It's Potty Time!

Categories: Parenting & Families , Children's Books

Several of my friends currently find themselves “in the trenches” of potty training. It’s been interesting (and at times entertaining!) to see them try everything from potty bootcamp to bribery to positive reinforcement.

Potty training is a huge milestone for children and a topic of debate and uncertainty among parents. Luckily, the library has a wide range of materials to meet the needs of parents and children on the cusp of this developmental milestone.

• Parenting author Elizabeth Pantley’s No-Cry series continues to appear regularly on the bestseller list, and The No-Cry Potty Training Solution is no exception. Pantley recommends gentle ways to help your child say good-bye to diapers with realistic solutions tested and refined by families.
• Dr. Jill Kekovic’s Diaper Free Before 3 challenges conventional potty-training wisdom with medical studies and other parenting literature to get your baby out of diapers as early as age two.
• On Becoming Potty Wise for Toddlers by Gary Ezzo looks to developmental readiness cues of children as the starting point of potty training. Learn to recognize the optimal window for potty training your toddler and make the most of it.

Books and CD's to Share with Children:

• In No More Diapers for Ducky! imitation is the sincerest form of flattery as Ducky decidedly gives up her diapers when her friend Piggy cannot play because he's too busy in the bathroom. The cover alone was enough to reel me in.
• Written during toilet training her own children Once Upon a Potty for Her (currently on order for the library) and Once Upon a Potty for Him by Alona Frankel have become international best sellers (and are also available on DVD and in Spanish for boys or girls.) They’re classics, designed to enhance the confidence of children (and their parents.)
• Potty Time by Guido Van Genechten is sure to elicit plenty of giggles. Joe and his friends (including Nellie Elephant, Percy Pig, and Friendly Frog) learn that although bottoms come in all shapes and sizes, everyone must use the potty.
• Caldecott Medalist and Bestselling author Mo Willems reassures concerned potty trainees in Time to Pee with an overview of bathroom procedures alongside a cast of worried-looking boys and girls and a pep squad of encouraging mice.
• A Potty for Me by Karen Katz is an upbeat addition to the potty training picture book crowd. It’s written from a child’s perspective and has fun lift-the-flaps for an interactive experience.
• In Ruby’s Potty, Ruby receives a round, pink, plastic potty. It is unclear if she really doesn't know what it's for or if she's conveniently ignoring its purpose, but she finds all kinds of practical uses for it. "She hides it-She slides it-She puts it on her head. And when it's nearly nighttime, she makes it Rabbit's bed."
• One final item worth mentioning is Joanie Whittaker's CD, Miss Joanie's Potty Party. Miss Joanie performed at several of our locations this fall to rave reveiws. The Indoor Outhouse and Underwear Song tracks are unbeatable.