Great News! Trent from The Simple Dollar had a baby! Congratulations to Trent for bringing into this world a wonderful, new bundle of joy.
This is a great segue into what I’ve been going through lately. These days, my little one is undergoing a new chapter in his life as he begins to get potty trained. And while he manages to let us know that he needs to go, he still mixes up the words for what he wants to do.
For example, today, he said he wanted to go “pee” but seemed to be very tentative about standing up to face the toilet. I’d take him to the potty where he would stand there confused after which he would decide to run off and *not* do his business. After many episodes of this, I eventually realized he really meant TO DO SOMETHING ELSE but it was too late when I found out. Facing the potty and getting the result you don’t want was the consequence of receiving the wrong verbal cue. As I stood behind my child while he faced the potty, he nailed my legs and I could only yelp in astonishment. After our unscheduled baths, the cleanup crew got pretty busy. So parents, make sure you know the difference between your various 3 letter words that begin with “P” and end with two identical vowels! With this knowledge, you’ll have a much smoother potty training experience.
Despite these “adventures”, I have the consolation of looking forward to the end of this training period, because it would mean NO MORE DIAPERS. Quick frugal tip: The earlier you potty train, the quicker you’ll save money by no longer spending on diapers! This is, after all, what they cost:
If you plan to use disposable diapers, plan on spending between $1,600-$2,300 by the time your baby is potty-trained. Expect your baby to go through at least 7-8 diapers a day on average and spending $80-$130 a month on diapers alone (especially in the first few months, when changes are more frequent.) Cloth diapering can be just as expensive as disposables if you use a diaper service. If you launder them yourself, you can save money. It is estimated that cloth diapering cost approximately $800-$1,100 by the time your baby is potty-trained (without the diaper service.)
From Beautiful Babies To Astonishing Adults
All this talk now leads me to my blog reading list. Every so often, I get inspired to spotlight the most amusing, impressive and/or informative post I encounter in the previous week. If you have a funny, crazy, interesting post that stands out, it’ll certainly catch my eye.
My pick for the most jaw-dropping financial post of last week is by Free Money Finance who has uncovered a practice by compulsive gamblers that I can only describe as the ghastliest thing I’ve read in a while. I can’t believe that there are activities out there that can make adults forget that they are potty trained!
Now I’ll stop right here because I get the feeling you’ve had enough of these tall toilet tales.
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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
I am in the throes of potty training mishaps too. Sounds like your son hasn’t tried to pee on the cat yet though, lucky you. 😉
I will say though I have two in disposable diapers and I don’t spend near that much a month on them. Must be a combination of living in a cheap place and buying generics with coupons. lol
Good luck!!
Haha! We do have a cat that my kids like chasing around, poor thing. I’m sure it won’t be long before they pull that stunt on him!
Some tricks we’ve also done to save on diapers:
– Buy in bulk in Costco
– Coupons help 🙂
– Round up unused packs from friends and family
We’re just glad we’ll be weaned off these shortly.
I’m glad I’m not a father!
I am not looking forward to the potty training. It is on of those activities that the result is great but the experience is unpleasent to say the least. Or maybe I am just over hyping it. Our son will be two in October.
I also agree with paidtwice. We don’t spend anywhere near that much in diapers. One box at Costco last a month easy I think. That would only be around 1000 dollars or less for a child that gets trained at 2 and a half.
I guess the issue of diaper expense really depends on when a child gets trained. I do know kids who refused to get trained till really late (which can happen) and when that happens, things do add up! But yes, by doing Costco shopping, this should lessen the bite on your budget.
Of course, you could go “diaper free” and save a lot of cash. 😉
Oh my goodness! Good one David. 🙂 Of course, I wish I knew about that way back when.
Oh my! I bet that was quite the surprise.
Stinky situation to say the least. Great post, I added it to my latest link roundup.
10 Potty Training Tips
Tips:
-Your child should be at least 2 years
-Do not start training too early.
-Start small. Begin by buying a small potty and letting your child sit on it with clothing on until they become comfortable with it.
@Rebecca,
I appreciate the tips you’ve added here! My kids got potty trained between 3 and 3 and a half, a little late. Boys maybe?
No more diapers are probably the one thing that made potty training my boy worth it for me! I found a pretty solid guide on how to go about potty training written by an expert named Carol Cline. It pretty much gave me the help I needed after my son had an “accident” one day in my 2007 Z4… not fun to clean up.
I believe the Carol Cline guide is an online scam. Do not fall for it. It is basic information that can be found online or in any potty training books. If you think it is working, it is because your child is ready to potty train. Carol Cline preys on people that are having difficulty with the process and is nothing more than a common scam artist. If anyone wants to see the guide, email me and I will send you my copy, after I get it out of the trash.
Kathryn Slusher,
I am looking in to getting my 3 and a half year old daughter potty trained…to say she is resistant is an understatement of epic proportions! I also have a 2 year old son, that I would love to get potty trained at the same time or shortly after my daughter. I know that you don’t think that the carol cline guide is a good one, and you may have thrown it out already… but if you still have it around it would be nice to read it. Or if you have any really great tips, could you email them to me (share them here). I am desperate to get my daughter to use the potty as I would love to put her in play school but cannot do it until she is potty trained.
Thank you
Amanda
Hi. Do you have and idea at what age should you start potty training a toddler?
Potty training asap is a money saver. Diapers are expensive and the more they run through em, the more you spend.
To Kathryn Slusher:
I fell for it on Feb 19, 2010. Aaah the fateful day…;-0 Anyways, I haven’t received anything yet. Am I suppose to? Or do you just get charged and not receive any materials? We have to wait one month before we try to get charge taken off our credit card. So, yeah hope that goes well. What materials did you get? I feel like a fool and I feel sick and have cried about this whole situation. My daughter will be 3 April 1st. She shows all the signs, but seems terrified to pee or poop on her potty. We had a potty party and that seemed to make her happy. But, I had to bribe her to even sit on the potty. Ugh, she’s scared of the potty. We’ve been training on and off for a few months. OFF because she would act so terrified we would take breaks. I have an 8 month old to take care while trying to potty train my 3 year old. Oh, and I am pregnant and due in October. SO, needless to say I am EXHAUSTED! Any advice anyone has would be much appreciated.
How do we email Kathryn Slusher?
Also, Cat Ames: Are you sure it’s not a digital download that you get after you purchase Carol Cline’s materials? That’s the impression I got, although I didn’t see anything about shipping costs. I’m not convinced it’s not a hoax myself… still looking for something or someone REAL to prove it isn’t.
I purchased Carol Cline’s potty training guide; it involves downloadable materials. But it is a scam. When you try to get your money back, you cannot get a hold of anyone from the site, plus paypal cannot help you get your money back either. Don’t be fooled by startpottytraining.com because it is a scam and you will be out about 50 dollars.
I absolutely agree with Jessica. Carol Cline’s potty training is a scam! She promises your money back if it doesn’t work, but then there is no link on the web page where or how to contact her. If you click on “contact Carol” it goes to just some 5 answered questions and that’s it! Don’t waste your money on this rubbish, because lots of information there is just rubbish.