How can you tell that baby is "ready"?

When my daycare teachers declared that my 21-month old daughter was not “ready”, at first I was angry and disappointed. As I thought about it later, I realized that the question of readiness is debatable depending on who you talk to, what book you read, the culture you’re from and a parent’s personal preferences. I also started to question whether “readiness” is really about the child or the adult. As a parent, when do you decide to teach your child to speak? eat? sing? say the alphabet? Do you have a checklist to let you know if your child is ready? What do we mean by “ready”?

When I started toilet training my older daughter, I waited impatiently for her to be “ready”. Based on the “readiness Signs” I was watching for, I determined that she was ready at 2 years, 7 months in October 2010. By then our second born was 1 month old. My daughter was confused about the arrival of her little sister, she was at the height of a toddler’s search for independence – her favorite word was “No” and favorite phrase was “Me do it”. Additionally, it was the starting to get cold. In the months prior to starting formal toilet training, we read books, watched videos and talked about the potty. Once we felt she was ready, we followed the “Cold Turkey” method. We said “Bye-bye” to diapers, pull-ups day and night. The 5 months that followed were the most stressful part of parenting (someone told me to hold that thought because this is nothing compared to what’s coming in the teenage years!).

For my second daughter, since I will not move her to a different daycare, "Ready" she scores 10/10 on the daycare provider's questionnaire. If this is the goal I've set, then I have to start preparing her early..Give her practice, make the experience fun and positive. She will remain diaper free at home and continue to ear diapers to daycare. I will teach her to dress/undress herself; giver her opportunities to ask for potty...

I think she'll do fine :-)

Comments

Potty ABCs - A is for AWARE - in practice

As soon as my younger daughter learned to sit, at about 7 months, I started getting her to seat on the potty. For a long time, nothing happened – however, I continued and made it a fun time for bonding. I wanted her to be AWARE that potty is a place for "pee" and "poo". However, there was no pressure or even any expectation on my part that she would do anything. One day, when she was a year old, she “peed” in the potty. I was excited and clapped and danced. Every evening at bath time, I would get her to seat on the potty. I had no expectations – I wanted her to have a pleasant experience and associate the potty with good times. We had our “potty” time every evening before or after her bath as well as just before bed time. When Jo was 18 months old, she started to “poop” in her potty every evening after dinner. Gradually, she started to “Pee” and “poo” in the potty at home. Over the weekend, when she’s with me, she wears big girl underwear just like her big ...

🎵 If You Pee Pee in Your Potty! 🎵

🎵 If You Pee Pee in Your Potty! 🎵 (To the tune of "If You’re Happy and You Know It") Verse 1 – Pee Time If you pee pee in your potty, say “I did it!” (Jump) If you pee pee in your potty, say “I did it!” (Jump) If you pee pee in your potty, and you really want to show, That you pee pee in your potty, say “I did it!” (Jump) 🎉 I DID IT! (Jump really high!) Verse 2 – Poo Time If you poo poo in your potty, say “I did it!” (Jump) If you poo poo in your potty, say “I did it!” (Jump) If you poo poo in your potty, and you really want to show, That you poo poo in your potty, say “I did it!” (Jump) 🎉 I DID IT! (Jump really high!) 🎈Optional Add-On Verse – Celebrate Big! If you’re proud of potty progress, do a dance! (Spin around) If you’re proud of potty progress, do a dance! (Spin around) If you’re proud of potty progress, give a high five, take a chance! If you’re proud of potty progress, do a dance! (Spin around) 💃 Woohoo! 💃

ABCs of Potty: B is for Begin

B is for Begin! Beginning the practice of getting your baby to “pee” and “poo” in the potty is an exciting and sometimes scary thing. In order to begin, all you need is a potty or a toilet seat. At this stage, if your child is still in diapers, you don’t have to switch to underwear. Beginning involves taking baby to “poo” or “pee” in the potty. Awareness helps the parent take the baby to the potty when the baby needs to go. When you sense that the baby wants to “go”, be gentle, casual, relaxed. Be free of expectations. The idea at this stage is to get baby to start the experience. Be positive, encouraging and consistent. Avoid asking baby if she would like to go – most likely she will so no. Casually and positively tell baby “hey, let’s go potty”. If baby is completely against the idea, give it a break for a few days and gradually re-introduce the practice. When using a potty, be flexible about where to put it at this stage. Some children like to have the potty in their room, the ...

P is for Potty

Search This Blog