Mother's Helper: She Assists Parents With A Necessary Task
Poop happens.
And much to many a parent’s chagrin, so must potty training.
By the time their little ones have reached the age of 2 or so, most moms and dads are more than ready to ditch the expensive diapers and move on to big kid pants, but mix in a full-time job, a messy house, a fussy newborn, a busy kindergartner and a cocker spaniel with potty training and you’ve got the recipe for a parenting disaster.That’s where Patricia Best comes in.
Her business, Poo-Pee Potty Kamps 911, offers parents an alternative to traveling the long, lonely potty training route alone.
The Medford resident and mother of six, ages 6 to 24, teams up with moms or dads to work intensively with their children in their home for about five hours. She also hosts potty-training parties for playgroups, cooperative preschools or nursery schools.
“It’s a unique and rapid potty training system designed to teach children to use the potty in about 48 to 72 hours,” she said.
To make sure they use the program the way it was designed, and follow through on her training, Best asks parents to sign a contract agreeing to stay with the child, focused solely on the training, for the course of her program and has them agree to never give in and put their child back in a diaper.
Working one-on-one or in small groups of four or five children, Best uses a combination of parent-approved treats, such as snacks, sweets or little toys, as rewards. Children are given a reward for every 15 minutes they remain dry. She said she likes to give toddlers lots of salty snacks to make them thirsty, so they’ll drink lots of water, which leads to, well, a need to use the potty.
“It’s a fun, no-nonsense, positive discipline technique,” she said.
Best also uses songs and music and heaps on lots of praise and attention to keep the children on task. She works together with the parent to reinforce the message.
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