Oh Crap! Potty Training

occasional prompts. What’s probably happening is that you are
hovering after prompting. You may be prompting your child and then
standing there, waiting or physically taking him to the potty—
depending on his age, you may need to do this, but if he’s older than
twenty-four months, you don’t—and watching over him to make sure
he sits and pees. The trick is to prompt/remind, and then walk away
(just as you do when you’re facing a tantrum). It can feel risky, but
you have to leave room for him to make the call. Think of the
prompt as a reminder, not as a “make him go” kind of thing. There is
nothing for him to resist if you act like you don’t care.
As I’ve stated before, Blocks Two and Three are where it’s at.
These are the heart of potty training. You should be feeling a sense of
progress, even if it’s teeny tiny. There may be a day or two during
these blocks when it looks like you’ve stalled out or even gone a little
backward. That’s okay. If you are seeing no progress at all, however,
check out the chapters 13 (“Behavior vs. Potty Training”) and 16
(“The Reset”) before giving up. If your child is under twenty months
or over thirty months, be sure to read the chapter relevant to those
ages, too.