It's been quite a while now since Alex began using the toilet exclusively, and I've kind of forgotten exactly how it all happened. In my last post, I remember noting that we had to set limits on where pee could go. I think shortly after this, Alex decided he wanted to use the "big" toilet - without the assistance of a seat. He learned to climb up by himself, and I think using the same "material" that we did made a huge difference for him psychologically.
The final piece of the puzzle was #2, and I eventually caught him in the act and helped him onto the toilet. I'm not sure if overcoming his resistance was "Montessori" - I can hear echoes of "follow the child" in my head - but I knew that once he did it once, he would realize it was okay. And he did - one time was pretty much all it took, and he began using the toilet consistently.
We were nervous to take him out of cloth diapers at night, but they were consistently dry when he woke up, so finally we did. To date, he has never had an accident at night.
I imagine toilet learning is different for everyone - it would be great for others to share their stories, successes, and strategies here too.
The next piece for us is generating enough comfort for Alex to go at school - I'm pretty sure he never does.
Even in Montessori there are times when the adult can see that the child is hesitating on something due to unneccesary fear, and can help give that little push of encouragement. =)
ReplyDeleteI just got a potty chair for my 13 month old son and he likes sitting in it. Hasn't peed or pooped in it yet, but it's all still very new.