- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- babies today articles
- babies today q&a
- toddlers today articles
- toddlers today q&a
- breastfeed.com articles
- breastfeed.com q&a
- community & groups
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Finish Potty Training During the Holidays
5 Steps to Entering the New Year as a Big Kid®
By Melinda Copp
The holidays are an exciting time of year, especially for kids. But for recent diaper graduates, the holidays present a number of challenges, such as travel, outrageous shopping lines, holiday parties with crowds of strange adults and excitement over the season. These situations can make sticking with potty training more difficult and accidents more likely. However, regardless of your travel plans and other arrangements, sticking with potty training through the holidays is not a lost cause, especially if you make potty time part of the excitement.
"I found that my twins did very well while traveling overall because they liked the different potties at the airport and at relatives' houses," says Carly Shey-Osborne, a mom from Denver, Colo.
Even though you may be tempted to put potty training on hold until the holidays are over, you and your child can finish what you started by considering the following tips:
Routine is a big part of successful potty training – it helps your child feel confident and secure. But when the holiday season rolls around, routines often get disrupted. If you want your child to stick with potty training at this time of year, you need to try to maintain some sense of normalcy.
"Try to keep a regular potty break schedule, just like you normally would," says Polly Jackson, R.N., a pediatric nurse at the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic on Hilton Head Island, S.C. It may be difficult at first, especially on busy days, but make an effort to take your little one to the potty regularly.