The first time I noticed that my daughter was naked during nap time, I thought nothing of it. It was the middle of the summer and while I thought the room was cool enough with just a fan and the windows open, I figured maybe she had been warm. What I didn't guess and would soon come to realize was that she was doing the no-pants dance. Yep, my 3-year-old was masturbating.

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I’m a stay-at-home mom and here’s my confession: I let my daughter watch way too much TV.

While the others in my mom group are coming up with art projects and building forts with their toddlers, mine is learning jingles from Daniel Tiger and getting overstimulated from watching Trolls on repeat.

The post Screw It — My Toddler Watches a Lot of TV and I Don’t Care appeared first on Mom.com.

My oldest child is finally potty trained, kind of. There are the occasional accidents, along with bedtime and naptime diapers. But after well over a year of on-again, off-again potty training, I am happy with what we have accomplished.

Potty training has been one of the hardest things we have done so far as parents. The whole experience was especially infuriating because it was nothing like what I expected.

Going into toddlerhood, I had read so many blog posts about ditching the diapers in three days and stories of successfully potty training within days of their second birthday. So when our time came to give it a try, I had completely unrealistic expectations. We struggled for weeks, gave up, and tried again three different times before we finally had success.

What I learned over the whole process was that potty training is pretty much nothing like what I believed. Before you get started, here are 6 things you need to know that no one tells you about potty training.

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You’ve gotten through the sleep-deprived period after having your baby, where they get up throughout the night needing to be fed or soothed. Now that they’re a toddler and sleeping better, you feel that you’re in the clear and able to count on real sleep.

However, your 18-month-old suddenly starts refusing to go to bed or starts screaming in the middle of the night. At first, you’re frantic that something is seriously wrong. However, your baby is fine. He just is going through 18-month sleep regression, giving you an extended time to deal with nighttime fussing.

“I went through sleep regression four times, with each of my kids,” mom of four Christine Luna told Mom.com. “My son, who was the best sleeper, regressed at 18-months. It was awful!” To soothe him, Christine ended up bringing him into her bed for nearly four months as he demanded to be rocked to sleep. Sleep regression can happen to any child, but is not something to be overly concerned about in most cases.

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Yeah, you read that right.

But I’m not here to spin some granola-coated story for you about how I avoided giving toys for Christmas this year because I don’t want my precious daughter to become a greedy, ungrateful, Santa-worshipping slave to advertising and capitalism.

The post I Refuse to Buy My Kid Any Toys for Christmas appeared first on Mom.com.

It’s easy to fall into a routine when it comes to mornings with our toddlers. For many moms, getting our toddlers to eat breakfast (or any meal really) proves to be a difficult feat. Overcoming pickiness, making sure they are eating a balanced meal, and maintaining our sanity are all compiled into this single breakfast act. As a mom you may be struggling for breakfast ideas; toddlers are picky! Hopefully this post gives you some ideas.

“Kids who eat breakfast are more likely to get fiber, calcium, and other important nutrients,” Mary L. Gavin wrote for kidshealth.org. “They also tend to keep their weight under control, have lower blood cholesterol levels and fewer absences from school, and make fewer trips to the school nurse with stomach complaints related to hunger.”

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You always know when it's time to start potty training.

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Kids will let you know. I mean, you'll know.

GIF by Imgur

RELATED: The Secret to Making Your Life a Hundred Times Better

My son has been using the potty on an off for a few months now. So, we finally tried to take away the diapers and do one of those potty training weekends. It went well.

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My favorite part was when he peed on my foot and then laughed and laughed.

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We did get some success. He did manage to poop in the potty.

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Of course, he was only able to do that because he had explosive diarrhea.

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We tried everything. We tried to bribe him with minion toys and marshmallows. He wouldn't budge.

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I asked my mom for advice and she was all, "You kids were easy to potty train! You would have never pooped on the floor." Which was helpful.

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I know one day he will be potty trained and wear big boy undies.

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Of course my friends tell me that once you potty train a boy you are done with diapers but just beginning with wiping pee off of every surface of the bathroom. So …

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RELATED: What It's Really Like to Work Out With Kids Around (in GIFs)

So, Parents: 0, Toddlers: A million. And somewhere in his crib, my toddler is laughing…

GIF by Giphy

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In an increasingly competitive world, there's one area our family lagged way behind on. While some parents are practicing "elimination communication," we instead chose the "wait until they're almost in kindergarten" technique of potty training.

Long after their best buddies were showing off their new unbulky, diaper-free silhouettes, my kids were still relieving themselves into their Pull-Ups. Both were nearly 4 by the time they potty trained. With our son, we worried that it was taking so long—but when our daughter followed the same slow, winding path to Underwear Town, we relaxed, knowing it would happen … eventually.

If, like us, you'd like to wait as long as possible to stop spending your hard-earned cash on diapers, try the following tips:

RELATED: The Last Thing I Expected About Becoming a Mom of Two

1. Use no rewards

While we heartily applauded and encouraged each and every toilet tinkle and held out the promise of shiny new underwear like a beacon, we never used candy or stickers as a reward.

2. Let them crap their pants with abandon

For months, I could predict exactly when my daughter was doing her business because it was the only time during the day when she wasn't trying to get me to play My Little Pony with her. Suddenly, she'd wander off to another room.

"Do you want to sit on the potty?" I'd ask her.

"I don't want to talk about it," she'd reply in between gentle grunts.

We let her continue to roam off and desecrate her Pull-Ups, until one magical day when she announced, "Daddy, I need to poop!" and headed toward the bathroom.

I'd always figured that by the time a kid could say, "I don't want to talk about it," they'd be capable of unleashing their bowels on a toilet. But despite my growing disdain for cleaning her big girl poops up, it was clear that she wasn't having it. So we let her continue to roam off and desecrate her Pull-Ups, until one magical day when she announced, "Daddy, I need to poop!" and headed toward the bathroom instead of the playroom corner where she usually conducted her "work."

3. Rely on peer pressure

Both of my kids were peeing on the toilet erratically until they moved up to the preschool room at daycare. Away from the young toddlers, they were suddenly surrounded by kids wearing fancy, licensed character emblazoned underwear, and peeing and crapping on the toilet like pros. My kids quickly followed suit, proving that peer pressure works wonders even amongst the under 5 crowd.

4. Let their teachers lead the way

Don't forget the spellbinding powers of a preschool teacher. They can, after all, get your child to nap on small, stiff mats, in a room sardine-packed with other children. Preschool teachers are enchanted, rare creatures who spend their days herding hoards of goopy toddlers … by choice. Their powers of soft-spoken coercion can work potty training wonders on even the most stubborn child. When our kids' teachers told us our kids were ready finally for underwear, we listened.

RELATED: 'Me Time' for Moms Doesn't Have to Be a Myth

The good news about waiting so long to potty train is that once our kids were ready, they were really ready. It was low-stress and low mess. Like most other milestones, it'll happen for your kids too, and probably before they head off to college.

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So your baby is showing signs of potty readiness—staying dry for longer spells of time, wanting a diaper changed as soon as it's no longer fresh and clean, or using signs or words that indicate, "Hey, I'm probably going to poop or pee soon." The idea of potty training is pretty attractive, all told. A time when you no longer have to worry about a leaky diaper or a blowout on a road trip sounds pretty inviting.

However, while some kids to breeze through potty training with nary a look back, for others, the road to being potty trained is precarious and littered with land mines. Here's a look at why the potty training endgame is the best, and it's also basically the worst.

PRO: Your child can now use the potty.

CON: Sometimes your child has a giant diarrhea accident in his pants.

RELATED: 10 Reasons to Stop Stressing About Potty Training

PRO: You no longer have to buy or wash diapers.

CON: You now have to get the carpet cleaned.

PRO: You don't have to worry about leaks or blowouts on road trips.

CON: You now have to stop for a potty break every 30 minutes.

PRO: You no longer have to clean poop off your child's entire behind, back, chest and hair.

CON: You still have to wipe her poopy butt after she poops in the toilet, so yeah, you still have to deal with poop.

PRO: Your child can now poop in a small potty seat you carry in your vehicle.

CON: You have to carry a potty seat in your vehicle.

PRO: No more carrying around diapers.

CON: You now have to carry around a change of clothes, a wet bag for accidents (yes they can and do happen), a fold-up potty seat and an extra pull-up for when you've had enough of the crazy for one day.

PRO: No more diaper changes in public bathrooms.

CON: Now your kid is using a public bathroom and being super gross by touching the floor, the toilet, his own butt and then everything else, including your purse.

PRO: Now you get to teach your child proper hand-washing technique.

CON: Have you ever washed a 3-year-old's hands in the bathroom at Target? You might need a change of clothes for your soaked kid afterwards (and yourself).

RELATED: Genius Potty Training Tricks From Been There, Done That Moms

PRO: You no longer have to worry about fitting clothes over a fluffy cloth diaper butt.

CON: You now have to buy new clothes because they're suddenly all too big.

PRO: You can tell your friends and family members your child is starting to use the potty.

CON: Your toddler will pee all over the floor in front of everyone as you're saying it.

PRO: Your child can really pee anywhere and everywhere.

CON: This might include Grandma's bookshelf or in his older brother's hat (ask me how I know).

In the end, a potty-trained child is the ultimate goal, and if we can't laugh about the horrific in-between times, we may not be able to cope. So the next time your child accidentally pees on your mother-in-law's couch or poop rolls out of his pants at the mall, just laugh.

Sometimes, it's the only thing we can do .

The post Why Potty Training Is the Best and Worst Thing Ever appeared first on Mom.com.

I think we can all agree that there's nothing glamorous about potty training. Besides the obvious ick factor, all the “potty lingo” is enough to make you want to let your kid wear diapers for the rest of their life. The whole process makes us moms a little crazy (potty dance, anyone?) and causes us to do things we didn’t think we'd ever do, like:

1. Spending hours on Pinterest searching for potty training reward charts, then spending a ridiculous amount of money on stickers and new underwear.

So what if I just spent $50 on "Moana"-themed underwear? All the potty training books suggest reward charts and new underwear will get your kid excited about potty training. They’re living a comfortable life in their diaper—never needing to stop what they’re doing to use the bathroom. So, it's understandable why moms invest time and money to cajole their young one to give up their diapers.

2. Bringing a portable potty wherever you go.

Your new must-have an item is a portable potty which you bring any time you leave your house with your kid. I bet you never thought you would want to carry around a potty seat before you had kids. And let's just not think about what happens if your kid has to go No. 2 on-the-go in there. BARF.

3. Mapping out all the public restrooms within a 10-mile radius.

You quickly learn that when your kid tells you they need to use the bathroom, they mean RIGHT NOW. There's not a minute to spare to figure out where the restroom is located, unless you want a sopping wet car seat.

The automatic flush sensors in public restrooms are a potty training parent’s worst nightmare.

4. Cleaning the public restroom as if you were getting paid to do it.

Toddlers love touching anything you don’t want them touching in a public restroom. For the love of god, why is that sanitary napkin bin so close to their eye level?! And, when they inevitably touch something, you envision the germs multiplying on your kid’s hands and ending up in their mouths. So, you end up pulling out your gallon-size antibacterial wipes, cleaning everything in sight, practically giving your kid a shower in the process. Oh, the joys of motherhood.

5. Bringing Post-It notes to cover the automatic flush sensor.

The automatic flush sensors in public restrooms are a potty training parent’s worst nightmare. Every time these high-tech toilets flush automatically, it scares your kid to the point they would never want to attempt using it again. The best way to prevent this situation is to put a Post-It note over the sensor. You're welcome.

6. Bringing an entire suitcase of clothes to prepare for “the accident.”

In order to prepare for the inevitable accident, you pack a wardrobe of clothes. What if they have more than one accident? You just never know, so you pack it all.

7. Refusing to leave the house because you’re tired and can’t use another public restroom.

Potty training is exhausting. Leaving the house involves toting a toilet seat, antibacterial wipes, Post-It notes and a suitcase filled with clothes. It’s so much easier to stay home.

8. Celebrate Like You Won the Lottery When Your Child Actually Uses the Potty

When your kid finally uses the potty, you find yourself jumping up and down, and screaming as if you just won the lottery. Because in a sense you have: the freedom to leave the house again.

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