Baby Signs® by Bryn

Leia Mais…

Potty Training is something no parent really looks forward to and they usually have no idea how it's going to go until they start. I'm secretly jealous of those who tell me stories of how their child potty trained themselves in one day and never had an accident. I don't know what kind of personality or gene trait that child has but MY children don't have it. There are a lot of methods and ideas out there on potty training your child. Because every child is different, some of those ideas work great while others fall flat on their face. That's the big secret of potty training is finding the right motivation-whatever it is that makes the potty fun.

I've come up with a few creative potty training ideas to help parents for when the stickers and M&M's don't work. I'd love to hear your creative ideas and what worked/didn't work for you.

Potty Races
This one could work with just one child or if you're potty training multiples. You can use little potty seats or the big potty, whichever you like. The idea is that it's a race. Pick your starting point and say "On your marks, get set....GO!" And you both go running to the potty to see who gets there first and sits on it. Then go back to start and do it again. You can have a "prize" for whoever gets there first but the child might just enjoy the race. This should help your child be more familiar with the potty in a fun and creative way, while also teaching him/her how to get there quickly and sit.

Water Play
Another thing you can do is go to the dollar store and buy some really cheap toys, like bath toys, cups, and boats. Put them in a basket or decorative box and when your child sits on the potty, let them pick a brand new toy. Place the toy in a small tub of water and let them play with it. You can set the tub on a small step stool, if they're on a little potty, or on a tv tray if they're on the big potty. The idea is that the splashing and water sounds (especially if they're playing with toy cups and scooping up the water and pouring it back in) will help them go pee. Many times the sound or touch of water will instinctively trigger the need to go pee. Keep a towel close by if you try this one as water might go other places than back in the tub.



Dolls that Wet
You could buy a doll that wets or, in my opinion, use a doll you already have and sneak in the pee and poop. Basically the idea is the doll drinks their bottle and then they pee on the potty. Make sure your child sees the doll drink and have them take them to the potty to go pee. The child will hopefully catch on to the idea, especially if you give them a drink and remind them of the doll, then take them to the potty and tell them to do what the doll did. As your child potty trains the doll, then the routine will be reinforced in their mind.
If you have a hollow plastic doll, then you can always poke a hole in its bottom and mouth and try the same thing.

Hide and Seek Potty
This only works for little potty chairs. Hide the potty chair somewhere in the house and have your child find it. You can tape some sort of small reward to the chair for finding it. Then have them sit on it. This should hopefully help them become more comfortable with the potty and learn how to "seek it out" when the time is right.



While on the Potty...
If you stay with your child, which I would suggest in order to keep them there, while they sit on the potty play games with them or sing songs. You could have a felt board or chart with different songs to sing and the child can pick the song. You could even have symbols for the songs, like a cut out of a bus for "Wheels on the Bus," and put them in a basket and let them pick them out and hold the symbol while you sing. You can play peek-a-boo, I spy, or give them a toy they only get to have while on the potty.

Ride the Potty Train
Another unique motivator, is the Baby Signs Potty Training Kit. The kit comes with reward stickers, a book for the parents, a board book about going potty for your child, a DVD and a train whistle. The DVD is great because it shows the potty routine, as well as potty time signs. The catchy songs and signs can be a great tool to helping you child get on the potty. Of course, when your child sits on the potty they get to blow the train whistle - CHOO! CHOO!
I've written other posts about the kit so I won't spend too much time here.
If you'd like to purchase the kit click here.

Leia Mais…

To Celebrate, I'm giving away a Baby Signs® Potty Training Kit!

Yes, seriously, it's National Potty Training Awareness month. I know what you're thinking, what in the world do I need to be made aware of? I'm very well aware that I am in the process of (or need to) potty train my child. Well here are some Myths and Facts about potty training you may or may not know:

Myth: It's easier and healthier to potty train your baby if you wait until they're ready (about age 2 or 3)

Fact: The truth is, potty training a baby under the age of 24 months is actually easier than potty training an older child. Why? Because as children get older, they want to make more and more decisions on their own. This natural progression towards independence is healthy, but it also often sets the stage for a battle of wills when it comes to potty training.

Fact: Babies will potty train at the age parents expect them to train. Historical and cross-cultural practices clearly demonstrate that babies can train as early as 5 months. Training a baby that young is indeed possible, but very time-intensive. Because of the time commitment required, this approach is not practical for most parents. The Baby Signs® Potty Training Program, however, provides a compelling alternative to very early or very late potty training. By helping babies learn simple potty-time signs, the Baby Signs® Potty Training Program makes it easy for parents to both begin and end the whole enterprise before age 2.





Baby Signs Potty Training Kit Includes:

• A Parent’s Guide to Potty Training Made Easy with the Baby Signs® Program – This straightforward parent guide from trusted child development experts will help you confidently lead your baby to potty success.
• All Aboard the Potty Train DVD – With its catchy tunes, delightful animation and Baby Signs® Kids, this exciting DVD will teach your baby five potty-time signs and reinforce each step of the potty routine.
• All Aboard the Potty Train Lift-the-Flap Book – Your baby will love discovering the potty-time signs hidden under each flap in this fun and interactive board book featuring the DiaperDoodles™.
• Job Well Done! Stickers – These colorful reward stickers feature fun images and positive messages such as “Good Job!”, “I’m on the Potty Train!”
• All Aboard the Potty Train Conductor’s Whistle – Whether to signal it’s time to go potty or to “sound the trumpet of success,” this fun-to-blow whistle will put a smile on your baby’s face when it’s potty time.

As I said, in celebration of this month's potty training theme I've decided to run a drawing for a Baby Signs Potty Training Kit, which retails at $39.95, for all those who sign up for one of my Potty Training Classes this month. Check my class schedule page for dates, times, and other important information.

After signing up for a class, here are some things you can do to earn extra entries in the drawing (you must sign up for a class first or these don't count):

• 1 Extra Entry - Follow me on Facebook (if you already do, please email me and you get an extra entry!)
• 1 Extra Entry - Follow me on Twitter (email me your twitter name)
• 1 Extra Entry - Tweet about the giveaway (post the direct url in comments)
• 1 Extra Entry - Post a comment explaining why you hope to win the Potty Training Kit.
• 1 Extra Entry - Write a post on your blog about the give away and link back to my blog. (post the url in comments)

The giveaway will run through till midnight June 24th with the winner being announced Fri. June 25th. Winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be notified via email. Winner will have 48 hrs to contact me before another winner is chosen.

Good luck!

Leia Mais…

Looking for ways to help the Environment? Consider potty training before age 2.

Think it's not possible? Consider this:

Before disposable diapers were invented, 95% of all children in the US were fully potty trained by 18 months.

Think it's Hard? Consider this:

Children are naturally more cooperative before the age of 2. They like to imitate parents and siblings. And they haven't discovered the word "no."

Here are some videos that will help you learn more:

National Geographic: Impact of Diapers on the Environment
Introduction to the Baby Signs Potty Training Program
The Baby Signs Potty Training Program on THE DOCTORS

Real Life Comments on Facebook from moms who are potty training before age 2:

My 12 month old just signed potty for the first time today while watching the Potty Train dvd. He actually asks for the dvd by bringing me his whistle and then dances and watches intently for the entire thing. Thanks for the encouraging tools!

My 10 month old just signed potty while watching her dvd too! And she really loves the whistle. She gets to play with the whistle when she goes potty. She thinks it's really funny so it's a good positive reinforcement for going potty.

EARTH DAY COUPON! VALID THURS. APRIL 22nd ONLY!


Save $10 on the Baby Signs Potty Training Kit. Just enter the Coupon Code: 10bucks


Order your Potty Training Kit Today!

Leia Mais…

When my oldest daughter was about 18 months old I started asking my friends and family about potty training and when I should start and how do I know if she's ready. I got all sorts of conflicting answers. Some were surprised she was not potty trained yet, while others said wait until she's 3 or 4. So I decided to wait until she was 2 1/2 years old. It was the worst experience ever. There was a lot of mess, a lot of temper tantrums and battles of will, and more. It was not easy. It was difficult. I assumed that potty training was just that way. It can never be any way else: it's just horrible by nature.

Then I had another baby, a boy. When he was about 14 months old or so, I stumbled upon the Baby Signs® program and incidentally, the Baby Signs® Potty Training program. It talked about a revolutionary new way to potty train before age 2. I decided to give it a shot and bought the potty training kit. I started training my son at 17 months old. I figured it wouldn't make potty training any worse, at the very least it might help a bit. But I wasn't sure if he could really potty train before age 2. I was amazed. Potty training was actually FUN! It was fun for me and my boy. It was so much EASIER with the Baby Signs Potty Training kit. I read the book that came with the kit and learned so many things that I didn't know and didn't understand the first time around with my daughter. The book was written by child development experts Drs. Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn with Ann Supanklang, M.Ed. It gives wonderful advice on the entire potty training process and answers many parents frequently asked questions. I often wish I had had this book and this kit when I was potty training my daughter. Since I can't go back in time, I hope to help others become more informed on the benefits of potty training so they don't repeat my mistakes from my first potty training experience. I also hope to share in the fun and ease I got to enjoy the second time around using the Baby Signs® Potty Training Kit with my son.



Top reasons to Potty Train Before Age 2:

• Avoid a battle of wills
• Avoid an ingrained habit of going potty in a diaper
• Avoid "crash course" potty training to meet preschool deadlines
• Avoid health problems such as urinary tract infections and chronic constipation
• Helps the environment by reducing the amount of diapers going in landfills each year
• Saves money
  

Later Training Is Problematic for Parents and Children
Since the 1960s, diaper companies have actively promoted a ‘modern approach’ to potty training in which parents are advised to wait until their child is “ready”—sometime after age 2—to start training. This advice implies that later potty training will be easier, with children practically training themselves. In truth, potty training after 2 is actually more difficult. Why? Because, as the term “the terrible twos” implies, this is an age when children begin to say “No!” to everything. As a result, potty training all too often becomes a battle of wills, especially because eliminating in a diaper has become a well-ingrained habit that’s hard to break and also because parents, frantic over looming preschool deadlines, frequently resort to pressure tactics. There are other consequences of late training as well, according to Dr. Susan Goodwyn. “After age 2, children develop the ability to experience shame and embarrassment about bodily functions which can lead to additional problems, such as low self-esteem and stoolwithholding,
a tendency that can result in chronic constipation.”

Later Training Is Bad for the Environment
Later potty training also results in many more diapers in our landfills—1500-2000 more per child per year, with each diaper estimated to take up to 500 years to decompose. In addition, according to the National Geographic documentary “Human Footprint,” manufacturing a year’s worth of diapers for a single baby requires 759 pints of crude oil, 286 pounds of plastic, and 1.8 large trees. What’s more, laid end to end, the number of diapers used in one year in the United States alone (18 billion) would circle the world 90 times! While some parents believe that changing to cloth diapers alleviates the negative impact on the environment, many experts cite serious concerns about the increased use of energy, water and chemicals required for laundering cloth diapers. Clearly, decreasing a child’s stay in diapers by a single year—from 36 to 24 months—would have asignificant and very positive impact on the environment.

New Approach Aims to Reverse Trend
Concerned about the detrimental effects of later and later potty training, Dr. Goodwyn and Dr. Acredolo developed an innovative new approach—Potty Training Made Easy with the Baby Signs® Program—that makes early training not only possible, but also fun and easy for parents and babies. Based on their 2-year investigation of potty training practices, they concluded that the ideal age to start potty training is around 12 months. “Because this is a time when verbal language is limited,” says Dr. Acredolo, “and because effective communication is important to successful potty training, we saw a natural role for our bestselling Baby Signs® Program. By using a few simple potty-time signs, babies can easily tell their parents they need to go potty even before they can talk.”

Success at Any Age
Potty Training Made Easy with the Baby Signs® Program has been field tested with children from 9 months to 4 years with great success. Jennifer Macris, a mother of five who used the program, says, “I potty trained my four older children before using this program with my youngest son, and I can definitely say that this is the most fun and effective program out there. It works!”

Leia Mais…