The hubs and I struggled through our first experience in potty-training so much that we decided we’re not above bribing our kids. After candy & gifts failed, we came up with a solution: Disney World. We quickly coined the phrase “No Diapers in Disney World” and something finally clicked… granted, the girl was 4 1/2 by the time it finally clicked *shutter* but once Natalie was out of diapers, she was out of them for good.
We took Natalie to Disney World just before she turned 5, left Sedona (only 18 months at the time) with Nana, and the three of us had a really fun and special time together. No diapers in Disney World worked! No diapers, wipes or creams to pack, no diapers to change; it rocked.
Potty training the second time around was a little easier, mainly because we let Sedona lead the way. She had a few early moments where she would go to the bathroom, but they were sporadic and she’d quickly regress. Once we waved that Magical Disney Castle in front of her… the motivation to quit diapers for good was there. That, and a really great set of undies! Who knew?! Sedona’s potty-training clicked fairly easily in comparison to her sister — a full year earlier! This meant we had some Disney World planning to do. I’ll be writing more about the full spectrum of all the planning we I did tomorrow.
Although we blatantly lied to our children about No Diapers In Disney World, neither child ever mentioned anything about diapers while we were there. We walked past babies of all ages, some of them in the bathroom, being changed on a changing table. Natalie, being older, mentioned something before we left, and we explained that No Diapers in Disney World was a motto that worked for our family, explaining how much more we would’ve had to pack, and what they would’ve missed out on if we went before they were potty-trained. Natalie understood, and hasn’t brought up the topic since.
Sometimes, ya gotta sprinkle a little Disney-inspired pixie-dust over a problem to make it better. Whether that means telling a little white lie, bribing them or doing something else entirely, every family is different — and I truly feel we all have to choose our battles. Thing is, we didn’t necessarily need an excuse to take our kids to Disney World. Little do they know… we would’ve taken them anyways, 4 & 7 are the perfect ages! But having our kids go to Disney World potty-trained just helped our lazy-asses avoid changing diapers in Disney World! #thereIsaidit
How did potty-training finally click for your child(ren)?
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