Hardcore Potty Training

sfgate.com is the online home of the San Francisco Chronicle. One of the more obscure sections in what is a very plentiful offering is ‘The Mommy Files’, a ‘local mom’s take’ on raising kids in the Bay Area.

I’m man enough to say that I pay a visit from time to time. You know, in between hardware shopping, games of Stick Cricket and the ritual browsing of Grays Online that has so often led to my downfall.

And it was among these very Mummy Files that, a week or so into Austin’s potty training, I discovered an article on how to get your child into underpants in just three days.

Yup, three days.

The basic idea is that you buy a heap of potties, scatter them around the house and have your child walk around without a nappy. If they look like they're about to go, you put them on the nearest piece of plastic.

If you make it there on time, praise your child using a consistent message (well done, pee goes in the potty). If you don't, teach and support using a consistent message (never mind, next time, pee goes in the potty).

Too good to be true? Only one way to find out.

Even so, I won’t be rushing into it. Rightly or wrongly, we’re quite proud of ourselves for getting Austin’s potty training underway at a shade over 18 months.

Still, it would be nice to get it out of the way and celebrate with the gift of a Monday through Friday seven-pack. Nice also to spare Kate exposure to this experience and I figure somewhere over the summer I’ll have those three days in me.

Famous last words, possibly. Only time will tell. In the meantime, read the full story here.