Oh Crap! Potty Training

number of accidents their child has. From start date to self-initiation
usually takes about three weeks for most kids, even superverbal
communicators.
As for that first poop, remember how weird it is going to feel to
your child, who is used to pooping in a diaper. My advice, as with pee,
is to wait for it to come rather than using the ‘“sitting and trying”
routine. Signals of an impending poop to watch for are an intense
look of concentration, grunting, twitching, indicating physical
discomfort, rubbing the belly, sudden crankiness, and retreating to a
corner, under the table, or some private place. You then put your
child on the pot. I really do suggest the little pot; the squat used to sit
down will help ease the poop out. Have wipes/TP handy, grab a
favorite book or two, and get comfortable. Read the stories to your
child. If he grunts and screws up his face, just grunt along with him.
Without overtalking, you can softly offer encouragement (I say softly
because this is sort of an inward function). “It’s coming, you can do
it. Uhh. Go ahead, honey, let it out.”
Encourage but don’t pressure. If your child gets freaked out and
starts to cry, keep her on the pot and just hug her. Look her in the
eyes if that helps her—some kids really need you to look them in the
eyes if they’re having a hard time, though when things are progressing
normally, most kids prefer not to be stared down—and let her know
it’s okay. If she’s having trouble, it could be that the poop is hard, or
she could just be freaked out. For the first few poops—most kids will
go down to pooping once a day—you may have to read to her for a
while. That’s normal. Also, this is a suggestion I’ll mention
throughout the book that you can start with the first poop, so it