My 2-year-old son, who barely speaks, peed on the toilet for the first time

Thank you for visiting. I am a science-loving mom raising my 2-year-and-9-month-old son, who only says a few words, and my 6-month-old daughter.

Yesterday, something happy happened✨My son was able to pee on the toilet for the first time!👏

Behind this success, the sticker chart I introduced the other day played a huge part.

So today, please let me ramble a bit aboutthe issue of how to handle potty training for children who don't speak yet.

How do you handle potty training for a child who doesn't speak?

Even if I want to start potty training, my son barely says anything other than "Mama," so there is no way he can say "pee" or "poop."

But still, he will be in the youngest class starting next April. Once he is in that class, children who aren't potty trained won't be allowed in the pool.

That means...I have to finish potty training within the next six months...!I thought, while having done almost nothing until now. (Oops)

When I looked up the "conditions for starting potty training," they usually include items like "can say 'pee' and 'poop'," so I had just left it alone, thinking, "My child isn't there yet."

Should I at least get him into the habit of sitting on the toilet?

However, I started thinking that even if I don't aim for "doing it on the toilet" right away,just getting him into the "habit of sitting on the toilet"might make things easier later on.

So, before starting full-scale potty training, I began doing three things.

Yes, I started with a "vague feeling" thatit would be enough if he just got the image that "pee" and "poop" are things you do on the toilet.

At first, my son found it interesting and wanted to sit, but...

After a while,he started refusing to sit on the toilet, and I gradually stopped asking him to sit there as well.

Starting with the sticker chart!

Thinking, "That won't do!" when I made the sticker chart,I decided to include a toilet item as well.

Even if he doesn't pee on the toilet,it's a system where he can put on a sticker if he sits down.

This was a huge hit! My son, who had previously refused to sit, has started sitting on the toilet first thing in the morning and right before bed without fail👏

First success in one week!

Yesterday, exactly one week after we started the habit of sitting, I took him to the toilet before bed and noticed his diaper was dry.

Thinking, 'Could this be it? He might actually go!'

I was about to go, but my son found a scratch on his thigh and wanted me to put medicine on it, so I went to the living room to get the medicine.(My son doesn't speak, but he can communicate quite well using his own self-made sign language.)

When I returned to the toilet, oh my...!The floor was soaked in pee!!

Yes, my toilet-beginner son managed to pee, but since he didn't know how to aim, it ended up being launched onto the floor... lol

Praise him regardless

I felt half happy and half 'Are you serious...', but I hid the latter and praised him like crazy.I called his dad over, too.

After all the cleaning was done, we put on the sticker, and when I looked at the chart and praised him again... my son had a smug, grinning face.(So cute)

These days, I'm hoping that his successful experiences with the toilet will continue to increase like this.

I'm thinking of offering it online

The sticker chart has been so effective that I truly want to recommend it to all moms and dads from the bottom of my heart.

I also thought, 'I wish I could download a template online,' so I'm considering offering it.

For now, I'm thinking of making the ready-made version (the same one my son uses) available for download in PDF format on note.

I'm vaguely thinking about making it possible to customize the items to fit different daily routines on Coconala.

I don't know if there's any demand for it, but I'd be happy if it could be useful to someone; that's my sentiment.

📔Sticker Chart (Postscript)

You can now download the sticker chart below. Please feel free to use it.

Best regards.

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