Thursday, June 22, 2006
UnToilet Training 101
If the child is between 1½ - 3 yrs old don't try to keep the potty training going from the orphanage- even if they said your child is totally dry.

Let them regress back into diapers until they are older and then slowly start up with the toilet training again.

Don't get angry if they aren’t successful at first, but be diligent in having them sit on the potty periodically- Just for fun, not to stress out over.

Use pullups, not underwear. Underwear will only frustrate you. Eventually they will want to go to the potty themselves towards the 3-4 yr. age and then you can switch over. Teach proper hygiene. (Of course their will always be that unusual child that is truly potty trained at 1 ½ , but don’t plan on that child being yours)

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Written at 6/22/2006 08:42:00 AM by Jennefer .
3 comments
3 Comments:
Blogger 6blessings said...
This is an issue I am interested in and would love to see more posts on. Our boys were 4, almost 5 when we saw them, but one of them had an accident about an hour into our visit, nothing major, but a little. I have bought a bag of Pullups to take with us on our trip. I'm worried about any change in diet, stress, etc., that might cause diarrhea. I know they are a little older than the ages you listed, but I wonder if they will have any trouble. They are still very tiny (about 27 pounds).
22 June, 2006 12:15  
Blogger Jennefer said...
Kim- I wrote this as a sort of summary of all of the "advice" given to the mother of the 2 yr. old on the adoption thread that I mentioned. However, I don't know how this might apply to an older child. I would definitely try to find some answers before you go. I would think that you should allow for some regression even though they are older, but I don't know the best way to go about it.
22 June, 2006 20:29  
Blogger Jenni said...
This post is so true...Our 3 year old son was "fully potty trained" at the orphanage, but became completely un-potty trained his first night with us. Poor little guy was so traumatized about his new situation, and he regressed. We had him in pull-ups for a few months, and then began re-potty-training him (after he showed some interest and refused to wear pull-ups). Once he was ready to use the toilet again, he was potty-trained in a week! He still is a little afraid of public restrooms, but we are working through that as well.

One tip I discovered accidentally - whenever our son had an "accident," I would rush to get him into clean clothes right away. Then, one day he wet his pants, and I wasn't able to attend to him immediately because his sister had just gotten a cut on her hand and was in far more need of my soothing at that point. So, my son had to walk around in wet pants for about 5 minutes. He HATED it (although, I must admit, it was a bit amusing to see him walking around, trying to keep his legs from touching). After that incident, he became potty-trained (during the day). Coincedence? Maybe. I'm just glad to not have him going through 3 pairs of clothes a day anymore!
24 June, 2006 08:33  
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