Whether at home or in the office, we are caring for kids. We care for children all day and then come home to our own. It is what we do. We are a group of parents who happen to be pediatricians. I am often asked if being a pediatrician makes me a better mom, or if being a mom makes me a better pediatrician. Honestly, I’m not sure. Probably it goes both ways. But I do know it is a parental nightmare to navigate through the barrage of information out there concerning your child’s health. Everything from Facebook to Pinterest to your own mother claims to have the best advice on how to tackle a particular problem you may be having with your precious youngster. It can be overwhelming trying to discern the hype from the help. We’d like to be here to help.
We are starting a blog to provide some advice, insight, and assistance you can trust. We’ll be giving you weekly posts on pediatric health topics you’ll want to know more about. We hear your questions and concerns in our offices every day. Many of these parental worries are universal and timeless. Topics like fever, bedwetting, tantrums, and earaches are our daily business. It’s our job to give you the latest and best information to ensure the healthiest outcomes for your child. While the information we provide on this site will be generalized, and should never replace the specific advice your own pediatrician recommends, we hope to provide some overall guidance and direction when tackling your toughest parenting problems.
We are parents and we are doctors. We see kids through both lenses and have committed our lives and careers to their health and well-being. It is our mission to be “Caring for Kids…”
Ok I am struggling with this potty training thing. I have tried everything now I have started a hygiene chart and she puts stickers on it but still never the potty one. We had our first night without a cup last night and it was horrible. I didn’t give it but I got little sleep and she didn’t get very much either. Any ideas she will be 3 in April and I want her potty trained before she goes to Head Start….
Hi Holly, yes potty training can be a challenge for some children. This is a great topic that a lot of parents would be interested to read about. Our next blog post from Dr. Michelle Pierson will cover this topic. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Hi Holly, bribery has worked the best in potty training my daughter. Usually she gets either fruit snacks of M&M’s when she goes. She isn’t 100% consistent, but it’s definitely helped. It also helps to read her favorite book to her on the potty or to not put her in a diaper/pull-up for a period of time. She’s had a few accidents but usually knows not to go in underwear. Hope that helps and best of luck! I know it’s frustrating sometimes.
Last night was night number 11 without a cup. This has gone much easier than I thought. Has anyone heard of Melatonin? Is it bad now she doesn’t want to go to bed until midnight. This momma wants some sleep. But back to Potty training. Yesterday she wore one pullup and that was when we went to the store and when we got back it was back to the panties. I am worried because she pees then tells me mommy I went pee after the fact but she goes 2 or more hours without even peeing. Help I need some more ideas. The bribery doesn’t work with her for some reason. I let her take her tablet to the potty with her when she goes so she can play a game and sit but she doesn’t get anything to drink after 630pm or 7 depending on what time we eat dinner….
Hi Holly, check out Dr. Pierson’s new blog on potty training http://caringforkids.billingsclinic.org/caring-for-kids-who-refuse-to-potty-train/!!
Hey Holly, this was a bit of a challenge for my son as well…Arianne’s suggestion (M&M’s or some kind of small treat) below is what we tried with my son. We gave him 1 for #1 & 2 for #2…it was great to see his excited response when he’d get done and we’d go to the kitchen to get the bag of M&M’s down. We’d help him count out the appropriate number and let him choose the colors. We had to remember that he didn’t get M&M’s any other time except for going potty…that helped the treats be more special for the “event” 🙂 The cup before bed was a big thing with my son also…he always liked something to drink so there were a few accidents when we started potty training. We just started the transition by giving him less and less at bedtime, then we moved to just allowing it within a certain time before bed. He’s good to go now; however, I’ve got a younger son we’re in the process of starting to think about this with so we’ll see how this little one does 🙂 Keep working on it and it will click eventually. Cheers!
Holly – my son really liked playing games on my phone so I would use that – he was only allowed to play with my phone while on the potty or if he’d recently gone potty in the toilet. Since you mentioned the tablet maybe have that play a larger role in the reward system.