The potty training blues

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Are you KIDDING me? Is this some sort of a JOKE?

I do not have any great tips on potty training.  But I do have song about potty training to cheer you up

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I am an ABA therapist who specializes in working with autistic children and their families. I am also a mother with two grown children.

When it comes to potty training…. like most things concerning parenting…., everyone has a different method. And many parents think their magical method is the BEST… or maybe even the ONLY way to do it.

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If you are having a hard time potty training your child… avoid conversations with people who have potty trained their cat.

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My kids were potty trained later than my friends’ kids.  For a while I had two children in cloth diapers. Which I washed myself. I did this for three reasons:

1. Environmental,
2. Cost
3. Lack of a diaper service that came to my neck of the woods.

At one point, I was so frustrated with potty training I called a professional. She suggested that I buy a doll that pees. So I did. It did not really seem to help.

I also started using star charts again, and told them that when the charts were full we could mail the charts to Grandma Gretchen, wouldn’t that be fun? That seemed to help a little, but it still took time to complete this process!

So I did the next best thing to actually getting both kids potty trained; I wrote a blues song about potty training and hired some of Boston’s best musicians to record it.

So my best advice on potty training is:

1. Do not take it too seriously
2. Avoid conversations about the matter with parents who claim their child potty trained at two months old or have potty trained all their pets.
3. Remember that it is not uncommon for very bright children to potty train later.
4. It may be hard to believe… but your child will learn to use the potty… they really will