so i told my son he had to wear the underwear from now on. and he said “ok. no more diapers!” that was that!and he has only had about 3 accidents! crazy kid! i guess he was just ready!
this pack would be great for my 2 year old. he might not be as easy!
I have a 17 month old who I recently purchased a Fisher Price Potty. It sings to her, flushes, and has become part of her every day. At first she thought it was fun to flush and sing. She says My Potty….Now she goes and sits on the potty after she tells me she does “P ewww”. She is getting the concept, but I am not rushing. She has yet to go on the Potty but she is comfortable knowing that it is okay. She is the reading the Potty book and I am easing her into it.
I am a subscriber.
=) melanie
http://melaniescrafts.blogspot.com
melanieadey at hotmail dot com
All I can say is take your time. It didn’t take that long to potty train my son, but I didn’t rush him. He was potty trained by 3. My daughter is not quite 2 and has shown some intrest. This would be fabulous!
=) melanie
http://melaniescrafts.blogspot.com
melanieadey at hotmail dot com
My daughter is 2 1/2, and still hasn’t shown much interest in potty training, I think she’s getting closer, but I don’t want to rush her if she is not ready. Hopefully soon! Great giveaway, thanks.
I subscribe, too…not sure if that counts for a second entry! :)
If you haven’t discovered “Babylegs” yet then you must check them out. They are great for potty training as you don’t need to worry about getting pants off in time. Simply let your child run around in a diaper at home and the Babylegs will keep them warm…and they look adorable!! m_huston(at)hotmail(dot)com
don’t rush a child if he/she is not ready because you could do more damage than good
Everyone told me that I needed to potty train my first son. I tried and I just felt he wasn’t ready – he had no interest. So I waited and then one day he saw a video in the store with a little boy on toilet and he wanted to watch it. Voila! We went home, watched it and believe it or not, that was it. He was just ready I guess. He didn’t even wet the bed ever! I just think you need to let your child tell you when he/she is ready. Why fight a losing battle? I assure you he/she will not graduate high school in diapers!
I’m a subscriber, too!!
Oh fun!! We’re in the process of potty training our little guy right now, so this would definitely come in handy right now!!! Can’t wait to see who wins!!
I am also a subscriber! :)
I haven’t started potty training my daughter yet but will be soon. My only tip that I have right now is to put a little potty in the bathroom and just let them get used to seeing it and sitting on it. Even if they are sitting on it with their clothes on.
Try potty training rewards. It worked great for our son. He loved pushing the audio push button hearing he is a Big Boy and opening a door to find a chocolate surprise. He really became involved. He was peeing and pooping in his potty within a week. It is very inexpensive too at $4.99. I know every child is different, but have a look and see if this would work for you. http://www.pottytrainingrewards.com
I am a subscriber!
mommyhoodisthankless{AT}gmail.com
legacyofbrutalitysa{AT}gmail.com
My daughter is still potty training, well I am trying to train her any way. She isn’t really happy about it and has started holding her poopy and she got constipated. So I had her on the toilet and was coaching her like some kind of messed up birthing coach to push. “push that poopy out, push push push” I felt ridiculous but she eventually went, poor thing.
mommyhoodisthankless{AT}gmail.com
I gave birth to my second child conveniently when my first child decided he wanted to be potty trained. I can look back and laugh now, but it wasn’t funny when my newborn slept through the night from 1 month on and my 3 year old was waking me up every 2 hours. It was aggravating at the time, but also a really great time for me to learn patience in the middle of the night. He told me just last week that sister need to be potty trained and that he’d be the big brother to teach her how. Unfortunately he doesn’t realize the anatomical differences of “going” standing up and the necessary need of sister having to always sit down!
I’ve been subscribed in my Apple Mail for a few months now so hopefully that counts for an extra entry as we’ll be needing this kit for sister!