Toddler Tricks - 25

Ways to Trick your Baby:

Problem:  Congratulations!  Your child is pooping in the potty!  What could possibly be the problem there?  Well, I don't know about you, but after years of wiping the stuff, cleaning the stuff, and otherwise handling it, I find nothing more gross than carrying it from the chamber pot to the actual toilet to flush.  And, sometimes, it sticks.  It sticks.  It's something that just turns my stomach, and I don't know why, but I hate it.

Solution:  This is pure common sense, and I'm sure almost everyone but me must have been doing it right off the bat, but for some reason it took me weeks to figure this little simple gem out.  Before you dump the offensive-smelling treasure into the toilet, pour some water from the tap into the bucket and swish it around a bit.  The excrement usually slips right out without sticking or clumping or making you ineffectively wipe at it before you give the potty a wash down.  This tip is gross all around, but it's seriously been a lifesaver for me.


Ways your baby Tricks You:

Problem: Now that they are using the potty regularly, they're realizing it's not as fun to sit on the potty as it is to play.  You may go through a week or two accident-free, then, suddenly, the kids are peeing their pants again.

Solution: Pick opportune moments to suggest the potty, then slow down activities so that there is nothing more interesting going on.  You may choose to suggest the potty, then sit down and read a book right near the receptacles, clearing all other toys out of the way.  Usually, your suggestion will be met with a no.  Don't force them to use the potty.  If you've waited until after two, like I did, you should be able to talk to them after they've declined.  Tell them that if they don't use the potty now, they'll have wet pants later.  They will most likely test this postulation a few times before getting it.  But I've found that now they accept my potty suggestion when I remind them that their pants will get wet because there's no diaper there to protect them.

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