Brief Overview:
The author begins the book by talking about things that Hannah can do by herself such as brushing her teeth and having breakfast. She then receives a gift, which turns out to be a potty. She tries to sit to pee or poop and brings along her teddy. Sometimes she will sing a song or read a book while she waits. Sometimes she tries and there is no poop or pee. There was even a time she had a little accident and wet her pants. Eventually, she gets the hang of it and she is very proud of herself.
Thoughts:
I used this Potty Book with all three of my daughters and liked it a lot. I like how they start off positively by talking about things that she can already do by herself; which can be a great jumpstart to instilling confidence in a child who may not be feeling so sure of if she can do the whole potty training thing. I like how she Hannah brought along something of hers that brings her some sort of comfort, her teddy. Her teddy makes her feel safe. I appreciate the author talking about things that a child can do while they wait, especially when they child is still not confident yet or maybe a little scared to try; sometimes, it takes awhile for a child to sit and be comfortable enough to even try at all. I like how the story is realistic, as often in times during the beginning of potty training, accidents happen. I like how the adult in the story reassures her that its okay and to try again; don’t give up yet. Eventually, Hannah does get the hang of potty training and I like how the author ended on a confident note, where Hannah says “I am proud of… ME.”
I used this in conjunction with Kenson Kids “I Can Do It!” Potty Chart Updated Toilet Training System! (which I purchased off Amazon). I like that the chart was magnetic and stuck well to the refrigerator. The potty training chart comes with stars that can be stuck on with velcro. The set came with a decent potty training story for the child and included a potty song about how “I can pee pee in the potty.”
The only thing I didn’t really love about the chart, personally, was that the rows contain steps on just sitting at the potty first. The second row says I went in the potty. The third row says I flushed and washed my hands and the third row talks about staying dry. I suppose it can help this way with an older child ( maybe ages 3 and up). I started potty training all by girls as soon as they started walking (after 9 months for 2/3 of my kids). The photos and the rows I think would be a little difficult for children younger than 3 to understand.
Love the concept of the chart, but just reinvented how I used it. I treated all the rows as if they were the same. I started with the first row and in the beginning, my daughter received a star just for sitting and trying. A lot of times with poop, they would start out in their diaper, I would catch them midway, and plop the poop in the potty training toilet and have them sit; and they would earn another star that way. Eventually, they all knew to go to the potty as soon as they felt like pooping or peeing. Every time they filled up a new row, they would get a small prize in the prize bin I have at home, filled with stickers or slime ( or sometimes they would get an edible prize such as a chocolate coin or one jellybean). Every child definitely learns at their own pace. For some children, a little wetness will bother them more than others; and I feel they want to pee in the potty more so than others, with temperaments that are more carefree and nothing bothers them much. Let’s just say I’ve dealt with both.
Do you have any potty training tips would like to share with other parents?
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