Oh Crap! Potty Training

to foot, but some kids get really quiet and some may get louder.
Whatever your kid does, let the day care know about it if you can.
Arrange a special signal between the teacher and your child. The
best one is having your child tug on the teacher’s arm. I don’t know
why, but children sometimes get embarrassed about asking to go to
the potty and drawing attention to themselves. You’d think pooping
in your pants at the sand table would be at least equally embarrassing,
but it’s not. Go figure. Anyway, a nonverbal signal can nip this in the
bud.
Ask the teacher to please save your child’s spot whenever she goes
to the bathroom. This is a big one. Many, many children are fearful
of losing their spot and/or the toy they were playing with. Once they
know they won’t lose these, they are more likely to take potty breaks.
Make sure the teacher isn’t staring them down while they try to
use the potty. Every place has a different arrangement. If there’s a
stall and low toilets, the teacher can take your child to the bathroom
and semiclose the door. If there’re potty chairs in the room, great;
just discourage hovering. I had a little girl, Emily, who was doing fine
at home. However, at day care, she would hold it and hold it and she
would try to sit, but wouldn’t pee. The teacher was getting sort of
aggravated. After some questioning, it turns out she was hovering
over Emily, pretty much demanding that something happen. It won’t
work that way. Once the teacher started being more casual and
averting her own eyes, Emily did great!
Same deal as above for pooping. Pooping needs privacy.
Check out where the other kids are in the potty training process. If
your child is the first one diving in, use that. Tell your child he’s the