Saturday, January 19, 2008

Pick A Potty!


The time has come to begin potty training and we are trying to figure out which one to use. As you can see, we have 4 options (I inherited these from friends/found at consignment sales). From left to right: contestant #1 is the widest but the handles are low; #2 seems fine; #3 lights up, plays music, and flushes; and #4 is the insert option on the real potty (with a step stool...but Matthew has prob turning around on to sit down). So what do you think...what has worked for your little boy?

6 comments:

Casdok said...

Wow!!
Go with your gut instinct.
Good luck!!

Unknown said...

I have no experience b/c Austin is totally not ready for this but I think the seat on the big potty would be best if Matthew is one who loves routines and things to stay the same. I have heard stories about kids who get trained on the little potties and then are scared of the big potties when they have to go somewhere other than home.

TheFiveDays said...

We tried both when we started potty training Jacob. I preferred the regular toilet because I'd rather not have had him learn on a potty seat and then have to transition to a regular toilet. But it was not to be. The regular toilet was a little too high up and big for him at first, it seemed. He wanted to sit on it, but I think he felt like he was going to fall in! He seemed to feel more secure with his two feet on the floor!

So we started with a little potty seat and used that for a good 6-8 months before moving to the regular toilet. He actually had no problem with the transition and seemed to be ready for it.

Regarding the seats you have, I'd just see what he seems most comfy on. I think stability is the most important feature. Also, for your sake, you might want to check out how high up the front "pee guard" goes (not the technical term, that's just what I always call it!!). Too high and he risks an injury if he doesn't sit down carefully. Not high enough and you'll be cleaning even MORE pee off the floor (you'll already clean up enough of it, no need to add more!). Our potty seat had a removable "pee guard" and Jacob just played with it and would take it out himself. So if I did it over I'd find a seat with a permanent one.

GOOD LUCK!!!

GFCF Mommy said...

I agree, stability is key. What worked for us was your bottom photo version, the seat with handles on the "big" potty and a stool under his feet. We tried the kiddy potties, including one that played music if one "performed" but that just became a toy.

Actually for us, the problem was not really the potty itself, but the method. The Prince picked up number one (for him, standing was preferred right form the start) fairly easily, but number two, that was a struggle. He had real sensory issues that created challenges.

I won't go into it here, but potty training our son was harder than getting a college degree! There is a book called something like "toilet training from individuals on the autism specturm" or something similar that helped.

Good luck! I hope it is easier for you than for us. But when it is accomplished, it is worth it!

Katherine

Essential Amy said...

We had option number two but I never put in the batteries to avoid potential for annoyance and/or distraction. We were very faithful in our aba style potty training, every fifteen minutes yada yada. Eventually he got the hang of it, plus they were very consistent at his school, we all had to take data. To be honest, once bubs got the hang of 'standing up' which I have to attribute to his dear old dad, he really started to become successful.

Anonymous said...

I have just completed with success this journey with Ry so it's all still fresh in my mind. We started with the light up potty and while it was fun to press the button and listen to the music the boy has never peed in it...lol
The lightbulb finally went off when my father in law had him Christmas Eve and just kept taking him to the potty with him. Within 4hours Ry was standing up peeing. After months and months of failures on my part all it took was someone with the correct plumbing, cold weather and skittles and he was good to go. :-)
Good luck to you. Matthew is still a little young so don't get to discouraged if it doesn't click right off. Once he's ready and has his feelings he'll go. Oh yeah and no more diapers I also took Ry to the store to pick out character underware and he really liked that.