Potty training.
There are few things that bring such mixed emotions to parents and kids than the potty training process. For parents, it’s frustrating to teach, but the payout is so tempting and desired. For kids, it’s a pathway to being a Big Kid, but communication breakdown and confusion with listening to their body can make it really hard.
*This post contains my affiliate links. I was given a complimentary review copy of the book for the purpose of this post. All opinions are my own.
There is another way!
When I was recently given the opportunity to review a brand new ebook about potty training a toddler, I jumped at the chance. It’s called How I Potty Trained My 18-Month-Old In 1 Week and serves as a starting point for others seeking to do the same thing with their toddler or young child. The author is Marybeth Hamilton, and you probably know her already from her blog, Babysavers.
Even though I’m a mom of 4, I am always learning and relearning. It’s also great to be reminded of things that I have forgotten over the couple of years between kids. I also love picking up new tips and tricks to make life more efficient and enjoyable for our family.
There are many sections to this handy book. It’s an easy read at around 30 pages, but once you buy it, be sure to hang onto it so that it can be referred back to during the process!
Sections include:
- Introduction: When is the Right Time to Potty Train?
- Potty Training Readiness
- My 5 Rules for Potty Training an 18 Month Old
- More Thoughts on My Potty Training Experience
- What to Do if Potty Training Isn’t Going Well
- Tips for Avoiding Accidents and Dealing with Them Away from Home
- Potty Training Books and Movies
- Bonus: My #1 Piece of Potty Training Advice
- Plus: day-by-day recaps of the 7 days of potty training
It’s like a ‘day in the life’ with awesome takeaways.
I love how Marybeth Hamilton, the author, gave a total rundown of exactly what she did each day during the process. She’s frank about set-backs that they experienced. The steps she took to overcome the problems are outlined in the book as well.
Besides a step-by-step guide of how she was able to potty train her toddler successfully, she also gives a lot of tips. There’s information on what to do if things aren’t going well. She poses many valid questions for parents to ask themselves to help solve the puzzle as to why problems are occurring and how they can be solved.
She also gives lots of tips on what to do away from home. The end of her book also mentions several book and movie recommendations and other resources for parents.
I wish I had potty trained my 18-month-old.
When my 3rd child was about 17 months old, he became extremely interested in the toilet, potty chairs, toilet seat inserts, diapers, taking his diapers off, handing me wipes, and telling me when he was going to the bathroom in his diapers.
Unfortunately, the timing was bad for us to attempt potty training (or so I thought), as our house was on the market and we were frequently in and out of the home for showings. I was also really distracted with packing, cleaning, and tending to my older 2 kids. It was just too much!
Now my son is almost 4, and we’re still dealing with issues with his potty training. He hasn’t worn diapers during the daytime for quite some time, but he still wears training pants at night and has a hard time “holding it” when he has to go. I wish that instead of dealing with accidents every time we drive somewhere that I had faced this head on back when he was so incredibly interested in being free of diapers!
I have another chance!
My youngest child is almost 16 months old. He has recently started to pay attention to the toilet and is obsessed with a toilet seat insert that we have. He has started to become noticeably uncomfortable when his diaper is soiled. These are all really positive signs that I might be able to start potty training him soon. I’d much rather get it out of the way sooner rather than later.
I will keep my eye out for readiness and will certainly use the ideas that were compiled within How I Potty Trained My 18-Month-Old In 1 Week to potty train my little guy. I know that I can use these tips with my 3 year old, too.
How I Potty Trained My 18-Month-Old In 1 Week retails for $2.99 and is available for .99 right now or FREE for Prime members to borrow.
Marybeth Hamilton says
Wow, that’s quite a review, Jenn! Thanks!
Don’t beat yourself up over the timing of potty training or not potty training your 3rd child at the “right” time. I don’t think I’d be willing to jump into potty training when you had all that other stuff going on.
Best of luck with future potty training of your 16-month-old.
Marybeth Hamilton recently posted…Men’s Fitness Magazine Subscription $3.99 (Today Only!)