RE: Toilet Issues

[Guest guest]

I did the same with my son Marcia did with hers, but I did wait until my

son's poops were 'normal' and I think it made a big difference. My son has

CP, too, so I had to put him on the potty every 30 minutes in the beginning,

but by day 2 I felt confident enough to go out in public (with our 'car'

portable potty) tucked in the stroller.

Kristy

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Marcia

Hinds

Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 9:43 AM

Subject: Toilet Issues

When he was young my son never gave me an indication one way or another that

he was ready for being toilet trained. Since I had another child, I just

started training him without waiting for the signs. He was three in a half

and I woke up one day and said, " I guess it is time for to learn to be

toilet-trained. "

I did the same thing with him as I did with my daughter. I put up a piece

of construction paper on the wall of the bathroom. I made a big deal out of

picking out stickers at the store. One kind of sticker was for " Pee Pee "

and one for " Poopie. " We also picked out " big boy " underpants. (Although

he didn't act like he cared we still did this.) I stayed home for two days

and put him in the underpants (not pull-ups because our kids do not like

being wet) and when I had to go I would put him on the toilet too. My needs

reminded me not to forget to put him on the toilet.

We read books about " the potty " long before we ever started training. The

first time he used the toilet, we danced around the house, called Dad, and

were singing with delight this stupid song that our family always sings when

something great happens. Within two days, he was trained for daytime. I

didn't even attempt nighttime until he woke up dry. Then I yanked off the

diaper and put him on the toilet. If you wait for signs, it will never

happen.

That is part of the problem with these kids. I never knew one way or

another if he was listening or understood a thing I said. I think parents

sometimes stop talking to their kids because they don't get an indication

one way or another that their child is listening. Don't make that common

mistake.

The hardest thing I ever did was to keep talking to a kid that was

unresponsive. It wasn't until he was older that I realized he understood

everything I said, but didn't know how to respond or show me he was

listening. Also be sure to never talk negatively about him in front of your

child. I will forward to you some articles and the letters I used to get

school services my son needed.

Hope this helps,

Marcia