The Proof is in the Potty!

Guess what arrived in my email in-box last Thursday! And given the fact that I’ve been posting about potty training since the first of the year, it’s incredibly timely! It’s the email below from Vanessa, a mom from Prince Edward Island in Canada, describing her own success with our potty training kit, Potty Training Made Easy with the Baby Signs Program.

"My daughter started this program exactly 1 month ago, she is now 1 yr and 2 weeks old! She had never signed before and now proudly uses all 5 signs from the DVD. We have not changed a poopy diaper in 3 weeks, and she even stays dry during her naps! She has an average of 2 accidents a day, some days she has none! This was a wonderful way to train her, she has never cried or been frustrated. We will be saying buh-by to diapers any day now! (She’s not even “old” enough to fit into commercially available “pull-ups” or training pants J)."whe

The DVD she’s talking about features our animated Baby Signs DiaperDoodle characters climbing aboard the “potty train” and demonstrating the important components of the “potty routine” while also modeling five relevant signs:

1. Interrupting play to notice the need to go POTTY,

2. Walking to and getting on the potty,

3. Detecting when they need to go MORE and then are ALL DONE,

4. Hopping down to WASH their hands…

5. And feeling proud of having done a GOOD JOB.

Add to these demonstrations real children modeling the signs and catchy music, and you’ve got a resource that obviously inspires even 1-year-olds to follow the DiaperDoodles’ lead.

So, how about helping the toddlers in your life climb aboard the potty train? With our help, it’s not as hard as you think it might be!

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.

Co-Founder, the Baby Signs Program

and

Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

Potty Training and Emotional "Readiness"

Emotional readiness for potty training means a willingness to cooperate. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the likelihood of such cooperation increases after the first birthday with the emergence of the following:

• A desire for independence and self-mastery
• An interest in imitating others
• A desire for approval

Once these fundamental characteristics in place, all that’s necessary is motivating children to cooperate. In other words, anything that increases the willingness of toddlers to embrace potty training automatically creates the emotional readiness that the AAP says is essential.

So, how does one help a 1- to 2-year-old get excited about potty training? Here at Baby Signs we’ve given that question a great deal of thought. Based on what we know about development, what we’ve experienced ourselves with our own children and grandchildren, and what we’ve heard from many parents, we’ve put together a set of materials designed to do just that—inspire even 1- to 2-year-olds to “climb on board the potty train.” They are all included in a kit entitled Potty Training Made Easy with the Baby Signs Program.

A highlight of these materials is our All Aboard the Potty Train DVD featuring our popular DiaperDoodle characters who slowly act out a typical “potty routine” that incorporates five helpful potty-time signs: POTTY, MORE, ALL DONE, WASH, and GOOD JOB. Additional motivational components include a lift-a-flap board book, conductor’s whistle and stickers.

To review: If children are physically and cognitively “ready” for potty training between ages 1 and 2 and can be inspired to cooperate using fun materials, why wait! Help reverse the diaper-industry-inspired trend toward later and later potty training by getting your child out of diapers by age 2. Your child, the environment, and your pocketbook will all thank you!

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.

Co-Founder, the Baby Signs Program

and

Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

Potty Training: What About Cognitive Readiness?

In my last posting I pointed out that the American Academy of Pediatrics cites three factors as indicators that a child is “ready” for potty training: physical, cognitive, and emotional. In that post I focused on physical readiness, pointing to the fact that children used to routinely be trained by 18 months as clear evidence that children are physically ready much earlier than they are currently given credit for.

Today I’m taking a closer look at the second factor: cognitive readiness. According to the AAP, in order to actively participate in potty training, children must understand what it is they are supposed to do and be able to communicate about it. That is, be able to:

1. Associate the need to eliminate with using the potty
2. Understand simple instructions
3. Signal an adult when they need to go

Again, the fact that children in the past were routinely trained by 18 months indicates that the first two of these abilities are both available quite early and certainly by 18 months.

As for signaling an adult, that’s easily dealt with through the use of simple signs! Just as children can learn to let their parents know when they feel the internal pangs of hunger, thirst, and even illness using simple signs like EAT, DRINK, MILK, MORE, and HURT, they can equally easily signal the urge to eliminate using a simple sign—POTTY. We’ve seen it work ourselves and have heard success stories from countless parents.

Bottom line? Using simple signs helps provide children the “cognitive readiness” they need to take and active role in potty training even before they can talk.

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.

Co-Founder, the Baby Signs Program

and

Professor Emeritus, UC Davis