Pull-Ups

Pull-Ups seem like a good idea, but kids like to play and if they can continue doing that, then they will.  Stopping the fun and going to the bathroom is not enjoyable.  Children are not going to go to the bathroom if they are not made to do so. I have heard a lot of parents tell me that their child's doc said, "don't rush the kid they will go when they are ready".  Ok, FYI children are physically able to control all muscles necessary to be potty trained by approx 18 months.  Thanks to Pull-ups we have a lot of 5 yr old kids wearing Pull-ups b/c they are not potty trained.  It's a brilliant marketing strategy.  Give parents the illusion of mess free potty training while kids are able to continue playing instead of going to the bathroom.  It's genius! I have watched this occur many times.  It amazes me that parents will keep buying pull-ups for so long.  I do blame docs who also enable this behavior and as they tell parents not to worry about it.  Well, kids are physically able to control all muscles by 18 mon, so obviously they are ready by 2 yrs of age.  Are they willing? Well that's another story.  Both my youngest kids started telling me that they had to go #2 about 20 months.  They said it, then shortly after they would go in their diaper.  This only lasted about a week for both, then they didn't say anything again.  I watched my youngest daughter repeatedly go in her pull-up for about 4 months.  She would use the potty, but only when she wanted.  I had all kinds of rewards set up for her, but she kept going in her pull-up most often.  The most immediate consequence (pos or neg) is the most powerful. I gave a reward after she went.  The pull-up offered relief and play all in an instant.  I got tired of it, I knew she was able to control this and I saw she didn't care b/c she didn't have to.  She was 2 yrs 2 months when I pulled up all the rugs and kept her off the furniture as much as possible and I put her in underwear.  The first time she urinated and it ran down her leg, she froze and yelled, "Mommy".  I told her she needed to use the bathroom.  She did not enjoy that experience.  She now got an immediate uncomfortable experience when she went and w/in 2 wks she was using the bathroom regularly.  There were some accidents, but they disappeared quickly.  She did wear a pull-up to bed for about a year.  The only struggle that remained was going #2, but it was resolved w/ in 2 months.  By 2.5 yrs she was using the bathroom regularly w/ little to no accidents. Remember the most immediate consequence (pos or neg) are the most powerful, which is why Pull-ups are not very helpful to potty training your toddler.