about the concepts of “before” and “after,” and what they mean.
Giving a choice works well as a prompt: “Come, it’s time to pee—do
you want to go first or second?” Giving choices is a great parenting
trick in general and can smooth other difficult areas, like getting your
child to get dressed. Generally speaking, you should offer two
options. Too many becomes confusing.
Have a “poop book” or two, which are books you keep by the
potty or toilet and read only while pooping. They don’t necessarily
have to be about poop. There are two reasons for this. First, it helps
with the “read every book in the house” problem. Second, it acts as a
“prompt” along the lines of a nighttime CD. [Note: If you don’t
already use a nighttime CD to help encourage sleep, you might want
to start. Select only one or two CDs to play at bedtime and only at
bedtime, and soon, the music becomes a cue for sleep. In a short
amount of time, your child will fall asleep within the first couple of
songs. It won’t work if you use the same CD to dance around to
during the day.] Along those same lines—repetition and consistency
—a poop book becomes a cue to poop, and soon your child will poop
within the first couple of pages. I’m serious. It’s wild how well this
works.
An added benefit is that pooping can require some concentration,
and introducing new books at potty time will put your child’s focus
on the book instead of the poop, while a familiar book will keep the
focus where it needs to be. Then, too, you’ll probably have the poop
book memorized in short order and will be able to recite it for your
child when using bathrooms outside your home.