Tipping Out the Potty

[jackrose]

Wow what an incredible little girl! Seems she is really switched on.

I am very impressed with how you are doing everything so far and I have a suggestion for the communication question "how do I get her to tell me?"

How about incorporating a bit of baby sign language? Research has shown that toddlers who sign tend to have less frustration as they can communicate their needs so easily and it can help their language development too. You can google "baby sign" or something similar if you are interested.

I have been using it in the last month with my 18mo DD and she has picked it up really quickly. I started using a simple command - milk - and used it everytime she wanted some milk or got some milk. DD amazed me one day after a few weeks when she saw a bottle of milk for a baby and made the hand sign at me. Since then we have learnt a new sign almost every day. I have used the Auslan webpage to find the signs and adapted some to make them easier for her little hands. I plan to use signs for wee and poo when she is ready to TT.

I think it sounds as if your DD will pick up something like signing really quickly as she is so switched on. It may be really good for her if she is still getting the hang of language.

[Nelle]

Do you think perhaps a reward for putting her business in the loo? A sticker or lolly for emptying out the potty in the right place?

[sunshine_sieben]

Jackrose, thanks for that suggestion. I'll give it a go. I actually have a book here about baby sign language.
And yes, you are right, she is incredible. And I am completely objective

It's just confusing, because she does know and uses the words for wee and poo. But not until after the fact. So the association is there, just not the timing.

By the way, DD only just learned the word for milk. And I find that surprising, because milk is like her favourite thing in the world, I expected her to learn that word much earlier (She is being raised bilingual, so I find a delay in her speech is completely normal). But she always knew how to communicate that she wanted some. At first she would stand in front of the microwave, saying "beep beep beep" because we used to heat her milk in there. Then she started standing in front of the fridge, whingeing. Until recently, she would stand in front of the fridge saying "more". Or, if I had forgotten to lock it, she would get the bottle out and bring it to me

I am glad that the signing seems to be working so well for you. Learning a different sign each day seems like fantastic progress.

Sasa

[sunshine_sieben]

Nelle, yes, I have been working with rewards a lot. She either gets a dried apricot, which is like a lolly to her, or a couple of M&M's or anythign else I have on hand. And give it to her straight away, to make her associate it with her doing her business in the potty. And I cheer and clap and make a right idiot out of myself. It was really funny, when DD walked in on DH doing a wee in the toilet a couple of months ago and she started cheering and clapping. She's now TT Daddy

Sasa

[HotI]

It was really funny, when DD walked in on DH doing a wee in the toilet a couple of months ago and she started cheering and clapping. She's now TT Daddy

Sasa

Priceless! just gorgeous.

[sunshine_sieben]

i thought i'd update, we have had 3 outiings without a nappy over the last 3 days. only 1 accident and that was on the longest outing (2 1/2 hours) which was today. She did do a wee and a poo in the toilet at the place we visited, though, which i was really impressed with.
i find that she's been doing so much better since we cut out the nappies completely. this morning, she even told me while still cuddling in my bed with the nappy on, that she needed to go, so we took her pj's and nappy off and she ran to the potty.

we never really did sign language, but she often calls mummy and touches her crotch to tell me that she needs to go. that was before she started using the words.

and poo seems to confuse both of us as it's the same word for her favourite movie or having to go to the potty

Sasa