Okay. Hello everyone. I see. Some of you are still connecting to audio. Don't worry. You're going to be muted for this process. So be noisy, whatever you need to do so glad you are here. I just want to tell you all before we get formally started, um, we're going to have like a Q and a at the end, so I'd be so grateful if you wanted to use that comment box or chat box too.
Leave a specific question. That's pertinent to your specific scenario. Um, today I'm going to be providing an overview, but I know everyone has like a different unique circumstance. So, uh, since you're here, if you would like me to address any of your specific questions, please put those questions in the comments area and also include your email.
Just in case we run out of time and I can't get to it. I would love to connect with you after this webinar. I can email back and forth with you. All right. So without further ado, my name is Julian Walker. I am a parent of two girls ages two and four. I am a nurse, a potty expert, and I have a background before I became a nurse.
My background was in preschool and early childhood education. So today I'm coming at you with some information on how to get your toddler or your child ready for preschool. Um, I'm really excited to talk about this. Obviously I can talk to you about it from a parent perspective, from a past teaching perspective, and then also from a nursing perspective.
So. Just quickly about us work hooping on the potty, the online academy, it's a resource for parents where we just leave all the fluff out and we get to the stuff that you really need to know. Our goal is to make potty training easier and make it a really fun and enjoyable experience that brings you closer to your kid.
Believe it or not, you do not have to dread it. It can be really fun, even if you're potty training of five or six years. So again, this webinar is an overview of ways. You can get your child ready for preschool the first day of preschool. And we're already almost in the middle of August. So a lot of you may be starting preschool next week or in another week, or even you already have started preschool.
So everyone's in a different circumstance. We're going to try to help you get ready. So let's get started there. This is what we're going to talk about today. So we're going to talk about what preschools require, so this can really vary. So we're going to get into that. Um, we're also going to talk about how to prepare your child for preschool potty success.
And in that we're going to talk about preparing ourselves as the parents as well. And then finally, we're going to talk about how to master deadline, potty training, because. Again, if you're watching this, you're probably on a time crunch. So we need to come up with some strategies to help you get your child ready for the first day of school.
So we're all parents. We know that time is valuable. Let's get started. This is going to take 20 minutes. We'll try to be done. Uh, well, depending on where you are, we're PST here. So we're going to try to be done at two 20, but again, if questions come in and you guys want to stick around, we can go a little bit longer.
All right. So what preschool's required. So the number one thing here guys, is that preschools do not want to be the sole caregivers responsible for potty training. Your kid. That definitely needs to come from their primary caregiver. You usually the parent or whoever else it may be in their life. So you guys, as a parents need to have that.
The second thing is there's a lot of different types of preschools. So some are more focused on daycare type care and others, or focus more on learning and education. So they don't want to spend any time on the potty training stuff. That's not their focus. Their focus is to help kids get a good, solid early childhood education.
In general, most preschools are going to require that your child can do all of their potty needs on their self without support from a teacher. So that includes not only recognizing they have to go to the bathroom and going, but wiping themselves flushing and then dressing themselves again. So your goal is to have your child potty train to where they can stay dry and use the potty during school hours.
Whatever happens after school. Really don't worry about that. Now, if they go home and throw on a diaper, fine, like just try to help them get through the day. And with that being said, does your child need to be nighttime potty trained? No, don't worry about that right now. That's not your focus if they're interested in it, of course do it.
But don't worry about that at this juncture. So what to ask your teachers, this is really important. How are you going to know what your child is supposed to do or what the school is willing to do without talking to them? So, first of all, you know, get an idea how they feel about potty using in general at this school, but ask them specifically, what is the daily routine for kids in their classroom?
Find out things like how they start their day when they have like snack time or like a milk or juice break, water break, whatever. When they're at recess or recess, try to find out what that schedule looks like, so that you can start to mimic it at home in the coming days before school starts. Next ask them how potty training goes or potty using goes at school.
So find out are, do the teachers say, okay, we're about to transition from crafting to recess. Let's all take a potty break. So are they providing cues or do they just let kids obviously, you know, do that on their own? Next find out what potty supplies you can bring, if any, there's some preschools that are well-funded well-stocked they have all the things.
And then there's others that need some supplies or, you know, it's just a requirement. Bring a Kleenex box like it used to be when we were in school. So find out what you can bring and then ask, if you can take a tour of the facility with your kid, this can be so cool for your kid because. Not only gets them excited about all the toys and the fun experiences they're going to have with friends.
But you can also take a look at what that preschool bathroom looks like. So your kid can be like, oh my gosh, there's a mini potty. That's just my size. And it flushes, this is so exciting. Same with the mini seat. It's awesome. Most preschools have that. So you can definitely use that as fuel to your fire in getting your kid excited to potty train.
All right next, how to prepare your kid and you. So the first thing you want to do is talk to your kid. If they're going to preschool, they should be old enough to be able to understand, you know, why you might need to potty train and why it's going to be fun. So talk to them, let them know what's coming, get them super excited.
So building excitement can help them become more interested in accomplishing this milestone. Next again, if you can take a tour, definitely do that, make them comfortable with it so that when you're at home and you're trying to potty train, you can talk to them about what it's going to look like when they're at preschool.
And then again, get an idea of that preschool schedule. So you can start to mimic it at home. The more time you spend trying to mimic that schedule, uh, the more. You can probably get your child's bowels and bladder on a routine that's more predictable. So you can be like, Hey, before you go to recess, I know you usually need to pee.
Why don't you make sure to go potty, then you can also set up a calendar at home. So this can be a really fun way to count down the days and help them. Visualize how many days are left and how close are getting to meeting their goal and getting to school, um, have them maybe put stickers when a day is complete and they've used the potty that day.
Um, do something big to celebrate. If they've had an accident free day before school starts all of that good stuff, you can have a lot of fun with that. And then finally do your back to school shopping. This is so fun. Get them so amped for all the cool things they're going to get like their own bags.
Pick out some awesome undies that they can wear and Dawn when they're at school. So get them excited about that. Make that a really big deal. And speaking of backpacks, let's talk about what to pack in your kid's backpack. You are going to want a whole change of clothes. This is just good. In general, kids get messy at recess.
Maybe they vomit something like that. Just always have a spare change of clothes that they can, um, the teacher can help them get into. And then if your kid is still potty training or still trying to get a grasp of that, bring an additional pair of pants and underwear, nothing would be more embarrassing than if your kid had a hang out in their wet undies and pants for a long time until you got to school with that.
So just have an extra pair just in case. Remember from my preschool teaching days, a lot of kids, if they had one accident in the morning, they were probably likely going to do it again that day, just because something was throwing them off, something was interfering with their normal, you know, how they, how they felt or whatever.
It was common to see multiples, flushable wipes. If your kid is used to using flushable wipes at home, throw some of those in their backpack. Preschool or preschool, toilet paper is pretty rough. And again, it's just an easier way to help your kid clean up if they do poop at school and then plastic bag for soil clothes, just get a plastic grocery bag, whatever.
Just so the teacher has a place to put those clothes if they get messed up. And then finally I love this last one because a parent did this for me. Once when I was teaching, she included a pair of disposable gloves. Her kid had thrown up and we didn't have any gloves. Like beyond grateful by this gesture from this parrot.
I'll never forget it. So that's just a little extra thing you could throw in that, you know, makes the teacher realize, okay, this parent is awesome. They know that this might happen and they care about me. So, all right. How to master a potty deadline or potty training on a deadline. Again, if you're watching this webinar, you're already on a deadline, you're trying to get your kid potty trained by next Monday or September 1st, whatever it is.
So there's parents here who maybe haven't even started the potty training process, or some of you have been doing it for a while, but your kid's just not really getting the concept or. Your kids just resisting. We're all in different places, but no matter where you at you're at, if your child needs to be potty trained, you've got to do it on a deadline.
So what you're going to do to get your child there, first things first have a gentle fun, but kind of serious conversation about preschool, how much fun it's going to be and why they need to use the. Just say, you know, teachers don't change diapers anymore. You're going to be having so much fun outside.
You're not going to have time to do diapers. You're going to want to use the potty with your friends, whatever it is. Secondly, let them know. It's time to say bye-bye to diapers, at least during the day. So you need to go all in on this. You have to say diapers, we're done with diapers. You know, you're no longer a baby.
You're a big kid going to preschool. Let's donate our daytime diapers to, you know, the kid next door, whatever. And now where the diapers used to be put the new fancy undies in that spot. So they know this is their new garment they're going to wear. When you're potty training, make sure your bathroom or your child's bathroom is set up for potty success.
So this means having a potty that's either their size or a step stool, and then like a potty seat that goes on your big toilet so that they can feel as comfortable as possible when they're trying to do their thing. So you don't want them worried about falling in, in the toilet when you're just trying to get them to actually put something in the toilet, right.
So, and thirdly, you're going to have to probably dedicate like a full long weekend, couple of days, whatever your schedule allows for, to focus solely on potty training. So there's a method called three-day method. You're going to need to tap into a lot of these strategies, especially if you need your kid potty trained in the next couple of weeks.
Um, this means you again, you focus solely on potty training, nothing. Takes your attention that weekend. Have your kid go nude again? You've said goodbye to diapers. You kid can go new during the day or wear like Lou shorts, dress, whatever, but so that they don't have anything tight on their bodies down there.
So they can really get used to what that feels like when they have an accident and then try not to go anywhere to boost their success over this weekend and make them feel confident, have them master their skills at home first. And then you guys can start doing little errands and adventures. Test the waters and see how well they do when you're away from home.
Okay. So some tips for success. Here's our list. Again, tell your child the plan. Think about putting up a countdown calendar. We talked earlier dedicating that long weekend and go cold Turkey on diapers. Tips for success. Let's make sure you look for signs of readiness, no matter how old your kid is. If they are five years old and they are not showing signs of readiness, you're going to get a lot of resistance and backlash from potty training.
If they are preschool age and they aren't showing any signs. So that means they're not staying dry for a couple hours at a time, or they're not even showing interest in the potty. This might be a time to. Um, I don't want to say push it a little bit, but try to explore the potty with them. And if they really resist, you might want to check in with your pediatrician just to see if there's something else that's holding them back.
Um, start early. I know again, you're probably on a time crunch, but it can take longer than you think. Even those parents that do the three-day method. Yes. They crank it out in three days. They usually see quite a bit of progress, but their kid is not perfectly potty-trained after three days, you know, They have to still focus on it.
Do potty reminders, things like that. Few accidents can still happen. So start early. If you can getting them excited is key staying positive. This is so huge for us as parents. It's not your milestone as a parent, and that's hard for us too. Grapple with, because we kind of have this competitiveness, I think amongst us parents where we're like, I potty trained my two year old, perfectly and all that.
And then Sally down the roads, Canada's four and still struggling, whatever. Just ignore all that. Stay positive. It's not your experience. It's your case. Remember that accidents are going to happen. It's part of it. Regression may even happen, especially once they start preschool, don't be alarmed. If that happens, it's a big stressor in their lives.
They're trying to get used to it and just remember your kid is awesome and you're awesome and all will be well. And they will become potty trained. Eventually. Don't worry. So we're going to get to questions in just a moment. But I just want to tell you a little bit about paving on the potty. We are a new resource for parents.
It's written by parents founded by my friends, Jason and Holly. They're incredible people. And they are, their goal was to create a resource that was actually legitimate and user-friendly for parents. So Holly, she found every time her kids were about to embark on a new milestone. She was like presented with a ton of manuals.
She was like, oh, I felt like I had to read like a 300 page manual on how to potty train or how to like wean my kid or do baby led, weaning, whatever. So we have tried to take that problem and make it really fun and easy for you and really accessible. So putting on the potty.com is again, an online resource.
We have articles, short videos, and also. We give you access to me a potty expert where we can go back and forth and try to strategize how to help your individual kid succeed in mastering the potty. What circumstances behind you, you know, we can work it out and we're here to support you and make it as fun as possible.
So you can find us@poopingonthepotty.com. Just know that we're a hundred percent committed to making this an awesome experience for both you and your kid.
So without further ado, let me pop into the comments box and see if any of you have left. Anything that you want me to answer specifically? Um, I have a couple of questions that came through on our. Advertisement for this. So I'm going to start there and if you guys think of anything, please pop it in there.
Oh, awesome. Okay. Thanks so much, Stephanie. Let's see,
my niece is doing great pain, but is terrified of pooping. This is so common. Um, and yeah, you're not alone in this whatsoever with your niece. Um, no matter their age, there's a lot of kids that can be totally terrified or pooping. So the first thing I would recommend is talk to her about, or have her parent whoever's, you know, her caregiver, the one leading this experience.
Have them talk to her or with her about what's so scary about it. Um, finding out what's so scary can be so helpful because you can rule out, okay. Is this a medical issue where it just hurts really badly? Or, you know, she's got a lot of constipation. Um, is this an anxiety issue where okay. It hurt a couple of times and now she thinks it's going to hurt every time.
Or is this actually like a control issue where she just feels like that's the only thing she can really control in her life. And so that's what she's kind of hanging on to. So I would first start with a conversation with, um, with her and just try to have a Frank light chat about what that looks like.
And then, um, Try to separate yourself from the situation. So take a step back and see, okay. Is there something else in her life that is making her feel kind of out of control? And she's again, trying to hold onto something is going to school scary to her. If she's about to do school, is there a new sibling or are mom and dad not jiving?
You know, kids can really respond in unusual and unique ways when something in their environment is not quite right. So your, the parent's role in her in any situation is to give your child your child choice, but not control. So you can give her choices to make her feel empowered and confident in this.
Um, especially if it's like a control issue or anxiety issue. Um, but at a certain point, she is going to need to start pooping in the potty. So if it's a medical issue, I highly recommend you increase fiber in her diet. Make sure she has plenty of water and then never hesitate to talk to your pediatrician if that's painful.
I actually think that's a really great place to start just because you don't know if there's something anatomical going on, like kids can get hemorrhoids, you know, if there's something like that or if she really is just like chronically constipated and it hurts. So I'd start there by making sure that.
Finding out what's causing the pain for her. Um, and then, you know, just try to progress to pooping on the potty as you can. So is she going in a diet if she's going in a diaper, try to start having her poop in the bathroom so that she gets comfortable, at least with going there and then slowly try to progress to going on.
So if I, if you want some more information, Stephanie, please reach out to me. You can connect with me@juliaatmostlyproudparents.com. We have another, oh, here we go. You actually replied to me. She does have a new baby says. What's happening now is she will only poop when she's napping or sleeping at night.
Oh, that's really interesting. So she's probably holding onto it all day, which is why she doesn't go until she's asleep because that's when she's relaxed. So I. If it's really hurting her, I would definitely see your pediatrician, but you might just want to wait it out a few weeks to, as long as she's going regularly, you know, she's really constipated.
Hasn't really hard. Stools definitely consult your pediatrician. Okay. So one last question and then we'll wrap it up. Oh, and then we have one more. So I'll try to get to it if y'all need to leave, please. Do I understand? Um, we'll go a little bit longer today. My boy is the total opposite. He lets me know when he has to poop, but not in good at letting me know when he needs to be.
This is common too.
So there's like that. That's just really common. They sometimes kids do really well with one and not the other. Your son. And even if it's a girl, what I would recommend with the pink is take away. If he's wearing training underwear, like the thicker underwear, take those away, do away with those because sometimes those mimic a diapers.
So they'll hold your son's genitals closer like a diaper. And so he'll have a tough time distinguishing what he's wearing. So get them little boxer shorts, or have him go even like completely new. Or just wear pants, shorts, whatever. So he knows right away when he's being and he's going to start connecting those dots a little bit.
The other thing I would do is I would not force feed fluids, but I'd make sure he's well hydrated. And then I would set a potty timer or like, Every 30 minutes, if that seems excessive, do every hour and just have him try to go potty each time and make it fun, put some Cheerios in the toilet, see if he can aim at it or let him pee on the tree, outside, whatever, just so he starts gaining control over what that feels like when he decides to pee.
And so he can also realize, okay, that when I felt like I had to be iPad and it was wet everywhere, so he can start to connect those dots. All right. And last one, TJ, I have an almost four year old that is delayed in speech. Any advice regarding the issues with him communicating or understanding? Good question also is a small potty best or one with a step stool, one on an adult toilet.
Let me address that one first. I would do whatever your kid's comfortable with. Um, sometimes they really like having their own potty because that can just be super fun. You know, they have their own little place. It feels secure. It's on the ground. They don't worry about falling or the potty seat not fitting quite right, but also, you know, hearing the poop actually splash into the water can also be really exciting as well.
So, you know, just ask your kid really what their preferences and whatever they like is going to be your answer. As far as delays in speech, I'd love to know more about what type of delays they have, if it's, um, you know, are they, obviously they're having trouble communicating to you if they are, if your child is able to offer some different cues.
So these don't have to be verbal cues. Maybe you can have them, you know, You can demonstrate by every time before you need to go potty, you kind of dance around on your feet or whatever, and say, that's an okay way to let me know you have to go. Um, so again, I don't know quite what type of, um, specific delays your kiddo has, but if you want to reach out to me@juliaatmostlyproudparents.com, please do let, give me some more information and then we can work on that together and come up with some really good strategies.
So on that note, we've gone a little bit over. I just want to thank you all for being here. It was fun. I hope you've got some insight into maybe how to make this transition a little smoother for you. Again, please reach out to me personally, or definitely check out our website. We can shop face-to-face there. We can do a lot of fun stuff to help you and your kiddo. Get ready for preschool. Take care, guys. Thank you.
