It’s Potty Time! {Potty Patrol review and giveaway}

OK let me start by saying this: I’d rather potty train a puppy over a child ANY DAY! My daughter was a nightmare! For some reason she was terrified of the potty. We tried the big potty, with and without the potty ring, the little potty in the living room, in the bathroom, etc. I didn’t matter. You put her NEAR one and she’s have a complete meltdown. We tried bribes, distraction, begging, demonstrating (yep, that was a sight – mommy trying to show her how to sit on the little potty). She wanted no part of it. Finally when she was about 3 ½ years I said enough is enough. I told her she was sitting on the potty and not getting up until she went. She cried, she screamed, she threw a fit. Three days later she was done with diapers.

Now it is time for the boy. Finn has been interested in the potty for a while, but is super headstrong. The first day we “tried” (he was about 22 months), he walked in the bathroom (following me) and took his own pants and diaper off and said “potty mommy”.  So I put him on the potty just to let him check it out. He wouldn’t let me hold him on (kept swatting my hands away) and sat there, holding himself in place like a champ, without a potty ring. After about 2-3 minutes, he peed. We did the congratulatory potty dance and song we did with Chloe and then called everyone we knew to tell them. But he wouldn’t sit on it again that day.

The next day? He did the same thing, pants and diaper off and he climbed on the potty himself. This time in five minutes he’d pooped. Again, our little dance and song and calling everyone to tell them. Later that day, we bought a potty seat. That was two months ago. He has yet to use it again. Getting him on the potty is a chore.

After all the issues with Chloe I decided I wasn’t waiting until Finn was 3 ½ years to have him potty trained. I started researching potty training aids. They all seemed about the same and all the books tell you to use similar methods. But I wasn’t loving it all. That is, until I came across Potty Patrol. Have you seen this system? SO creative. The starter kit comes with 24 diapers (choice of female or male) that have sensor strips in them. It also comes with this small device you clip onto the diaper that plays music when the sensor is “tripped”. So what trips the sensor? Your kiddo’s pee! The idea is that the music goes off on the little device (it plays an old favorite – “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”). The music cues mommy (that’s me 😉 ) that is time to run to the potty. Your child learns that peeing triggers the music and then the need for the potty. But more importantly, it removes the guess work for me of when to put him on the potty.

So how’d it work? Well, mixed results. I can definitely see the genius of this system. I loved not having to guess when was a good time to put Finn on the potty or just sitting there for an hour trying to get him to sit still, keep his “wink” behind the splash guard and not pointed at me, leave the toilet paper alone and stop trying to flush. I loved that the music told me time to go sit. But here’s my problem. First, Finn doesn’t tend to just potty a little then finish later…when his bladder says go HE GOES, so we never made it in time to the potty for him to finish. So I think he was associating the music with potty but not the sensation of peeing. Another issue I had is my son is super handsy. He kept trying to take the little sensor off. So that was fun. But I think if I’d used this with Chloe, there’d have been no problem.

In the end, after five days with the diapers, he’s not potty trained. Not sure we’re even closer. BUT, that being said, I still LOVE this system. I think if Finn were a little older (he’s only 25 months) it would have been a huge success since I could have “reasoned” with him a bit more (yes I just used the word reason and my two-year-old in the same sentence). At the price point of $29.99 for the starter kit (24 diapers –girl or boy – and the sensor) or $19.99 for the refill kit (24 diapers – for girls or boys) I think it is a great deal. Granted that’s a lot more than you’d pay for a pack of your regular diapers and buying refills could definitely add up. I don’t think it is a concern since a lot of kids are potty trained in a number of days (from my experience and conversations with other moms). So by getting your kiddo out of diapers using this system, you save money in the end! I think our plan is to revisit the Potty Patrol (and potty training in general) in about four or five months.

How do you get your hands on one? Visit the website to learn about their products and purchase one yourself. While you’re there, read about the product or stop by their Facebook page. Here’s the exciting news! The kind people at The Potty Patrol are offering one lucky reader their own Potty Patrol starter kit (choice between girl or boy). Enter on the Rafflecopter form below. Ends on 10/15 and is open to US residents only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.