Having two babies to potty train at once is not a bit fun. Mind you, in the beginning, I was calm and let them do what they wanted when going potty. But then, they both took to going potty as if it were a game.
I have to remind them, "This is not a game and if you fall down while on the potty, you will hurt yoursefl!" Then, they both love the be in our small bathroom, at the same time, watching each other and they always want Mommy to "Sit down" and watch them.
After they do their deed, or lack thereof, the pick up their stepstool and move it under the sink to wash their hands.
As of today, they still are not potty trained.
Last week, we went to Tar'get and purchased some underwear as an encouragment for no more diapers. Did it work? NO! Once in their underwear, they stopped telling Mommy they had to go potty and guess what? That is right, they peed in the underwear and on the carpet or hard floors.
So, it looks like we are back to square one.
Maybe once they are a bit older,they will grasp the concept better. I will give them until November, their birthday, to see if they will understand more.
Potty training twins
Wow, I had a hard time with lots of things, but potty training was not really one of them. We kind of just let them decide when they were ready - which were at two entirely different times. One twin was completely out of diapers by 2 yrs of age (even through the night) while the other seemed to like to sit in the diaper (poop and all) til maybe 2 1/2...but, she had pull-ups for night time for several YEARS after that! The first one never had even a single accident once she got done with the diapers...though we let her wander naked around the house (inside and out) while doing the potty "training."
The MAIN thing that seemed to REALLY "clinch the deal" was when we went over to a friend's house where there were other kids, some a little older, some the same age 2-4 yrs old, and the older ones independently went to the toilet, did their business, while ours went along and watched or mimicked them. All of a sudden, they seemed to know what to do and we never really had to "train" them, it seemed.
I know some kids have a harder time grasping the concept, and some seem to like to be in diapers a lot longer, but it seemed to me that the parents who put more pressure on and tried and tried to get the kids to use the potty, were the ones with the most frustrations.
The ones who just seemed to go with the flow and let the kids do it at their own time and pace (within reason - I wouldn't wait til 5 yrs of age or anything like that - unless there is some medical reason or something).
But just having the little potty available, and allowing the kids to watch or come in when others are "pottying" sort of just sets the example without a lot of pressure.
Some are shy, so group pottying may not be as easy for them either...but if the parents and other caregivers are somewhat nonchalent about their potty or bodily habits, just acting naturally, the kids don't pick up the stress and can more easily try it on their own.
This way there is no judgement, no worry that they are not going to produce when someone else wants them to...etc. They can just do what they need to do when they need to do it.
One of my twins (the earlier potty trained) liked to be naked all the time, as often as possible. This helped when she had to go to the potty as there was no time wasted taking pants up or down, etc. She could just walk in and sit down and do her thing.
I remember only one time where she peed on the floor while in the midst of doing art - naked. She was so engrossed in the art, painting away, she just stood there peeing while she did the work. We caught her, and told her she would have to wear clothing or diapers if she could not go to the bathroom in time. That was it. She never had another accident...EVER again. I remember even putting diapers on her at night, thinking of how much sleep she/we would lose if she woke up in a wet bed, with sheets, blankets, etc. wet. But when her diaper was dry every night for almost a year, we decided she probably wasn't going to start suddenly wetting the bed - and she never did. Not once!
Her sister, though, also learned pretty fast at the potty during the day, but seemed to enjoy wearing her diaper and not having to stop her art projects or whatever to go to the potty. So she took a bit longer...we did NOT push her or try too hard to make her do it sooner. We just let her do it at her own pace.
BUT when she got a little older, and pooped in the diaper and refused to let us change her, THEN we had to give her a choice: "If you want to wear the diaper and poop in it, then you need to let us change it right away so you don't get a rash. Sitting in poop makes your bottom sore," Otherwise, you will need to wear regular underwear and use the toilet."
It took a little while to convince her that we were not going to let her sit in a poopy diaper, but we could not let her endure the consequences of a really bad rash, so we'd have to enforce the diaper changes pretty sternly. Then one day, we just did not give her a diaper, and she went to the toilet. She had been doing it for a while before, then went back to the old comfort of the diaper...but, by about 2 1/2 she finally just decided and began putting on her underwear and using the big toilet (with a kid adapter top). She seemed to like that better than the little port-a-potty kid potty.
So just try having different options available, let them try it out. Try letting them be naked (if it's warm enough) and maybe a treat if they do the right thing. But we were amazed how they would just do what they needed to learn, when they were ready. No amount of pushing ever makes them READY for the next step, but encouragement, modeling behaviour, and having options available are all good...
I tell you, my experience with WEANING was MUCH more difficult than potty training! They were more attached to the breast than the diapers! Potty training was complete at least a half year before weaning was...
Go with the flow...their bodies will grow, their minds will grow, and they will want to do what the big people are doing, in their time when they are ready...I still believe children do better at mostly everything when they are allowed to grow and learn at the pace they are ready for.)
Best of luck...
PATIENCE, a virtue of parenthood
Karen Shaff
Beads of Light
http://www.karenshaff.com
Potty-Training Advice
Hi Karen,
Wow, what fabulous advice! Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with us. I think you're absolutely right that parents shouldn't stress out about it, and kids will follow their cue. Your relaxed attitude about potty training and your success are proof of that!
Susan M. Heim is the author of It's Twins! Parent-to-Parent Advice from Infancy Through Adolescence and Twice the Love: Stories of Inspiration for Families with Twins, Multiples and Singletons.
Potty Training
Potty Training Suggestions
My sister, who does not have twins, has been giving her boys treats, like M&Ms or Jelly Beans as a reward. I think I will begin doing this as well. I just need to go to Wal Mart, purchase a container and a bag of M&Ms.
This is sure to be an encourager of using the potty correctly, right?
Good Luck !!
Potty training rewards
It depends on your children. My sister in law suggested the 3 day naked, don't leave the house rule and every 15 minutes take them to the bathroom and make them try.
I took mine to the dollar store and purchased 10 items each to put into a "rewards" bag so they could pick one each time they successfully used the potty. My kids could care less when I tried to get them to go. They didn't want the rewards, they didn't want to go on the potty.
I switched to candy and used Halloween candy as the bribe. My son was thrilled and went 10 times a day (Sometimes just a few minutes after he had already gone, so we had to change our policy on when he could get candy). He was trained within 3 days. He has only had 2 accidents in a year. He sleeps in underwear as well.
My daughter was not at all interested in the candy. I tried money, chips, different candy treats, offered a bigger toy, nothing worked. She would go sit on the potty and not go, then a minute later pee on the floor. I eventually found that making baths (instead of showers) her reward worked. No accidents all day = a bath. She still sleeps in pull ups.
Tips for Potty-Training Twins
There's an article here on TwinsTalk about potty-training twins that might give you some ideas. Here's the link:
http://www.twinstalk.com/twinstips/taking-agony-out-potty-training-twins
I hope it helps!
Susan M. Heim is the author of It's Twins! Parent-to-Parent Advice from Infancy Through Adolescence and Twice the Love: Stories of Inspiration for Families with Twins, Multiples and Singletons.
Please no potty!
I am having the opposite issue. I am not ready to potty train and I don't believe that they really are either. My boys strip constantly and claim they want to go potty. In reality, they just want to run around naked and they don't care where their stuff ends up. It's driving me crazy! We have tried overalls and onsies to prevent stripping, but all that does is slow them down. They are quick!
Has anyone else endured a stripping stage? This has been going on now for about two months.
Thanks.
Lori
www.lafoster.com