Potty training is not something I ever thought I would write about, but here I am wanting to record our successes and failures for future reference. Teaching Special Education, especially with the preschool age group, I come across many parents who ask with pleading eyes for a miracle with training their child. Having never trained a child myself I could only offer what "research says" and what I had "seen work with other children". Now that I've been in the trenches myself I can relate to the desperation. I began to wonder if we'd ever see the other side of this.
Side note: Last year Kindergarten teachers in our district remarked that more and more children (typically developing as well as those with special needs) are starting elementary school in pull-ups/diapers!
I approached potty training with the expectation that it would take time, it would be challenging, but it would also be rewarding. I knew that if we stuck to our guns Leone would be competent by the end of the summer and she would have the independence she is constantly seeking.First let me caution against the idea that children can be trained "in a weekend", "in three days", or whatever else is currently floating around the internet. Those strategies are great for teaching a child how to use the toilet but training is a process. At the end of three days expect that your child knows how a potty works and what goes in it but accidents, frustration (from the child and parent), and bodily fluids (in places you never hoped to find them) are still in your future.
Potty training is challenging BUT as I mentioned before, rewarding. Every child is different and what works for one may not work for another, some may catch on sooner than others, some will look forward to independence others may resist. Any child can come from this experience with pride and confidence and as a new-parent-on-the-block I too "awoke" with a feeling of triumph! It's a rite of passage in parenthood and we have plenty of close-call, "you-won't-believe", belly laugh stories in our arsenal now.
