Potty Train

If you've been at our house the last six months or so, you've seen this picture of the "Potty Train" hanging on the doors of our bathrooms. For about a year now, we've been potty training Taylor, and more recently motivating him with this train track. But it wasn't until three and-a-half weeks ago that I got serious about it.

Call me crazy - James was only about six weeks old, but I had had enough of the gross diapers that accompany a three-year-old. I was never going to be the mom that potty trained by allowing the child to roam naked throughout the house, but that's exactly what I did. I had heard of this method, but the reasoning as I understood it was to eliminate the absorbency of a diaper, so your child knows what it feels like to be wet or soiled. While I can see how this could be effective, I am not sane enough to handle the mess that would accompany such behavior.

So, I went ahead with my own reasoning behind the naked method: If there is no diaper or underoos to "go in" - he must choose the toilet. And gladly I proclaim, for the most part anyway - it worked! Yes, it takes diligence on Mom's part, but it's sooo worth it. This may not work for the "nice mom", but I think my kids understand my temperament and know they can't have accidents. To me, there are few things worse that urine or feces in your carpet.

And so we celebrate! Tonight for FHE, we had Family Out Evening and visited IKEA (for the first time) and purchased LOTS more track for Taylor's trains. He was so excited and we are so proud of him! Good job, Tay!