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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Must be the Season for Potty Training :)
Unregistered 05:36 PM 05-26-2010
We have 4 toddlers who are being potty trained right now. Their parents are all working with them at home (or so they say), and they say their child is doing well at it. Only thing is, here at daycare, if they actually even say they have to go potty, they won't "go" once we sit them on the toilet. They just sit there and talk and want to wipe themself, then flush when they're done. It seems almost like it's a new fascination for them, but they don't understand that they're supposed to actually "go potty" on the toilet. It's like a game and they still like to play in the toilet water, and stick stuff in it. Are they ready yet? Usually they tell us after they've already done it in their diaper. One girl is 3 now, and we've been putting her in panties, like her mom asked us to. A pull up doesn't work for her because she looks at it like it's permission to potty her pants instead of in the potty. we ask her every little bit if she has to potty, we have her sit on the toilet, and she "goes potty", but not 15-30 minutes later, she's already "had an accident" in her panties. She never tells anyone on her own if she has to potty. She just automatically uses her pants. I wonder, since she can't even go 30 minutes without going potty in her pants, is she even ready for potty training?
I need all the potty training advice you can give me! What we're doing now doesn't seem to be working, and I'm getting frustrated. Plus it's hard because with that many being potty trained at once, that means a lot of time spent in the bathroom, where we can't help keep an eye on the others and with that much time spent in the bathroom, we can't expect all the other kids to troop in and watch everytime. It's just myself and the owner with, on average, 12 kids daily. We have a VERY rough bunch, with hitting, name calling, and constant tatteling, not to mention other toddlers running around getting into EVERYTHING, and dumping boxes of toys out all over the floor. So if we're in the middle of a craft, and we need to take a child potty, one person is left with 12 kids doing a craft, trying to keep the other toddlers from running off with the scissors, grabbing a crayon and marking all over the walls, dumping everything out, etc etc. And forget about trying to do a craft in small groups, while the others have free play!
Anyway, any advice you can give on how to potty train would be very helpful!
I need all the potty training advice you can give me! What we're doing now doesn't seem to be working, and I'm getting frustrated. Plus it's hard because with that many being potty trained at once, that means a lot of time spent in the bathroom, where we can't help keep an eye on the others and with that much time spent in the bathroom, we can't expect all the other kids to troop in and watch everytime. It's just myself and the owner with, on average, 12 kids daily. We have a VERY rough bunch, with hitting, name calling, and constant tatteling, not to mention other toddlers running around getting into EVERYTHING, and dumping boxes of toys out all over the floor. So if we're in the middle of a craft, and we need to take a child potty, one person is left with 12 kids doing a craft, trying to keep the other toddlers from running off with the scissors, grabbing a crayon and marking all over the walls, dumping everything out, etc etc. And forget about trying to do a craft in small groups, while the others have free play!
Anyway, any advice you can give on how to potty train would be very helpful!
Unregistered 09:37 AM 05-27-2010
I have potty trained my 3 kids and 3 daycare kids and this is how I did it I didnt use pull ups only for nap and bed time and no diapers at all I put them in undies and told hem big boys and girls go pee and poop in the potty and dont pee or poop in there pants I took them every hour and had them sit for 5 minutes if they used the potty I gave them lots of postive praise I would clap jump up and down and say great job and if they went in there pants I would tell them big girls and boys dont pee and or poop in there pants they go in the potty it only took 1 to 2 weeks to train and the ages where 1 to 2 years old I wont even watch a 3 year old who isnt trained because a 3 year old can use the potty there is no excuse unless the child has a mental or physical problem. The most important think is you tell the parents how you are training them and its important you do the same and stick to it or it wont work.
DBug 11:08 AM 05-27-2010
At the center I worked at, we did march all of the kids (they were all toddlers) into the bathroom every hour or two. We had 5 potties, and the kids would cycle through, using the potties. Because we used potties, there was no water to play with. If they peed, we'd clean out the potty, sanitize it, and let the next in line take his or her turn. My partner and I did it two different ways -- either both of us would take all 10 kids in together, or one would stay in the playroom and send 5 at a time into the bathroom with the other. This worked well, but you have to be careful with your ratios.
Now, in my home daycare, I have up to 5 potty training each day. I have a potty for each child with their name on it ($3 each at Ikea), and they all sit at the same time. I usually have one or two older kids that sit and read books outside of the bathroom, or they'll help the little ones with hand-washing. In your case, maybe one of you could stay with the older ones, while the other does the potty run. For the kids that need to go every 20 minutes or whatever, depending on regulations, you could probably set up a potty in a corner somewhere, perhaps with curtains or a room divider to create some privacy.
It's alot of work, but since the kids are probably in our care more waking hours than they are at home, it's a necessary evil
Good luck!
Now, in my home daycare, I have up to 5 potty training each day. I have a potty for each child with their name on it ($3 each at Ikea), and they all sit at the same time. I usually have one or two older kids that sit and read books outside of the bathroom, or they'll help the little ones with hand-washing. In your case, maybe one of you could stay with the older ones, while the other does the potty run. For the kids that need to go every 20 minutes or whatever, depending on regulations, you could probably set up a potty in a corner somewhere, perhaps with curtains or a room divider to create some privacy.
It's alot of work, but since the kids are probably in our care more waking hours than they are at home, it's a necessary evil
Good luck!
misol 12:10 PM 05-27-2010
Originally Posted by DBug:
I have a potty for each child with their name on it ($3 each at Ikea), and they all sit at the same time.
DBug you just made me chuckle. This was also my wonderful plan when I first started out. I bought 5 IKEA potties so that each child could have their own. The problem for me was that these potties are so hard to get up off of. They stick to the kids' butts and since there are no handles on them the contents of the potty would splash out onto the floor as soon as the potty plopped off their little butts. I ended up having to clean the potty AND the floor every single time! It was too exhausting and I finally switched to the toilet seat rings. Best move I ever madeI have a potty for each child with their name on it ($3 each at Ikea), and they all sit at the same time.
MarinaVanessa 12:46 PM 05-27-2010
Putting the kiddos in their undies and putting a diaper over it works for me. It's a completely different feeling when you go in a diaper than on a cloth panty (especially when there's a doodie in there) and it seems to deter the kids from wanting to get lazy and go in the panties. I tried this with my daughter also after she got lazy while potty training.
I like the idea of individual seats also. I know that when I was younger and I was a nanny to a set of 3-year-old twins (the twinkies as I liked to call them because they were small, fair skinned and had golden-red hair) and they each had their own potty and I sat them down in front of the TV for 10 minutes every few hours for about 10-15 minutes and it worked. Eventually they wanted to use the big potty. The little boy was harder but I hear that it's normal. I'd just float a cheerio in the "big" toilet and he would try to sink it. They have toilet targets now that are flushable but cheerios still work for me.
I like the idea of individual seats also. I know that when I was younger and I was a nanny to a set of 3-year-old twins (the twinkies as I liked to call them because they were small, fair skinned and had golden-red hair) and they each had their own potty and I sat them down in front of the TV for 10 minutes every few hours for about 10-15 minutes and it worked. Eventually they wanted to use the big potty. The little boy was harder but I hear that it's normal. I'd just float a cheerio in the "big" toilet and he would try to sink it. They have toilet targets now that are flushable
but cheerios still work for me.
DBug 02:38 PM 05-27-2010
Originally Posted by misol:
The problem for me was that these potties are so hard to get up off of. They stick to the kids' butts and since there are no handles on them the contents of the potty would splash out onto the floor as soon as the potty plopped off their little butts. I ended up having to clean the potty AND the floor every single time!
Very true, but that's why I don't let the kids get up until I'm ready to help them up The problem for me was that these potties are so hard to get up off of. They stick to the kids' butts and since there are no handles on them the contents of the potty would splash out onto the floor as soon as the potty plopped off their little butts. I ended up having to clean the potty AND the floor every single time!
I've had one or two spills since I started using them a year ago but I have far more clean-ups with the kids that are already toilet trained, and are using the actual toilet. Even so, I agree with graduating the kids to the toilet as soon as possible (ie. when they're taking themselves to the bathroom).