try to wing it totally f**k it up. Pay close attention. Seriously, the
entire crux of potty training is in these two posts. They address the
areas where parents most commonly go wrong: rushing, not
prompting, and overprompting.
Do not overprompt or hover. Almost all resistance is because
there is too much “process” in the process. Certainly, there are some
children who are just really difficult to potty train. However, in 95
percent of the people I’ve worked with, resistance is the result of
hovering parents. Instead of blindly prompting—remember, you are
not ASKING if he has to go—look for signals. Try to find a pattern
and a rhythm. If you need to, keep a mental note to not prompt more
than once per half-hour. Never, ever, evah should the prompting take
on a begging, cajoling, negotiating tone. You are not playing Let’s
Make a Deal; you are prompting your child to sit and pee. Period. This
can be done firmly without being done meanly.
Prompting
A very common complaint I hear a few days into potty training is
something along the lines of, “He’s doing fine but only when we tell
him to go . . . is this kid EVER going to tell us when he has to go??”
My answer is: OF COURSE he will!
But right now, in the early stages of potty training, your child
needs you. It still counts if they pee in the potty because you tell
them to. Like any other learning they have done or will do, they need
you—the parent—as a crutch. Think of your child learning to walk.
They had to hold your hands at first, both for the physical support