No doubt, kids can come up with some pretty creative uses for standard household objects. Here’s an article about a little boy who had something very unusual happen to him because of it!
What’s the craziest thing your child has pulled while potty training?
Sometimes children ask to go potty at the most inopportune times! Here’s one little girl who managed to do it on national television.
I really love the author’s take on the whole scenario… Sometimes, you just have to roll with it!
Article: http://thestir.cafemom.com/toddler/137539/3yearold_genius_uses_potty_talk
Video:
Creation and Implementation
I recently sat down to a great phone chat with co-creator of Signing Time, Emilie Brown, and also listened to a radio interview Rachel Coleman did, to learn more about the creation of Potty Time. You can read the back-story to Signing Time HERE and the first installment of the interview with Emilie HERE.
What was the creation of Potty Time like?
As we talked about in PART TWO of this series, from the very beginning of Signing Time (even from year one!) many requests for a potty training show were rolling in. But Rachel freely admits that she felt resistant to teaching signs for bathroom words and singing about bathroom words.
However, once Rachel and Emilie realized there was a big need for a potty training approach that taught kids about their amazing bodies, and how they needed to listen to those bodies, Potty Time production was up and running.
The creative process of writing “Look at you Grow” and “Your Body is Amazing” were easy for Rachel. But she still just did not want to write a potty song! So, the obvious answer was to pass on the job to their youngest brother, Aaron (who incidentally is in on the family business and helps with music production and sound design.)
So Aaron is responsible for “Uh-oh, It’s an Accident” and “The Potty Dance”, writing the potty songs as only a little brother can do (and we are very glad he did!).
You can listen to a radio interview with Rachel on the creation of Potty Time HERE.
How do you see Potty Time being used at home?
I asked Emilie what their vision was for Potty Time once it was created. How would families from all walks of life use it? The first hope of course was that families would start watching the video, using the signs, and integrating it into their potty training routines.
More than that though, the hope was that every family would have the support they need to have potty training be a great experience – with whatever method they choose – with a tool to help kids be excited about potty training and be successful in that process.
What about using Potty Time in childcare settings?
To the Signing Time folks, the most effective trainers are the parents because they can be the models. It’s a challenge for someone who is not the parent to be able to navigate something like potty training. If they are using Potty Time, that framework of positive messages and support can really help them be aware of the important messages that kids need.
In daycare, there are often kids of all ages and developmental stages, so signing in general can be critical and very helpful. In addition, if the daycare uses media (like videos), Potty Time can make a difference for their kids more so than some shows that are purely for entertainment.
When it comes to preschools, most children are expected to be potty trained when they enroll. But this video isn’t just for kids who are starting to train. Even after potty training is more or less complete, you still have to deal with some of those bathroom things… like remembering to wash hands all the time! In this case, Potty Time can be an ongoing support to help newly potty-trained kids in a new environment.
Finally, it is Potty Time, after all! Let’s keep our sense of humor!
Just for fun, I asked Emilie if she had any funny stories to tell about the creation process. She had a few!
During production there were some pretty funny conversations about the products that would be used with Potty Time. The creation of these products is literally a fine art. So when something like the pee spot Hopkins makes in the board book isn’t quite the “right” yellow, a conversation has to happen. You can imagine the laughter from the illustrators, who probably weren’t quite accustomed to these sorts of… details in their work!
After Potty Time was created, the team hosted a preview party for all the kids who were involved in the show. There is a song in the video called “Stop and Go” (to the bathroom), and by the end of the song, half the young audience was all lined up to go to the bathroom. Proof that the concept works, I guess!
You can also watch some great outtakes
from the filming process HERE on Rachel’s blog.
In Conclusion
I hope you’ve enjoyed this behind the scenes look at Potty Time creation and all the love and effort that went into the production process.
As Emilie said, “Who knew that potty training could be so fun and tender? And that potty training could be another opportunity to strengthen the relationship between parents and their kids?”
That, in essence, is the Potty Time goal.
Are you a mom working outside the home and trying to potty train a toddler? It is a lot to balance!
We really enjoyed this honest article about some of the challenges that can happen even to a mom who appears the most put together – a TV reporter!
How about you? Any funny (or frustrating!) potty trainer/working mom stories? Share them here in the comments, or join the conversation on Facebook!
Thanks to our Facebook fans for sharing their hilarious potty training moments!
I think our funniest was the first time my daughter pooped on the potty. She looked at it and was shocked. She said, “What’s that? Where did it come from?” (Jo K.)
While my oldest son was potty-training he had a poop accident. He didn’t want everyone to know so he tried to vacuum it up. My vacuum cleaner was sooo nasty and so was the carpet where he tried to “clean” it up from. (Esmi M.)
Recently we asked our Facebook community to share their funniest potty training stories and got some great ones. Here is the first installment of funny stories, with more to come later this week. Enjoy!
My son went potty in the middle of the night the other day. After going Potty he asked “Call Rachel! No Rachel sleeping, call in the morning!” (Mickelle G.)
Last year I was letting my daughter, probably around 18-20 months, go naked. I thought keeping her off the carpet would keep any mess from getting out of hand. Then I looked over and saw her sitting on the heater vent in the floor. Just then the heat came on, her eyes got big, and by the time I got to her, sure enough she had peed into the register! (Clara W.) Continue reading
This is the second installment in a two-part series about potty training multiples. To see our first installment, click HERE. In our first article we talked about readiness and supplies. Now we move into working with the twins together… although not necessarily potty training together!
To compete or not to compete? Some parents of multiples have had great luck with using a little healthy peer pressure so that one twin is motivated to train by watching the other. However, this isn’t always the case. As with everything else in their lives, twins are very separate little human beings. It’s okay if one is ready and not the other and it’s okay to just let that slide. Continue reading
With the help of Professional Twin Mommy, Maggie Martin, (you should totally check out her blog!), we’ve put together a list of tips for potty training your multiples. These will be presented in a two-part installment.
Potty training by itself can feel like a pretty daunting task, but how about tackling it for two, three, or maybe even more toddlers at the same time? How do you even begin?
Well first, you have to remember that you have already managed to have them all and feed them all and change them all for a couple of years now… so you’re probably going to be better at this than you might think! Continue reading
Adventures in Potty Training a Willful Child (Part one of a three part series)
Monkey see, Monkey do
From early on, Evalyn took an interest in the potty time routines in our home. She was familiar with the signs of bathroom-related vocabulary thanks to the fact that we use American Sign Language in the house. So, she was taught and understood the terminology and was able to communicate it from infancy (6 months). Evalyn also had a wonderful role model in her older sister, Elizabeth. So, as the saying goes…monkey see monkey do. Continue reading
By definition, I am not a germ-phobe. I don’t carry sanitizer in my purse, although I occasionally have aspirations of doing so, and I don’t even (gasp!) make my kid wash his hands before every snack at home (but most snacks and meals, yes). In fact, I am solidly in the camp of “A little dirt is good for them! It builds the immune system!”
But what gives me the willies more than anything else (besides large hairy spiders) is public restrooms. Let’s all pause for a collective shudder. I don’t care if you are in the nicest place in the world, all public bathrooms are gross-gross-gross!
I was like this before having a kid. But once my son was potty training, I realized that public bathrooms are in fact the stuff of nightmares. I don’t care how wonderful a parent you are, it is impossible to simultaneously handle an active toddler/preschooler, their clothes, the (filthy) fixtures, not touch anything yourself and, most importantly, shield your precious little one from what is sure to be some form of the plague.
I could go on and on, but Amber Dusick of Parenting Illustrated with Crappy Pictures does a much better job describing the true horrors. Enjoy!
BLOG: Public toilets vs newly potty trained boys and girls
How about you? Any funny potty training in public restroom stories to share?
Editor’s Note: We here at Potty Time really believe potty training comes with a sense of humor. This blog link is one perspective from a parent who writes with a certain sense of humor of her own. Any opinions or choice of words do not necessarily reflect the position of Potty Time or it’s affiliates.
