I've Survived Day 5 of Potty Training

A week and a half ago, we were challenged in our parenting class to begin potty training our toddlers. Up until that class, I had felt like I didn't want to commit to it, but my teacher presented a very straight forward, do-able method which, for the first time, caused me to take it seriously. I took the potty training challenge, and today, Day 5, I can report we've had much success.

Here's the technique. You go out and make a big deal out of buying underwear and treats to reinforce. Then, once you put them in underwear, there's no turning back (except for nap or night time). You fill your child up with plenty of liquids, and then every 20-30 minutes, you say "It's time to go potty" --NOT "Do you need to go potty?". Give them an opportunity to go, and eventually, it's bound to happen in the toilet sometime, because they've been drinking so much. Then you make a huge deal of it and give them a small treat. Food can be a very powerful reinforcer. Pretty soon, they'll learn to associate the feeling of needing to go with going to the toilet, and they'll begin to wait until they get there. And of course, they'll associate the going with the treat. It's also extremely important that when they do have an accident, you are really laid back about it, and just say "oops, it was an accident" and clean it up. If you get angry, they will associate the feeling of shame with potty training and won't want to do it. And I guess once they start waking up from naps and night time dry, then you can put them in underwear at those times, too. Not bad, eh?

I am very proud of Paulo. The first day, he pee pee-ed in the toilet five times standing up and only had three accidents. the next day was harsh because we had our first poo poo accident. Gradually, he has learned to tell me before he goes, and he rushes to the toilet to pee. He even shooed me out the door one time because he wanted to do it on his own. He has successfully peed in a public bathroom at the doctor's office, has learned to pee and poo poo sitting down on our toilet. I am so impressed.

I must say, though, that I had no idea how intense it would be. At the end of the third day, I looked in the mirror, and this is what I looked like.
I've had little time to do anything else. It's getting better though. Paulo has learned to hold it a little longer. I'm just so proud of my big boy. He is such a fast learner.