your child starting to “get it.” The biggest indicator of “getting it” is
how you feel. You may be tired, yes, but you should feel hopeful. If
you are disappointed or even devastated, your child simply needs
more time on Block One, and that’s fine. Block One normally takes
anywhere from one to three days.
As soon as you get a sense of hope or that a lightbulb has lit up in
your child’s head, it’s time to move on to clothes. You don’t want to
stay in Block One too long. That can result in an “Only Potty
Trained When Naked” kid, and unless you live in a nudist colony,
that’s not really potty trained. Again, Block One doesn’t have to be
absolutely perfect. Move on when you have an overall sense of
progress.
We are paying more attention to blocks than days here, BUT, but,
but . . . most often the second day of potty training, whatever block of
learning you are on, can bring resistance. We will discuss this in
chapters 7 (“Block One Drama”) and 8 (“Block Two and Three
Dilemmas”) more fully, but I want to give you a heads-up early on. By
day two, the fun is gone, you are serious about full-time potty use, and
your child is over it . . . and cranks up the resistance. Expect it. It’s
normal, and we’ll bust through it when it happens.
Block Two
This block still requires your watchful eye. What we are most looking
for is to get your child in clothes. Both you and your child should
have a sense of when the pee is happening when you start this block.
Again, it’s not likely going to be in words. Whether with a look or a