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Potty Trained Before 2!

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This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks so much for joining the Potty Party.  The winner is 3boyzmom. Congratulations!

In the short time I’ve been a mom, I have come to realize that every parent/child situation is unique.  I have a very good friend who has a daughter about the same age as my son.  When my son was a baby, I would constantly compare her daughter’s development with my son’s.  I felt like she was the standard I should look to, since she already had two older children.  If anyone knew how to do this parenting thing “right,” it was her.  She is an outstanding mom and one of my best friends and I find myself always trying to glean from her wisdom and experience.  But the constant comparison of why my son had not slept through the night, or said his first word was really frustrating and of course concerning to me as a new mom.  Despite the fact that our children are the same age, they’re different genders, with different parents and different life and family situations.  For the record, my son walks and talks and does everything he’s supposed to do!

I share this with you because, throughout this series, I will be talking to you about a few different methods of potty training.  There is no single way to parent and that holds true for potty training.  Some parents will use EC (elimination communication) to potty train their child before they complete their first year of life.  Others will wait as long as possible until their child shows “interest” or they have to start preschool.  Still others will be somewhere in the middle.  Every parent and every child is different…even within the same family.  Some of the suggestions will work for you and your child and some won’t. I’m not easily offended so please feel free to disagree or share something that I may not know.  I welcome your opinions and feedback.

I recently wrote about the struggles we experienced while teaching my son to sleep and nap.  It took a long time and I recognize my own part in not always providing consistency.  Many aspects of parenting take time and commitment (i.e. breastfeeding) but in the end the rewards are immeasurable.  So it is with potty training.  Potty training, regardless of the method used, takes consistency and commitment (and patience and a willingness to get dirty and…)  There is a lot of talk about when a child is ready.  And while there is much debate about the subject (i.e. EC) first decide if YOU are ready to commit.

When I was pregnant with my son, lying in bed eating bon bons and surfing the internet, I stumbled upon some information and research regarding baby sign language.  You can imagine the jokes that ensued from my family.  Even Jason was skeptical.  But I was determined.  I was going to teach our baby to sign, even if no one else followed suit.  I started at 4 months (yes…4 months) and for months and months and months…nothing.  He would look at me and I think he probably thought I was crazy (I felt a little that way anyway).  And then one day, my mom was watching my son while my husband and I had a much needed day together.  She called me on the phone to ask me what my son was doing with his hand.  He was signing “milk” to her.  At present, he speaks and signs the words he can’t say.  For the record, there was no delay in the development of his speech. My husband is always asking me what sign I’m going to teach him next…funny how life is!

When we went to visit my in-laws in November, my mother-in-law gave me the Baby Signs Potty Training Kit.  I actually never thought about using sign language to potty train my son, but it’s ingenious because it allows parents to start the process before children are verbal (as early as 12 months).  The less diapers I have to change, purchase, and throw into landfills, the better!  If you’re not familiar with the benefits of signing with your child, here are a few from the site:

Reduces tears, tantrums, and frustration

Makes learning to talk easier

Boosts self-esteem and self-confidence

Stimulates intellectual development

Strengthens the parent-child bond

The Baby Signs Potty Traning Kit includes a Parent Guide, which gives you instructions on how to  integrate signing with potty training, the All Aboard the Potty Train Lift-the-Flap Book which includes the steps and accompanying potty-time signs, the All Aboard the Potty Train DVD which teaches and reinforces the potty-time signs and routine, Job Well-Done Stickers, and an All Aboard the Potty Train Conductor’s Whistle.  I have to digress for just a moment.  I have no idea if the whistle was devised as a way to help children go potty or simply for fun. What is interesting is that the physical act of blowing helps to relax the muscles necessary to go to the bathroom (specifically to urinate).  When I worked in Obstetrics, I had new moms blow through a straw when they sat on the toilet. Ok…back to the review!

This is a program that will take some time (as opposed to a program where your child will be potty-trained in one day).  Your child will need to learn and be comfortable with signing and the time it takes for your child to learn the signs will vary.  If you are a parent who’d like to start the potty training process early (before your child is verbal), this is an excellent program.

I decided to start potty training my son early (he’s 19 months old) because I anticipated that it would take some time, and my goal is to be completely trained by two (the best laid plans….).  The program is fun and something I’m comfortable with because I’ve been signing with my son for over a year now.  We are working on teaching him the potty signs (he knows 3 of the 5 well) and have started putting him on the potty every day (in the morning like the book suggests).  I’ll keep you updated on our progress!

If you’d like to see all of the potty signs, check out Parents.com.

The Baby Signs Potty Training Kit retails for $39.95 and is available for purchase on the site or on Amazon.com.

Win It!  One of you will win a Baby Signs Complete Starter Kit ($39.95) to help you on your way to signing with your baby.  Head on over to the site and take a look around.  Come back here and leave me a comment with something you learned (please include something NOT mentioned in my review) or a product you liked (other than the two mentioned here).  Comments will close on February 17, 2009 at 10 pm PST.  One comment per person, please. US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Want an extra entry? Do any or all of the following and receive an extra entry for each one.

Be sure to leave me a separate comment for each additional entry.

*Update* Comment on any of my other potty training posts and receive another entry!

Spread the word and gain up to 2 extra entries for each giveaway (see this post for more details)

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Blog about this giveaway.  It doesn’t have to be a separate post.  Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.

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Looking for more giveaways?

Potty Training Series and Giveaways:

Let’s Get This Potty Party Started

Potty Trained Before 2

Positive Reinforcement and Potty Training

Potty Training Accidents?  We’ve Got Ya Covered!

Potty Train the Fun Way With the Potty Tots!

A Neat Solution for Potty Training on The Go

Sustainable (Potty) Training Pants by Seventh Generation

Caryn Bailey
Latest posts by Caryn Bailey (see all)

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94 Responses to Potty Trained Before 2!

  2. I learned babies between the ages of 10 and 24 months spontaneously use simple gestures to represent words they are not yet able to say.

    Reply

  9. wow enter me rigth on in i realy could use this for my girl thanks and well i like to also pass some info on too if you olny use the feed to read some ones bolg it can make your p.c run solw so its best to get there bolg sent to your e-mail box thanks

    Reply

  10. I love that they have board books so that the child can really participate. I’d love to try this with my newborn daughter! Well, in a few months anyway.

    Reply

  19. Today, the average age at which American children complete potty training is higher than at any time in history: 36 months for girls and 38 months for boys. Potty training your baby by the age of 2 means that you will prevent between 1500 and 3000 diapers from entering landfills.

    Reply

  29. They have a lot of helpful materials. You can even become a Baby Signs Independent Certified Instructor and teach workshops and classes. Sounds like an interesting job!

    Reply

  30. Potty training your baby by the age of 2 means that you will prevent between 1500 and 3000 diapers from entering landfills.

    Reply

  32. The whistle blowing sounds like a great idea. I watch my 12 month old for bm’s, and run her to the toilet (mainly because I wash my own diapers lol.) Her eyes start to water, so I know it’s time. I have no idea when she pees though.

    Reply

  34. I like the whistle idea so kids look forward to going potty and blowing the potty train whistle. 🙂 Also, what a big difference on age of training 18 months a few years ago vs 3 years and up now-a-days.

    Reply

  37. I like the DVD fun pack. My daughter is about to be 4 months old and I am so excited to start working with her and teaching her to sign. I would love the potty training set for the near future! Thanks for putting this on your site. Now I am going to try to research everything I can about it so I can get started. =)

    Thanks,
    Theresa
    [email protected]

    Reply

  58. In 1982, Drs. Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn discovered that babies between the ages of 10 and 24 months were spontaneously using simple gestures to represent words they weren’t yet able to say. They might sniff for “flower,” pant for “dog,” or flap their arms for “bird.” What would happen, Drs. Acredolo and Goodwyn wondered, if parents just helped the process along?

    I’d love to see if it works – my mil is always talking about how she potty trained her kids before seven months (my husband was late at nine months) and how her OTHER grandchildren were potty trained early too. So I’d like this because we’re running late compared to them.

    Reply

  64. I like there DVDs especially I Can Sign! Animals Book & DVD set. My niece is hearing impared and items like these can be hard to find. They have a great selection.

    Reply

  65. I never thought to incorporate potty signs into my kids’ vocab. Hmm. No wonder they are still in diapers!! I liked learning about blowing the whistle… I know that was in your post, but it was very helpful.
    I like the night time dvd for signs. So cute.

    Reply

  68. I would love this because so far my 2-year-old daughter isn’t showing all that much interest in potty training and I would like to get her out of diapers because now I have an 8-week-old to change instead! I was glad to see on the site that the program is based on principles that apply no matter what the age of the child so that I can be assured that I haven’t missed the window already! Thanks for the giveaway!

    Reply

  69. I would LOVE the board books too! Especially mealtime and bedtime! Thanks for a chance to win such a cool product!

    kayceewilliams at gmail dot com

    Reply

  73. I learned babies between the ages of 10 and 24 months spontaneously use simple gestures to represent words they are not yet able to say.

    Reply

  81. I love that includes a video dictionary with more than 100 additional signs! I would love this for my daughter! She is disabled and delayed in speech. She is almost four years old and any help with potty training would be a blessing! Thanks for the chance to win!

    Reply

  86. I watched the very informative video!
    Baby Signs: How to Talk to Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk, was published in 1996 and quickly became a bestseller (over 400,000 copies sold in the U.S. alone and translated into 14 foreign languages).
    Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this giveaway!

    Reply

  93. Wish I would’ve caught this giveaway! I think this is amazing! I started signing with my daughter when she was 6 months old! She now knows MOST of the basics! I think it’s great!! Thanks for the opportunity to learn about this product!

    Reply

  94. I don’t know how I ever got so lucky, but my daughter Emily basically trained herself the week before her 2nd birthday. The little potty was in my bathroom and she decided to go on it one day, and then even wore big girl panties to bed and made it through the night. Now, if only my third daughter could learn from her:)
    [email protected]

    Reply

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