Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Can Potty Training Be Fun?

Came across an interesting article titled "10 Ways to Make Toilet Training Fun & Exciting". Potty training fun? Exciting? Didn't think those words could gel together. Unfortunately for us here in Malaysia, some of the suggestions may not be applicable as they pertain to potty training products not available to us. Well, I mean as far as I know they are not available. If I'm wrong, let me know. The article highlights some interesting stuff I didn't know existed. Anyway, two things from that list I want to mention that is doable and kinda entertaining:
  1. Food Colouring: Put drops of blue food coloring so that children can watch it turn green after they wee-wee. Hopefully this doesn't actually gross them out further. Or worse, they might find it so kewl they wanna play with it. Eeew! I can just imagine when they are schooling and have a lesson about colours, the question they will definately answer correct would be "what colour do we get when we mix blue and yellow?" Hahahahah. Ok, my imagination is going wild a bit. Anyway, I still think it's an interesting tip. I might try this just to see my son's reaction.
  2. Phone Call from Superhero: Get friends, neighbours or relatives to disguise as your children's superhero and reward them with a phone call. You might be in trouble if your child happens to like Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse. My son happens to think T-Rexes are cool. I guess I could just get someone to roar to him over the phone. Hehehehe.

Well, I finally got my son to go potty daytime. How he potty trained is very different from his older sister. My older girl went straight to the toilet. My son had a hard time with the toilet. He wasn't afraid or anything, just not his thing I guess. He now uses a potty shaped liked a toilet and poor Mom is having her first taste of being the Dung Collector and Eliminator. No one in the house seems to want that honorable position. Anyway, it just goes to show that each child is different and parents need to be in tune with them. We must be flexible and willing to adapt to the situation. We should be armed with various ideas and not be stuck on just one method.

Well, here are a few more things that I found interesting or useful on potty training:

  • A chart that you can download for free. Look for the sign that says "FREE POTTY CHART! Track your child's progress with stickers or smiley faces.
  • Training urinals for boys.
  • Potty Poncho. This one we would all jump on as we know the state of most public toilets in Malaysia. They have disposable ones as well.
  • Travel Potty Chairs. This is what I needed the last time I went back to Bukit Mertajam. Only once in a lifetime a kid gets to travel with his own toilet.

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