Potty Training Problems: Simple Tip to Get Kids to Stay Seated on the Potty
Overall our potty training process was pretty smooth with my daughter. We do have the occasional potty training problems though, and that is what I want to write about today. I'm sure every child has their own occasional potty troubles, so hopefully this helps some of you out there to get past the one that we encountered.
My four year old daughter ditched diapers right before her third birthday. We went with the ole' three day method: stay at home, don't put diapers on her, let her figure it out. And she did. Hooray, amazing, we're potty trained, we thought!
She did have a couple regressions, but I googled and googled and turn out that was all pretty normal stuff. A friend once told me she was grateful to send her child to preschool because the positive peer pressure helped her daughter to get past a stage of potty accidents.
That happened for us too, she did great at school! At home was another matter though.
Potty Training Problems
Sometimes she would know she had to go, sit on the toilet for a few seconds and then get distracted and decide she no longer needed to go. A lot of times, this happened when she needed to poop rather than pee, but I'm sure it happened both ways.
She also occasionally would strain when trying to go. I mentioned this to my step mother one day and she mentioned to try to have my daughter rock forward and backward. It helps relax the muscles in her tush and keeps her from straining as much.
I tried to get her to rock on her own but she was still really distracted at times and just telling her to rock was not keeping her seated on the toilet.
RELATED: How to Potty Train in 3 Days: eBook | Kindle or Print Copy
Stay Seated Potty Training Tip
This was when I came up with my favorite potty training idea EVER. You can use this tip ANYWHEREÂ and once your child gets the hang of it and sees that it helps, he or she can do this independently!
In our house we call it a row-row-row story. It is basically a formulaic story that incorporates the phrase row-row-row, and each time you say it the child learns to rock forward and backward, as if rowing a boat.
I'll show you a couple examples and then you can adapt it for any interest your child may have. The first time I tried it I made kind of a big deal about it…(Gasp!) “Oh wait, did you know I have a special potty story for you today?! Do you want to hear it?! Okay well I need your help! Whenever you hear me say row-row-row, I need you to do this (rock forward and back in time with the words) like you are rowing a boat. Can you do that?!” And then I would give her an expectant glance every time I got to that phrase.
“Once upon a time, there were 5 castles all in a row-row-row. The first castle in the row-row-row was blue and a blue princess lived there. The second castle in the row-row-row was pink and a pink princess lived there.” We usually do 5 whatevers of different colors, and then after the fifth one, we might say, “Some times all the princesses in the row-row-row get together for a picnic and bring a food that is their favorite color!”
At this point my daughter has usually done her business but if not, you can continue the story by saying the blue princess has five row-row-rows of blueberries in her garden,” etc.
Not into princesses? Not a problem! You can literally change the subject to be ANYTHING that will keep your kid's attention. Here are some of the many we have used:
There were 5 zoos all in a row-row-row. The first zoo in the row-row-row was yellow and only yellow animals lived there. (4 more colors) Sometimes all the animals in the row-row-row like to get together for a zoo picnic. The end.
There were 5 libraries all in a row. The first library in the row was blue and every book they had was blue. (4 more colors) Sometimes the kids in the neighborhood visited all the libraries in the row to check out colorful books. The end.
There were 5 secret lairs all in a row. The first secret lair in the row was blue and a blue superhero lived there. (4 more colors) Sometimes all the superheroes from the row like to get together for a superhero party. The end.
Kitchens- food.
Schools- teachers.
Swimming pools- water.
Playgrounds – swings or slides.
Seas- fish.
Stores- clothes.
Caves- bears.
Bathrooms- toilets.
I could do this all day. But I don't need to anymore. My daughter has gotten much better at recognizing when she needs to go AND that she needs to sit there for a while to do it. Occasionally if she is having a hard time she still asks for a row-row-row story. But now I can ask her to tell me one too!
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What do you think? Have your kids had these potty training problems? Will you try this simple potty training tip? Let's hear how you overcame potty problems in the comments!
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Laura, this is so sweet! I just love this idea! My daughter will thank you later 🙂
Oh I’m happy to hear that, I hope it helps!