I laughed out loud the first time I saw a toddler pee onto one of these circles. Then he asked for more juice so that he could come back later and try again!
Piddlers aren’t a new concept. Parents have been tossing cereal circles into a potty for “aiming practice” for a long time. These commercially-made circles are just easier to aim for, dissolve more, and clean up easily. Cereal has a funny way of bouncing around in the toilet, making it more frustrating, not as successful and not as much fun.
Getting children motivated to use the toilet can be a big headache. For every totally cooperative toddler, there are 5 more that are defiant or simply uninterested. They just won’t “go”. Piddlers may not be a total answer, but they can get your son over these barriers to skill development. Once a child is successful and has a routine, things are so much better!
Little boys have to control their aim if they are going to urinate standing up. This is a totally new concept for them, and a skill. Yes, a skill. Since they have been using a diaper for elimination from the day they came home from the hospital, toilet training is a completely foreign concept, from beginning to end. It’s a little bit funny: mostly the mommies are in control of toilet training, but only brothers, cousins and daddies can demo this particular skill. Read Low Tone and Toilet Training: Kids Need To See How It’s Done to understand why a live performance can jump-start your child’s comprehension of toilet use.
Piddlers are made of starch and food coloring, and won’t turn anything blue or orange. You may not even need the whole package! Once a child has success and has developed a routine, explain that you need to go to the store later to buy more (not really), but he can use the potty right now anyway without one or two Piddlers in the potty. Eventually you won’t need Piddlers any more, but you will have a little boy that is paying attention to what he is doing in the bathroom!
Great News! My book, The Practical Guide to Toilet Training Your Child With Low Muscle Tone, is now available as an e-book on my website, tranquil babies . Just click the “e-book” section on the top ribbon to get your copy.
Don’t think your child is ready for toilet training? You need this book more than the parents of kids that are struggling with training! Knowing how to prepare your child and yourself before you start training can make all the difference. My book will explain in detail what you need to know and how you can start developing potty skills…today!
