Twice the fun, twice the excitement, twice the trouble and you guessed it, twice the doo-doo. Raising twins brings plenty of challenges, none of which are insurmountable. You may even find that some things like potty training for instance, are actually easier when you have twins. Why? Because the throws of sibling rivalry start early in life, especially with a dynamic duo and each toddler will be extremely interested in pleasing mom and dad first’.and better. So let the competition begin. Along the way to potty training twins, here are some helpful tips
The first tidbit of advice is to gauge your twin’s readiness separately. In many situations, you might find that one twin is ready to use the toilet prior to their brother and sister. And this isn’t a bad thing nor does it indicate that the twin quite content with piddling in a diaper is somehow developmentally thwarted. The truth is, they are just different individuals.
Readiness for potty training is gauged by several factors. The first sign that you can begin potty training your twins is that they wake up in the morning dry. Or at least quite a bit drier than normal. Normally, this starts occurring anywhere from the 14 to 24 month mark. If your baby doesn’t take a sippy cup or bottle to bed with them, it may even occur sooner. This indicates that your baby’s bladder is maturing and that it is able to hold in more urine for longer periods of time. The second keynote to readiness is verbalizing the desire to go. Many children will sit around holding themselves, or doing the potty dance when they have to go. By asking your child if they need to go to the bathroom you begin helping them make the connection between urgency and going. By the same token, if they begin telling you that they need to pee or poo, it signals readiness for potty training. And again, with twins this will happen at different times.
Same sex twins are more prone to be ready for potty training at the same time. If you were graced with a boy and a girl, chances are your little princess will be ready first. Call it what you will, but girls are simply easier to train than boys. If they both seem ready, then you have the burden of preparation on your shoulders. There are some things that you will definitely need two of. The most important being two portable potties or two potty seats. If you have multiple bathrooms, you can even assign each child their own potty training bathroom. However, in the beginning it is easier to use the potty seats and keep them out in the open, in plain view, so that it will be ready and waiting at the first sign they need to go. And having two, whether in the living room, playroom or bathroom is essential. Chances are in order to outdo the other, once one has to go the other will want to try as well. But hey, this works in your favor.
You should also expect twice the mess when potty training twins. One of the best ways to potty train twins or any toddler for that matter, is to let them run around naked or wearing big kid underwear during the day. Diapers today are extremely absorbent and there is a good chance that they won’t even feel that they have urinated in a fresh diaper. Of course, the al dente baby will also have accidents, and you should expect them. One great idea is to get disposable bed pads or bed wetting blankets and put them wherever your children are playing. Make sure to cover furniture and carpet as well to make clean up on you as easy as possible.
The easiest approach for you is to train them both at the same time. Set up a reward system based on their individual needs and interests and go to town. You can put a gumball or jellybean machine in the bathroom and pay them a penny each time they use the bathroom like a big kid. The downfall to this of course is that there is a good chance that one child will have a handful of jellybeans, while the other doesn’t. don’t feel bad, nor give in to the twin who is not making as fast progress. If you do, you will be sending them the wrong message. Yes, the guilt can be hard when you are praising one twin for not wetting their pants all day, while the other is running around in pull-ups. But such is the dynamics of twinship. Similarly, when one has to go use it as a reminder to ask the other. This way they can both feed off each other and be prompted to use the body in order to outplay their sibling. As long as you don’t play into that game, you can rest assured this competition won’t hurt your twins a bit. In fact, it is a fact of life when you are a twin.
However, all of that being said you should be aware of one thing. The twin that might not be as successful at using the potty as the other, may be resisting potty training as a way to demand attention away from their sibling. Stay calm, focused and continue. If it seems to persist or the ‘diaper’twin just doesn’t seem interested, than maintain your course with the willing and ready twin. The other will come along shortly.
Potty training twins isn’t necessarily MORE difficult. As long as you are committed to the task and wait for individual signs of readiness it will be a breeze. Sure, there will be good days and bad days. The only real difference in potty training twins and potty training singletons is that there is one more baby in the mix and quite a bit more money to be saved when they finally put an end to the need for buying diapers. If that isn’t motivation enough for you to take it easy and let it happen not sure what will be.
