Guess what I’ve been doing this week? Except I refused to rush this process so I’ve actually been doing this for a couple of weeks, but we’re kinda in the thick of it right now. Send a soda and a carpet cleaner!
Anyway, I was sitting on the edge of the tub and musing on how potty-training twins is just different than potty-training singletons. I mean, in a lot of ways, it’s the exact same, but some things caught me off guard and I figured I’d post what I’ve learned. I’m not claiming to be an expert! I stink at potty-training! But if you have twins, and come across this post, I hope you get the advice you’re looking for.
first of all, there is someone to fight over your toddler’s underpants selection. Seriously, I let each girl pick out a character on their training pants, so I thought we’d be fine. But somehow, we get home, get into the potty-training process, and one twin suddenly wants the Cocomelon underpants that the other twin picked. Needless to say, we now have 2 sets of Cocomelon training underwear.
Also, you will need 2 training potties. with my older kids, I hardly ever used the little potties. It just seemed like 1 more step to get to independence. Besides, there is soooo much more cleaning involved! Invest in a good step and maybe a little potty seat, and you’re good to go! But with twins, you need 2. Not just 1. I’m sure you can guess why you need one… guaranteed your toddlers will have to go to the bathroom at the same time! But let me enlighten you on why you need 2: Both will want the toddler potty! Then you have two kids crying and peeing on your floor and pushing each other off the little potty, and … yeah. You get the idea. You need 2. And, in case you didn’t read the paragraph before this one, they need to look the EXACT SAME!
Another learning curve I didn’t expect involves rewards. I’ve always had the rule that anyone that celebrates in the potty victory gets a treat. So if big sister sees them go, she can get a treat. This is the way my mom always did it, and it worked! It gets the older kids to encourage the process. But there was an unexpected snag with twins… When everyone gets a treat for going potty, the twin that didn’t go doesn’t think they need to. They get the reward for zero effort. Ugh, I had so many puddles in my life until I changed that rule. Now, you only get a treat if you’re the one to go. Big sister doesn’t seem too offended by the change; but still, do yourself a favor and just not make it a thing that needs to break. Besides, with twins, you have a built-in cheerleader without the reward system.
And that built-in cheerleader is a special joy. I love watching my twins remind each other to go potty. I mean, sometimes it’s that one had an accident and so the other realized they had to go, but they’re so happy for the other kid’s success! And when one gets candy the other one decides they want candy, too, so they hurry to the potty for their own treat.
Something else that I wouldn’t say caught me by surprise, but was definitely highlighted is the fact that twins are two different people. I know, that sounds obvious. But each kid has their own way of doing things, so when you potty train individually, you tweak the system to fit what that kid needs. But when you’re potty training 2 at once, you have to use a little more finesse. For instance, my twin A is very go-getter. She’s bold. She goes potty for the success of being a big kid. She likes “special” underwear (i.e. not the training pants) and so having an accident in her special panties is so sad and worth staying clean and dry. Twin B could care less about special underwear. She totally goes potty to get the treat. Also, twin A has a stronger bladder. She needs to run to the bathroom less frequently. But twin B drinks a ton and runs potty a ton. I mean: All. The. Time! So, a potty timer just wont cut it! In fact, the potty timer really annoys twin A. She’s gonna go when she wants to go! So, twin A has special underwear, is reminded less frequently, and often would rather quickly go back to play instead of demanding her piece of candy. She’s methodical in the entire process. Twin B demands her candy every time, loves the praise for staying clean and dry, and has to go about 4 times as often. She also needs watched closer on washing her hands because she’ll try to take shortcuts.
Lastly, I never realized how much free time I had before I spent so much time in a bathroom! I mean, for REAL! I barely get anything done in its entirety in one sitting right now. Case in point: I am just plain typing this from sitting outside the bathroom, because I got sick of the walk from my regular writing spot all the way to the bathroom and back, just to repeat the process after one sentence. I am greatly looking forward to the day they’ll be self-sufficient enough to go on their own.
