Yes it’s that time..Potty Learning notice I said “learning and not training”. Montessori has a more gentle approach to teaching a child to start using the potty.
As many already know Montessori is all about following the child’s lead. So this is what we have been doing since my son was 14 months old. I went ahead and set up all 3 bathroom environments for my son. Each bathroom is equipped with a step stool, basket of underwear, potty books, faucet extenders, Pampers Kadoo hand soap and hand drying towel. The point of setting up the environment beforehand is so you can properly teach the child what each item is used for and make them comfortable with their environment.
Our son showed an early interest in wanting to start learning to go to the potty so we followed his lead. So every morning when he wakes up the first thing he says is potty and we go to the potty then get dressed sometimes he uses it sometimes he doesn’t, but we also let him know “maybe next time” he will go potty. When he does potty we give him proper words of encouragement we steer away from using high praise words like “Good Job” we want him to learn that using the potty is a part of everyday life and this is what he suppose to be doing. So we use words like “that was hard work we knew you could do it”
Potty learning isn’t for all children but I think the beginning steps of introducing the child to the environment beforehand can be beneficial to both the parent and the child.
Here is are some pictures of one of bathrooms.
The faucet extender can be found on Amazon. Please note that when purchasing one you look for one that fits your faucet. Prince Lionheart Faucet Extender, Berry Blue by Prince Lionheart
Here is my son after going potty ready to wash his hands. He is displaying independence and understanding that there is an order in which we follow after using the potty.
In the first picture you will notice I made some changes to his bathroom environment the other step stool was a little too low so I replaced it with a Graco step stool I got from Toysrus for $9.99 and his potty chair was upgraded to the Summer Lil Loo Potty $8.99 on Amazon. That’s one of the great things about this learning style you figure out what works for the child before you start really going full throttle with using the potty.
Okay let me also say that we do a combo of old school and this was way. In no way am I saying the other way of teaching a child to use the potty is bad. I do think as a parent we should look for the signs that our children are ready to start going to the potty. In retrospect each family has to do what’s in the best interest of their family. I have also used some of the Elimination Communication techniques with my son..the overall goal is to be diaper free and having a confident potty user.
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