OK, yes, I know many of these books have been around for quite some time, but they are, in fact, what we're reading this week. With my sweet potato rounding out his 26th month of life on Earth and preschool starting in September, we're gearing up for the marathon that, apparently, is the feat of potty training a boy child. We're loving reading these books as we sit on each of the three (yes, 3!) potties hanging around our happy home and wanted to share:
1.) Potty Training Boys the Easy Way: Helping Your Son Learn Quickly
by Caroline Fertlemen and Simone Cave
S. recommended this book to me recently and I really liked it for a number of reasons. 1.) It makes total sense for my son. While I'm sure it works for a lot of people, I can't see potty training my kid say, the Dr. Phil way, for example. Given that every-other attempt to sit him on the potty presently results in vehemnet, stiff-legged refusals to sit down (which I'm 100% certain would be tearful and traumatic if I forced him) I can't really see helping him learn potty muscle memory by repeatedly putting him on a potty after he's already upset that he's peed his pants. PTBTEW indicates that if this kind of thing is happening, your son just isn't ready yet and recommends waiting it out, making it fun and letting him feel in control of the situation. Like I said: total sense. 2.) It has very specific recommendations for all the snafus that may arise, avoiding lost windows of opportunity and what to do if the window does, indeed, slam shut. 3.) It's actually well-written and easy to read. I read PTBTEW on my Kindle for iPhone app, but I like it so much I'm also purchasing a hard copy to make it easier to reference.
2.) A Potty for Me! A Lift the Flap Instruction Manual by Karen KatzThe apple of my eye adores the Karen Katz lift-the-flap book Where is Baby's Mommy, so this purchase was a no-brainer. I have a couple other instructional potty training books, but this is by far our hands-down fav. The illustrations, colors and lift-up flaps make it familiar in its similarity to other Karen Katz books and it's fun to read together, even though it is about potty training. It covers reticence, accidents and success, and, above all, is very informative. My huckleberry pie payed careful and rapt attention to each page and always asks to read it again--a mark of high esteem in our house. Learning to use the potty must be a bit confusing and anxiety-inducing, so the fun, straight-forward, step-by-step is just what we needed.
3.) Where's the Poop? by Julie Markes
We've had, shall I say, a few near misses of the solid sort of late. Because I'm aware that this is quite normal, I reacted in the moment ("Good job, button! You did it!"), but worried afterward that congratulating the peanut on pooping on the floor was perhaps not the best idea. Also, I, along with S., really don't like discussing poop, so this book pushes me out of my comfort zone and gives me a jumping off point to talk poop with my little man. This is another interactive, lift-the-flap book that covers several animals and where they poop, ending with a child pooping in the potty on the last page. Bravo--$7.91 well spent!
Power to the potty, mamas!
- M.
