Oh Crap! Potty Training

freeway, or whenever you are out and about. I’ll address public
restrooms later.
You may be laughing—pulled over on the freeway? This is a very
important point. If your child indicates that he has to go pee, you
drop everything and go! I don’t care where you are or what you’re
doing. GO! You must respect your child in this regard. She can not
wait a minute, she can not hold on. You’ve got five to ten seconds. So
yes, if it means pulling over on I-95, that’s what you do. Think about
it. You’ve spent all this time and effort, and you’re finally seeing the
payoff: she’s asking you. To risk her not being able to hold it and
having an accident would be devastating to her, and I don’t use the
word devastating lightly. Besides avoiding an accident, you’re showing
her that you are listening and respecting her needs. This will go a
long way toward her doing the same. Don’t worry, this is temporary.
Your time frame for getting to the potty will keep increasing, and
very soon your child will be able to hold her pee and poop until you
can get to a regular toilet.
Early in potty training, the pre-pee warning progression will cap
off at around five to ten seconds (meaning that at least for now, when
your child signals he has to pee, you have five to ten seconds to get
them to the potty). I have found that they can wait a little longer if
you at least respond. Say you’re doing dishes in the kitchen and she’s
in the playroom. If she calls out that she needs to pee, you would say
as you’re running to her, “I’m coming, please hold it.” You will still
need to keep an eye on your child at least for another month
(although not with the intensity of the first day). Most likely, your
child will signal with her pee-pee dance, but if not, you’ve gotten her