Oh Crap! Potty Training

kid is different. This pee pattern is going to let you get back to
regularly scheduled life after potty training. If you know you have a
big drinker and pee-er in the morning, don’t go running errands first
thing. If you know you have a camel, run like the wind to get your
shopping done.
You will also be learning your child’s particular pee-pee dance.
Some kids have the classic hopping around, ants-in-the-pants dance.
Other kids are crotch grabbers. Some kids get real slow and silent.
The first few days of potty training should get you acclimated to your
child’s particular dance. This is naturally a good time to prompt,
while simultaneously bringing the child’s awareness to the dance. Say
something like, “I can see you have to pee. You are holding your
penis. Come, sit on the potty.”
Remember: you are not asking your child if he has to pee. You are
prompting him to use the potty.
There are some other very natural, and therefore low-pressure,
times to prompt. These are times we all go pee, so the prompts don’t
have a nagging quality to them and tend not to interrupt the child in
the middle of something. These are called easy catches in
“elimination communication,” or EC (thanks Andrea, of EC
Simplified), and they occur: upon awakening and before sleep, before
leaving (anywhere) and upon arrival (anywhere), before and after
prolonged sitting (high chair, car seat, laps, and couches), and before
and after an engaging activity.
It’s also okay and very natural to hold off on an activity until your
child pees, especially when you are very certain they need to. You
might say something like, “Sure, we can leave for our walk as soon as
you pee,” or, “Yes, you can watch Elmo. Sit and pee first.” This is not