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Ruby Wright
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May 24th, 2013 at 2:10 am
My kids are still in diapers! I know it sounds terrible but I promise it’s only at night. I had a moment where I had to seriously consider and ask for tips for potty training at night. It just felt so difficult to accomplish.
Potty training at night is one of the hardest things I’ve had to deal with in parenting. I much rather change diapers every morning than to have to train my cranky kid to use the bathroom at night. It took us longer than I thought it would to just potty train. The best part was having them trained at the same time other than that I felt like it would never happen. My kids are only 13 months apart so this actually worked pretty well. I really think it’s time to get the night time potty training out the way too.
I believe that night time potty training is difficult for me because our kids struggle to sleep some days. It gets overwhelming to put them down and then have to wake them to be sure they go potty. Plus I’m training two at the same time again.
We recently went to Mexico and I forgot the diapers! I was worried because Mexico can get very cold at night. While they don’t always wake up wet in the morning I knew the chance of it being extra cold wasn’t going to work in our favor. There I was staring at them sleeping hoping they wouldn’t have an accident. I wasn’t going to let our vacation turn sour so I thought, if I can survive this weekend with no diapers then we can totally do without from now on!
Consider these tips for potty training at night if you are at this stage with your kids
Tips for potty training at night
Scroll through the slides for some tips that helped our potty training process at night easier.
Do you have some awesome Tips for Potty Training?
Read more of Ruby’s writing at Growing Up Blackxican
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COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) -
Nearly 225,000 children under 6 years old in South Carolina need child care.
Not all child care facilities are licensed and those that are may have violations you don’t even know about. 17 centers were closed in the last two years for violations.
Jada Collins’ 3 year old daughter’s experience at child care was far from a happy one. Her daughter was potty-trained before she enrolled there.
“After three or four weeks of going to this new day care, which I picked on convenience at that time, she just every day had, you know, soiled her clothes and I had to bring in a new change of clothes,” said Collins.
So Collins made an unannounced visit.
“One particular day I had got there and found out she had been in those clothes for an hour,” she said. “And in that moment I snatched her out and found a new day care.
Collins considered it a lesson learned
“Go online, because afterwards I went online and looked up and they didn’t have good reviews,” said Collins. “Had I had done that before, I might would have chose differently.”
One of 40 state inspectors conducts at least two unannounced inspections at all licensed child care centers every year. The results are online for any parent to see.
“No ma’am, I did not know,” said parent Dion Yates.
“I heard something about that but I hadn’t checked it out,” said parent Rebecca Pattky.
DSS says word of mouth from friends isn’t good enough.
“I think it’s really important for parents to know where to go when choosing a daycare facility,” said Leigh Bolick, DSS Director of the Division of Early Care and Education.
Consider this: 17 child care facilities in the last two years were forced by DSS to shut their doors, the result of severe violations. 11 of those were family homes that DSS can only investigate once a complaint is made.
Five were typical child care centers and one a group home.
Five are right here in the Midlands: Wendy Miller in Sumter, Eartha Mae Anderson in Sumter, Valjenia Davis of Sumter, Vicky Murray-Brown in Columbia and Precious Angels in Columbia.
We randomly checked ten licensed child care facilities from Lexington and Richland Counties. Between October and April, all received one of their two annual unannounced inspections. Violations were found at each one, but that’s not uncommon.
“We find a lot of things that are resolved on site,” said Bolick.
Specific items must be corrected before an inspector leaves. According to DSS, one of the most concerning write-ups is supervision.
If it’s a supervision issue and there are not enough staff, we do not leave that center until that’s fixed on site,” said Bolick.
Of the 10 random child care centers we checked, a third had one of the worst violations: out of ratio caregivers to children. Another severe violation is not tracking children left in their care.
“That’s one thing we see a lot, is that facilities have to make sure that they know where every child goes or certainly when they travel like on or off a bus because children get left at all sorts of places,” said Bolick.
Other violations included unauthorized or unqualified caregivers, playground deficiencies, transportation violations, not to mention issues with restrooms and electrical outlet concerns.
“That’s why I really recommend that parents look at specific deficiencies, like supervisions, and call us for more information,” said Bolick.
And what about complaints?
“We do not post anything to the web site that we found to be untrue,” she said.
So when you see a complaint listed, parents can be certain it’s a legitimate concern and can tell if it’s been addressed. Child care centers aren’t required to notify parents of violations so the only way to check is the state’s web site. DSS has recently revamped the information making it more user-friendly, including a link now on the homepage.
“We have started a consumer awareness campaign so you may see billboards or posters just telling people or parents that they need to look for the license,” said Bolick.
DSS officials hope more parents might consult the web site, before paying fees and signing up their children based solely on the recommendation of a friend.
And not all child care centers are created equal.
In South Carolina, a family child care home that cares for up to six children is required to register with the state but does not get inspected like a larger center.
The same goes for a religious-based child care center. They have to register, but if they’re not licensed, no one may be checking up on them, leaving a parent with limited information.
“At least with licensed care you know that DSS is going out there and inspecting,” said Bolick.
WIS went along with a state inspector inside the Incarnation Lutheran Child Development Center to see what an inspection is like.
Every care giver’s name is collected, and their paperwork is checked. April McDaniel is one of 40 state inspectors with a long checklist, from the water temperature at the sink to the temperature in the refrigerator where bottles and sippy cups may be stored.
“The thermometer is not working,” said McDaniel. “It’s 60. It should be 40.”
Next it’s on to the changing mats and the box where any medication including sunscreen is kept under lock and key.
” All medication labeled with the children’s name,” said McDaniel.
On to the two and three year olds room where again the sinks and toilets are checked but there’s an issue with the changing mats here.
“Some of your changing mats are torn,” McDaniel observed.
In the infants room, the center recently replaced it’s cribs after a recall.
Inspectors also check the facility’s playground.
“Make sure all the equipment is in good repair,” said McDaniel.
If a center offers transportation, inspectors insure it has a first aid kit and paperwork to track students.
“Each group of children we have get on the bus have a roster,” said McDaniel.
As a religious-affiliated center, the facility doesn’t have to go through the process but chooses to be licensed.
“It’s a matter of how you view it and I have sought out relationships with the ABC programs which is part of the DSS organization and here again we put ourselves out for additional unannounced visits with them,” said Teresa Boykin with Incarnation Lutheran Child Development Center.
“There was a thermometer in one of our refrigerators that wasn’t registering the right temp,” said Boykin. “And that’s a good thing to know, to make sure we don’t have a problem. And if there were anything else we would certainly jump right on it and fix it, so it’s a partnership.
Boykin believes if you agree to be licensed, you agree to the standard that comes with it.
” I think most parents want the best for their children and I believe there’s enough resources out there in the community by word of mouth family you can find a good program for your child, you just have to look,” she said.
Day care parents at other centers who’ve used DSS’s information say you’ve got to read it carefully.
“It’s the same thing with most restaurants,” said parent Ashley Oh. “There’s something going to be wrong. Nobody’s perfect, but a majority of the time when you find things, sometimes it’s just paperwork wise and that’s not nearly as big of an issue for me than if there were incidents that were a problem.”
Some parents say the unannounced checks should happen more than twice a year, plus complaints.
“These are your kids and you have to make sure your kids are taken care of while you’re not there,” said Pattky.
“They need to check up on them monthly,” said Yates.
Which is why DSS relies on parents to be their eyes and ears when they’re not there.
“When you see something on the web site, ask them,” said Bolick.
DSS also encourages parents to drop in unannounced. And if a center won’t allow you in, DSS claims that could be a sign something is wrong.
Centers that have been closed in the last 2 years:
Family Homes that had to close (revocations only) – 11
Lillie Wilson (Cheraw) – revoked 3/12/2012, closed 6/1/12
Julia Hines (Dillon) – revoked 4/11/12, closed 8/30/12
Cherry Singletary (Lake City) – revoked 5/3/12, closed 7/5/12
Geraldine T. Green (Florence) – revoked 5/14/12, closed 7/16/12
Nicole S. Boyd (Rock Hill) – revoked 7/9/12, closed 8/30/12
Wendy Miller (Sumter) – revoked 7/10/12, closed 10/2/12
Bonnie King (Gaston) – revoked 8/7/12, closed 9/6/12
Tamela Stacks (Johnsonville) – revoked 9/13/12, closed 10/10/12
Stephanie Washington (Barnwell) – revoked 9/13/12, closed 10/17/12
Eartha Mae Anderson (Sumter) – revoked 12/7/12, closed 5/9/13
Vicky Murray-Brown (Columbia) – revoked 12/20/12, closed 1/23/13
Centers that were revoked and closed – 5
Tender Loving Care (Wellford) – revoked 7/11/12, 9/11/12
Tender Loving Care (Wellford) – revoked 11/9/2012, 12/15/12
Community Day Care of Mt. Olive (Chester) – revoked 2/13/13, closed 4/26/13
Precious Angels (Columbia) – revoked 6/1/11, closed 2/1/12
Children of the Harvest (Greenville) – revoked 12/1/11, closed 3/7/12
Group Homes that revoked and closed – 1
Valjenia Davis (Sumter) – revoked 6/6/11, closed 3/5/12
Copyright 2013 WIS. All rights reserved.
I am deep in the throes of potty training. Every morning when Adi wakes up we’ll go to her potty, sing the potty song, and cheer like deranged sports fans when she finally pees. The same thing happens right before she goes to bed. During the day she still goes in her diaper, but still, twice a day is better than no times a day… right? RIGHT?
Well, I hate it. Hate it hate it hate it.
Why was I anxious to potty train? Because I was sick of lugging diapers and wipes around everywhere I went. I was sick of wiping poop. I was sick of diaper leaks. I was sick of having to change diapers in awkward places with no bathrooms. I was sick of Adi yelling “I need a new diapy” at completely inappropriate times — like in line at the bank, or graveside at a military cemetery while I’m holding a box full of my grandmother’s ashes. Pardon me grandma, I need to put you down for a minute to sneak behind this Spanish-American War tombstone and change a diaper? No. Not happening.
Here’s the thing about potty training though… You still have to wipe butts. After Adi pees in the potty I have to wash the whole damn thing. Washing a potty is harder and takes longer than changing a diaper. Diaper changes used to take 30 seconds. Now we’re spending forever on potties and potty related activities. There have been days where we haven’t left the apartment.
And public toilets are disgusting. When Adi wants to use a potty at a restaurant I’ll tell her to just go in her diaper. But no. She’ll insist on a potty. Now I have to hold her up over the toilet so her butt doesn’t touch the seat (which I covered in toilet paper anyway). A 35-pound two and a half year old being held up for long periods of time (because it takes forever for toddlers to actually pee). And then she’ll pee a tiny bit. Then 5 minutes later she’ll pee everything else into her diaper.
I’m spending literally hours every day kneeling on my bathroom floor next to Adi on her potty watching the same creepy potty training video over and over again on her iPad. I can’t leave her in the bathroom alone, not because of any safety thing, but because Adi always says “mommy stay with me, watch me potty” and I’m stuck.
Potty training is a lie. A horrible filthy lie.
It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside a pink pretty princess potty.
Potty training isn’t the promised land — it’s wandering around the desert for 40 years. The day Adi walks over to the bathroom, uses (and flushes) the adult toilet, wipes herself without help, and washes her hands without videos or my presence — THAT’S when she’ll be potty trained. Then I will rejoice for I have reached salvation and will no longer have to suffer knee pain from kneeling on a hard tile floor. Amen.
Rachel Figueroa-Levin is a soapmaker, cofounder and educator at Urban Babywearing, a hyperlocal Inwood blogger and organizer, a political/life/religion/parenting satirist, and all around trouble maker. She is also the creator of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Spanish-speaking alter ego @elbloombito. You can reach her via twitter @Jewyorican.
Brandon Williams had what many college students would consider a dream job.
He played football and hauled around beer for Miller.
But when somebody at Contractors Equipment, a company that rents, delivers and cleans port-a-pottys, said they had a job opening, Williams responded with, “What do I need to do?
There’s no job too small for Williams. That’s the result of modest St. Louis roots, growing up homeless at one point, and playing football at Division II Missouri Southern State.
Now there’s no job too big for the Ravens’ burly third round defensive tackle.
“I’m in a Baltimore jersey right now playing with all you guys – D-I’s, wherever you’re from – and I’m going to play as hard as you, play better than you, and I’m here to stay,’” Williams boldly said after his first NFL practice.
Football practice smells like sweet roses for Williams.
He spent three summers working for Contractors Equipment, starting his days after morning football workouts. His eight-hour days sometimes stretched to 12 hours until it was dark. His wage had climbed to $12.50 an hour by the time he quit, just eight months before the NFL draft.
Williams would get to work at about 8 a.m., get his port-a-potty delivery assignment, and load ‘em up. A single-person port-a-potty weighs about 170 pounds. An average worker would push it to the side of the truck, pick up one end to rest on the trailer, then push it up from the other side.
“Hell, Brandon would pick it up and just throw it up on the trailer. It was crazy,” recalls Contractors Equipment Manager Mark Shallenburger. “We saw him handle the handicap units, which were twice as big, and he would just toss it around.”
Williams saw it as just an extension of his football training. Picking up port-a-potties that took three or four other workers to lift were like doing power cleans.
“It’s kind of folklore up here,” Missouri Southern State Head Coach Daryl Daye said. “It became a joke that he’s crap house strong.”
Williams also got the honor of cleaning the units, which meant sticking a hose into the toilet to suck out the you know what. He told his mom it was like walking into a football locker room – except with the occasional splash back.
“You get poop on you sometimes,” Williams said. “Hey, it wasn’t so bad.”
Williams gained his humble outlook from his mother, Shelly. She raised Williams and his older brother, Bradley, while working various minimum-wage or slightly above jobs. Shelly worked brake presses, assembled air conditioners and drove busses.
But ends didn’t always meet.
In 2003, Brandon’s freshman year of high school, the family had to pack up its belongings into Shelly’s Pontiac Bonneville. They were officially homeless, bouncing around between staying with Shelly’s parents, sister and cousin.
Brandon, who was going through a major growth spurt at the time, would stay with football teammates’ families. They would let Brandon spend the night and feed him until Shelly had enough money to pay her bills and buy groceries.
“He literally was eating us out of house and home,” Shelly said with a laugh.
Brandon remembers being dropped off at school and other kids seeing his car piled with stuff. The Williams family didn’t unpack the car, just taking out enough for a few days or a week’s stay at a time.
Shelly did as much as she could to hide the family’s troubles from her sons. She scrapped to stay in the same school district, to continue letting them have a release through sports and through their friends. Eventually, they settled into a two-bedroom apartment in Kirkwood, MO.
“Mom sold her soul to the devil, I think a billion times over, to make sure they didn’t miss out on a lot of things,” Shelly said. “I tried to keep it as normal so it wasn’t a big eyesore for him. I didn’t want to throw any pity party.”
But of course, Brandon knew what his mom was going through.
“I saw my mom struggle, saw her work and saw her go without some days,” Williams said. “Even though we were going through tough times, my mom would keep us together. She was the rock. It kept me grounded, kept me humble. I think it made me a better man.”
When it came to football, Williams was a late bloomer, a kid who thought he was more a basketball player than football. But hehad a rare combination of size, quickness and strength. Shelly would bring his birth certificates to games just to prove he wasn’t too old for the competition.
Williams found football came naturally to him. He excelled in high school, and said there was interest from powerhouse Ohio State, but they wanted him to redshirt a year.
Williams just wanted to get an education and play football, and didn’t care much where it was. He visited Missouri Southern State, who wanted him badly, on a Friday and was enrolled by Monday.
When he first stepped onto the football field, Coach Daye was a bit concerned that Williams’ gentle personality wouldn’t provide the necessary grittiness to excel in trench battles.
“He was just a young, big butterball coming in here – all nice and happy and friendly,” Daye said.
There was another side on the field, however, and it didn’t take long for Williams to take off.
After a back injury kept him out of the 2009 season, Williams logged nine sacks and a career-best 17 tackles for loss on his way to being named a consensus All-American. He was an All-American again as a junior. But was he good enough for the NFL?
“I told him before his senior year, ‘You’ve played well over the years, but you have to dominate. There can be no question,’” Daye said. “I think he removed all the doubt.”
As a senior, Williams had 16.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and five forced fumbles. He broke the school’s sack record, was named the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year and earned an unheard of third All-American distinction.
“I don’t know that you can do any more at any level,” Daye said.
NFL teams swarmed small-school Missouri Southern State. ESPN draftnik Mel Kiper tweeted that Williams was a prospect to watch, and projected him as a possible second-round pick.
Williams excelled at the combine, bench pressing 225 pounds 38 times, tied for the most of any prospect. He was disappointed with the results, feeling he could have done more. Williams can bench 525 pounds.
Daye said he has so much explosion that he’s seen him leap and get two elbows above a basketball rim. Video of Williams walking on his hands has blown up on YouTube.
“He’s a definite specimen,” Daye said. “He has ridiculous explosion. People are going to have a hard time moving him, and they’re not going to knock him back.”
Williams excelled in his first rookie minicamp. He ate up blockers, made hits, flashed his potential – all indicating that making the leap from Division II to the NFL shouldn’t be a problem. Upon seeing him in purple and black for the first time, Ravens scouts already think he could have a bright future.
After one practice, Williams showed the other side of himself. He offered to help those who set up practice (the pads, the sleds, etc.) clean up and carry the stuff inside. It’s that attitude, springing from his modest roots, that makes Williams a true Raven.
“No job is too big or too small,” Williams said. “It’s just work. If you have a job, work it. Don’t say, ‘I’m too big for this or too good for this.’ By any means necessary, get the job done.”
But something happened on the road to bathroom independence. The choices in potty seats and chairs proliferated and sprouted all manner of bells and whistles.
Many convert like Transformers to serve multiple functions. One has a voice recorder to add a personal message (Go Jacob!). Others belt out happy tunes, have cubbies to stash wipes and books, sport their own toilet paper holders, simulate flushing, look like mini-urinals and are decked out as fancy thrones.
There’s one with an iPad holder and another with handlebars that looks like a ride-on toy. Still more can be monogrammed, are round to appear as ladybugs and soccer balls, rock like rocking chairs and, for the design-minded, look like contemporary furniture. And there’s no end to TV, movie and book tie-ins, from “Sesame Street” to SpongeBob.
Basic molded-plastic potties remain popular, high-backed or low, in an industry worth more than $50 million in 2011, according to the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, a trade group of companies in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
So who’s it all for, parents or little doers trying to figure out Nos. 1 and 2? Whether you decide on “elimination communication,” where infants go without diapers earlier than the norm, take a cold-turkey boot camp approach or have a late and reluctant bloomer on your hands, chances are a cheery potty seat is in your future.
“People talk about potty training more. Before it was something you just got through, you know. You just did it,” said Angie Peterson, marketing director for Levels of Discovery, a company that puts out painted wood potty thrones — pink for girls and majestic blue for boys — for up to $83 a pop. They’re bedecked with crowns and include a place to slide in a photo of your little one.
Grandparents are often the buyers of these thrones, she said, and the chairs match the company’s bedroom furniture sets with royal themes. They come with matching wood seat covers that turn them into regular chairs when training is complete.
Sick of unsightly plastic, but not looking for ornate? The Potty Bench by Boon Inc. is sleek and curvy in minimalist color schemes of bright green or aqua against white.
“We wanted it to look cool. Take a look at the children’s industry in the early 2000s and it was just all pastely and it had not had a facelift, ever. We wanted to bring cool style and design to parents,” said Ryan Fernandez, co-founder of the company and father of four girls 12 and under.
Potty seats just keep on coming, said Narmin Parpia, whose RNK Innovations makes the ones akin to ride-on toys.
“Isn’t it crazy? The idea is to keep the child amused while they’re on there, just to keep them entertained while they sit and wait for things to happen. I think moms today are expecting it to be easy and it isn’t always as easy as they think it is,” she said.
Sales of her company’s Riding Potty Chair increased last year by 5 to 10 percent over the year before, she said.
“But I think some of the seats would drive me crazy as a parent. Mostly the ones that play music when a sensor gets wet and you have to dry it off completely to make it stop,” said Parpia, whose kids are now 18 and 21. “I think at some point, when it does too much, it becomes a toy and the child wants to play with it rather than use it.”
Heidi Murkoff, who wrote the pregnancy bible “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” that now anchors a franchise and website offering parenting advice, isn’t a huge believer in busy potty chairs.
“Bells and whistles, and musical potty seats, are never necessary. Clearly babies have mastered potty proficiency for generations without them,” she said. “They just make the process more fun. But the bottom line: What kind of seat you put that cute little bottom on matters far less than how ready your toddler is to start potty training.”
There’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to potty training gear, even within families, but some basic choices in seat type exist.
There’s the standalone, which has to be dumped and cleaned, or an insert for the adult potty that makes the hole smaller and potentially less foreboding. Both have pros and cons, Murkoff said.
Make sure a seat for the big potty doesn’t slide around too much or have pinch points, especially if it’s a fold-up type intended for on-the-go use. Handles and a stepstool come in handy for extra security and push-power. Inserts sometimes have dials to adjust for fit.
If you choose a freestanding potty, make sure it’s sturdy enough not to tip over or slosh too much, advises Whattoexpect.com. Consider crevices that will have to be cleaned.
Also consider a splash guard that fits in the front for boys. Prioritize features: Do you need one that doubles as a travel potty? Do you plan on restricting training to a small bathroom?
In any case, take your tot shopping with you for a potty to build excitement, Murkoff said.
Meg Atkinson in Minneapolis is a rare breed of parent. She got the job done with her 2.5-year-old daughter in two days without any type of special potty, beyond a travel version she keeps in her car. There have been a few accidents but nothing out of the ordinary for a new recruit.
“We went cold turkey,” said Atkinson, who also has a 9-month-old. “We didn’t want to deal with any kind of special seat. It was straight to the big potty and big girl undies. So far, so good.”
By Sarah Trefethen
The Las Vegas Convention Center Photo by Holly Dutton
“Obviously the economy is starting to reboot,” said Jim Swinteck of North Carolina. His company, SoftPlay, a provider of multi-level children’s play areas, is back at the conference for the first time in six years.
And Advanced Compactors, a Massachusetts-based provider of waste disposal machinery, is back for the first time since 2004.
“A few of our competitors went out of business, and the economy started to pick up a little and we thought it might be a little door opening that we could slip though,” said Alec Rich, a compactor salesman with a thick New England accent.
Sunday afternoon’s panel discussions and education events were standing-room only.
At one workshop on leasing and acquisitions, a group of landlords fielded a question about supermarkets.
Chris Conlon, CEO of Acadia Realty Trust, wasn’t afraid to name name when he accused some supermarkets, including AP, Pathmark and Shaw’s, of having “really lost their way” and “staring into space” as competitors, including Fairway, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, continued to update their business model to meet modern consumers’ demands.
“As owners of shopping centers we really have to be careful of that,” Conlon said.
The push and pull between internet-enabled e-commerce and traditional brick-and-mortar retail is poised to be a hot topic this year, as traditional retail tenants continue to experiment with ways to engage with the customers in both the real and virtual worlds.
“There was a time when you could go to Chuck E. Cheese and play games that you couldn’t play on the internet,” said Les Lehner, VP of real estate development for CEC Entertainment Casual.
That’s no longer the case, he said, and instead of ignoring the internet, CEC is taking its pizza-pushing mouse brand into the online world. Lehrer dared his audience to laugh at the company’s popular online potty training tool.
“if I looked at the internet solely as competitor, I’d lose,” he said.
The buzz of activity at the Las Vegas Convention Center Sunday will pick up to a roar Monday morning, and many attendees spent the day offsite in town.
Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s Jeff Roseman tweeted his appreciation of his lunch at Mesa Grill. Many other New York brokers, including Massey Knakal’s Bob Knakal, Winick Realty’s Jeff Winick and Steve Baker and Eastern Consolidated’s Adelaide Polsinelli, were spotted poolside at the Wynn, a popular hotel for among convention-goers.
But even in the sun-soak environment of cabanas and “European style” sun bathing, the real business of RECon is never far from everyone’s minds.
One bathing suit-clad broker was observed seizing a similarly attired client’s elbow.
“It’ll be rented by Wednesday,” he said.
Other posts by Sarah Trefethen
As a report shows that many school children are still in nappies when they start at school, The Clean Green Nappy Machine releases a statement saying that real nappies could help children potty train earlier.
(PRWEB UK) 10 May 2013
Cloth nappy company The Clean Green Nappy Machine has released a statement saying that real nappies could help children potty train earlier.
There is a rising trend of children potty training later and later, and figures released this week show that UK schoolchildren are still struggling with using the toilet when they start school.
According to Esma Levendoglu, founder and owner the company, this bears out a trend which has been seen since the early 1980s, when the average age of potty training was 24 months. That has now risen to 33 months. She says that her customers, however, report that the use of modern cloth nappies has shown children potty-training earlier.
“Customers come into the shop and tell me that their babies are potty training much earlier than their peers”, says Ms Levendoglu. She was responding to a study, reported on the BBC this week. The study, which took place across Kent, showed a high number of children were still in nappies when they started at school.
“The health care expert interviewed mentioned the link between a child in terry nappies feeling wet and the discomfort prompting a desire to become dry in the child. We have been saying this for years, and are delighted to see professionals bearing this out. The rise in the age of potty training has coincided with the increased use of disposable nappies.”
She agreed that other factors will have had a part to play in the trend. Child-led parenting dictates that we take our lead from our children a lot more than in previous generations, for example, meaning that we are more likely to allow them to develop in their own time. “The huge jump in age, however, is of concern, and more and more modern parents are turning to cloth nappies and training pants to ensure that their children have the best developmental chance of training at a more socially acceptable age.”
And the great news is that modern reusable nappies are easier to use than ever. With one-piece nappies which are as easy to change as disposables, cloth nappies now use a range of fabrics which are super absorbant, as well as easy to use and care for. And customers love the fun prints and bright colours available, meaning that The Clean Green Nappy Machine is confident that the trend towards cloth is set to keep growing.
About:
The Clean Green Nappy Machine is one of the best-known and most-trusted online real nappy retailers in the UK, and also runs the only specialist cloth nappy bricks and mortar shop, which opened in 2009. For more information, please visit their website http://www.cleangreennappy.co.uk, or their Facbook page http://www.facebook.com/cleangreennappymachine.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2013/5/prweb10717523.htm
The new It’s Potty Time cover
Our current DVD leaves no guesswork about what our product offers or about its outstanding credibility.
Charlotte, NC (PRWEB) May 16, 2013
Since 1991, Duke Family Series’ “It’s Potty Time” has helped thousands of children to gain independence through toilet training. Now, this family favorite is back with timely improvements and updates in a modern version called “It’s Potty Time II”.
With a slight overhaul the 2013 version of “It’s Potty Time” has a redesigned cover, a new emphasis on the Spanish aspect of the DVD, and updated pricing with a coupon.
Although the classic video itself is the same, the new cover displays more relevant information for parents, caregivers and educators. It also highlights the fact that a Spanish version of the video is on the same DVD as the English version.
In addition, the new package includes the bedtime DVD “It’s Sleepy Time” and a Refer-A-Friend coupon. The coupon gives buyers a $4 refund when friend buys the DVD as well. Founder Hugh W. Johnston explains, “Our current DVD leaves no guesswork about what our product offers or about its outstanding credibility.”
“It’s Potty Time” has received praise from critics since its creation. The legendary movie critic Roger Ebert once said, “My first choice in the Kidvid category is It’s Potty Time…It uses sing-along techniques to teach its young viewers about one of the indispensable social skills.”
Parents and caregivers can receive more potty training tips and information from The Duke Family Series Facebook page and from the It’s Potty Time Twitter. “It’s Potty Time II” is available for purchase on DukeFamilySeries.com.
About The Duke Family Series:
Founded in 1991, The Duke Family Series, has become a leading provider in educational entertainment videos for children. Being parents themselves, and realizing the great challenge potty training can present, Hugh W. Johnston and his daughter Leslie compiled their thoughts, and with the help of Duke University’s research created the first effective potty training video for children 18 to 24 months of age. To learn more about this popular and proven potty training method visit us at http://www.DukeFamilySeries.com.
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It’s not enough to sit your child on any plastic potty trainer these days. A whole industry has sprouted up with the belief, reinforced by consumers, that your child’s bum deserves more, something that sings, simulates flushing, or is made of rich wood.
By
Staff, Associated Press /
May 16, 2013
This product combo image released by Safety 1st shows the Little Lady Bug Potty Partner. For some parents, summertime is potty training time. And like so many aspects of life with kids, potty training means gear, lots of gear. The choices in potty seats and chairs proliferated and sprouted all manner of bells and whistles.
AP Photo/Safety 1st
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New York
For some hopeful parents, summertime is “tinkle time,” as in setting toddlers free and diaperless outside while potty training. And like so many aspects of life with kids, potty training means gear, lots of gear.
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Something happened on the road to bathroom independence. The choices in potty seats and chairs proliferated and sprouted all manner of bells and whistles.
Many convert like Transformers to serve multiple functions. One has a voice recorder to add a personal message (Go Jacob!). Others belt out happy tunes, have cubbies to stash wipes and books, sport their own toilet paper holders, simulate flushing, look like mini-urinals and are decked out as fancy thrones.
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There’s one with an iPad holder and another with handlebars that looks like a ride-on toy. Still more can be monogrammed, are round to appear as ladybugs and soccer balls, rock like rocking chairs and, for the design-minded, look like contemporary furniture. And there’s no end to TV, movie, and book tie-ins, from Sesame Street to Spongebob.
Basic molded-plastic potties remain popular, high backed or low, in an industry worth more than $50 million in 2011, according to the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, a trade group of companies in the US, Canada and Mexico.
So who’s it all for, parents or little doers trying to figure out Nos. 1 and 2? Whether you decide on “elimination communication,” where infants go without diapers earlier than the norm, take a cold-turkey boot camp approach, or have a late and reluctant bloomer on your hands, chances are a cheery potty seat is in your future.
“People talk about potty training more. Before it was something you just got through, you know. You just did it,” said Angie Peterson, marketing director for Levels of Discovery, a company that puts out painted wood potty thrones — pink for girls and majestic blue for boys — for up to $83 a pop. They’re bedecked with crowns and include a place to slide in a photo of your little one.
Grandparents are often the buyers of these thrones, she said, and the chairs match the company’s bedroom furniture sets with royal themes. They come with matching wood seat covers that turn them into regular chairs when training is complete.
Sick of unsightly plastic, but not looking for ornate? The Potty Bench by Boon Inc. is sleek and curvy in minimalist color schemes of bright green or aqua against white.
“We wanted it to look cool. Take a look at the children’s industry in the early 2000s and it was just all pastely and it had not had a facelift, ever. We wanted to bring cool style and design to parents,” said Ryan Fernandez, co-founder of the company and father of four girls 12 and under.
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