emotions, behaviors, and actual gaps in learning that can really muck
up the final goal. The block method allows us to separate these things
out from one another so we can figure out what’s causing the
problem. As a bonus, potty training doesn’t look as overwhelming
when we think about it in small chunks.
Here are the major blocks or phases, in order:
- Peeing and pooping while naked, either with prompting or without.
- Peeing and pooping with clothes on, commando, with prompting or without.
- Peeing and pooping in different situations, with prompting or without.
- Peeing and pooping with underpants, with prompting or without.
- Consistent self-initiation.
- Night and nap (unless you are choosing to do it all together; more on that later).
- College. Probably still needing to prompt occasionally.
I am going to walk you through each block and tell you how to do
it and what you should be looking for. I’ll give you some suggestions
and a few heads-up about specific potential problems. A more
complete list of problems will be addressed in later chapters. I don’t
want to muck up the how-to by discussing every potential problem
right up front because many, many parents breeze right through this
without a hitch. Okay, ready?
Your Start Date: Block One
I used to recommend that you make this day a really big deal. I used
to suggest junky food and lots of juice and a really fun atmosphere.
But over the last few years, I’ve changed my mind. It used to seem
that kids loved a day out of routine, but more recently, it seems that