throughout the day, or it might occur right before they have to pee.
This is not terribly worrisome in the first few days. You have to
remember that yesterday, when and how to pee wasn’t on his radar.
Today he’s getting used to a whole new ballgame. We don’t know for
sure how your child peed when he was wearing a diaper. He might
have let the pee out a little at a time until the diaper was full. For
this kid, part of potty training is a natural consolidation of those
little dribbly pees into one bigger one. It generally happens naturally
as they get the hang of things.
The kid will not sit long enough to pee: This is a very common
complaint. Try doing something to engage her and keep her attention
while she’s on the potty. I offer suggestions like singing a song,
counting to a particular number together (50 is a good one), or
reading some books. A great phrase to use is: “I need to hear more
pee.” For some reason, this resonates with kids better than “sit and
finish your pee.” I think it’s because the kids are motivated to give
you something other than the actual pee. They want to give you the
sound of pee. What. Ever. Toddlers.
But this particular issue is also one of the places where parenting
philosophies can kind of muck things up. Your child is getting to an
age of limit testing. You need to be firm and let your child know you
mean business. For some parents, though, “being firm” feels sticky.
Let me tell you that it’s okay to be firm. You don’t need to be mean to
be firm. The less “dancing around” your child you do, the better.
Sometimes, parents go so over the top trying to get the child to sit
and pee that it turns into serious entertainment for the kid. You don’t