DeeDee & Dooley’s Potty Progress Game™ is a static cling daily potty training aid that works like a chart, and plays like a game. Along with companion materials like free printables, an instruction guide included with every game, exclusive information from doctors and teachers, and the new support forums, Dee & Doo™ PEP up training, with Patience, Edoocation, and Play! The identifiable potty character pieces and bathroom scene play mat easily help children understand goals visually, which is an extra benefit for children with learning difficulties.
Paper charts have been a go-to for decades, helping record progress a child makes and rewarding them with star and smiley face stickers. We like charts, but find that play helps the developmental process of potty training more effectively. The pleading, bribing parent in a power struggle with a child who resists performing, turns into a coach and storyteller who plays with their child as they help Dee & Doo™ get flushed away on a new adventure.
Children love to play games, and a potty game is no exception! Using play to motivate children and capture their imaginations, they fall in love with the cast of real potty characters and find it less of a chore to “try” or use the potty. When kids don’t see using the potty as a chore that interrupts their play, they’re less likely to procrastinate and have accidents, or avoid potty training altogether.
There are several emotional reasons why children resist or struggle with potty training. Disinterest, fear of flushing, and control issues are some that DeeDee & Dooley’s Potty Progress Game™ addresses.
For one, game play helps a disinterested child because it’s self-motivating, turning a task into a fun challenge. When the child sees more Oopsie Undies™ piling up over the hamper than there are Dee and Doo stickers on TP Trail™, their natural competitive instincts get to work. They are able to observe, compare, and take action — independently. The goal of The Potty Progress Game™ is to help Dee and Doo get into the potty where they belong, so they can be flushed and earn points in the game. Oopsie Undies (representing accidents) tries to get points too, by stealing Dee and Doo and putting them anywhere else but the potty. The winner is determined by who has more; the toilet or the hamper, at the end of the day.
Secondly, many children are frightened of flushing. Telling a story about how the charming potty characters LOVE to be flushed changes perception and eases anxiety. They are reassured by example that it’s fun and safe. Through creative imagery and storytelling, the parent can turn fear into fun. This is also assisted by their actions, as parents lead children in a rousing countdown of “1 — 2 — 3”, the big flush, and a “Goodbye Dee! Goodbye Doo!” as our pals head off to big adventures.
And finally, this simple game concept changes the child’s focus from having to perform for the parent, which can result in a power struggle, to feeling empathy for Dee and Doo, who inspire them to take action. The parents are no longer in the traditional pleading, helpless, bribing roles and become coaches and cheerleaders in the game. They are never the “bad guys” — that’s Oopsie Undies job! (But only in a loveable way!)
THREE POTTY TRAINING TIPS from Dee & Doo™: Focus, Fiber, and Reminders!
1) Successful potty training happens when there is total focus on it within Team Family. Treat it like a holiday you are leading up to! Constant reminders through fun activities, treats, and setting a timer for an hour to yell, “Party on the potty!” to sit and try, keep potty training at the forefront of your child’s mind and create more opportunities for success and fewer accidents. Try to do at least ONE potty-related activity or treat each day.
2) A fun and fruitful activity can be building a tower with grapes and toothpicks, as you talk about how eating grapes make Dooley happy because he can get into the potty more easily. Fruits with fiber soften your child’s poo so it passes without hurting. Pears are another helpful fruit that kids generally enjoy.
3) Aside from the timer method, when you personally remind your child before leaving the house or going to bed, for example, instead of being put in a nagging position by asking your child, “Do you have to go potty?” put yourself in game-mode, playfully asking, “How are DeeDee and Dooley?” “Are DeeDee and Dooley ready to play?” or “Do Dee and Doo want to visit?” You’ll develop your own way of asking, but think about an invitation to play, rather than performing a task.
©2014 DeeDee & Dooley’s Potty Progress Game™
GIVEAWAY
Enter to win a Dee and Doo Potty Training Game using the Rafflecopter form below. We will choose one winner after 3/6/15. Good luck! Open to US, 18+ only.
If it makes the child angry when you ask them if they want to use the potty then it is too soon. Don't force the issue.
Never hesitate to send a child to preschool in regular underwear. At this age the other little ones hardly notice or care if your child has an accident but it will bother your child and often that is what will break the child from just letting go in public.
special panties for when they are doing good about using the potty
My tip: focus on potty training when that's what you want to do. It should be a big focus of the day.
Nancy
allibrary (at) aol (dot) com
Wait to begin potty training 'til you see the signs that your child is ready!
be patient
Do not start too soon. Even if you have to wait until your child is a little older it is better to wait than to frustrate yourself and your child.