Worried about RCIs potty training definitions... help?

[NoelsCat]

We are cruising again in January. My son (will just be 3) and his best friend (girl nearing 4) will be part of the group --

 

Anyhow, they are both potty trained. They wear regular underware w/o accidents. My son even sleeps through the night. That being said, both of them often need help pulling their pants up and down...

 

From what I gather, this is not acceptable to RCI?

 

Can someone clarify the rules for me? Also, can someone give me some ideas for overcoming potential issues? I am thinking since we still have 5 months both of them will be better at full self relience by then...

 

Finally, can someone advise if they have smaller/lower potties for toddlers? I mean, the toilet in the cabin bathrooms are HIGH (and the flushing scary) -- surely if they expect kids to do everything themselves they have smaller potties??

 

TIA

[abitaturbodog]

I wouldn't worry about it. You have 6 months to work with your son (who's too cute for words!) on pulling up/down his pants.

 

Also, make sure that the shorts that you dress him in have elastic waistbands and are very stretchy. You might even want to buy the next size up.

[boulders]

As I understand RCCL's policy, children must be completely self-reliant - no reminders, no help with pulling up or down, no help with washing hands.

 

DS turned 3 last week. Originally, we were going to sail with on IOS 3 days later. I'm sure glad we didn't. He's trained for #1 but not #2. It would have been very stressful trying to get him trained. As it is, I need to get him fully trained for preschool in September.

[beachchick]

For RCI's children's program, they must be completely self-sufficient. The staff are not allowed to help in any way in the potty. This is really non-negotiable. They are very strict with the policy and do follow their rule about accidents/incidents.

 

beachchick

[PattyW]

I am just about positive that they do have smaller toilets for the kids (I have a vague recollection of that on the Radiance).

 

I would simply make sure that your son has on elastic waist pants and would recommend dresses for his girlfriend. If they are only going to be in AO for a couple of hours, have them try to go right before -- they may not ever even have to go during.

 

Also, they may be more self sufficient when you are not around. My son (age 3) insists he needs my help pulling up pants at home, but apparently does it all himself at daycare . . .

[crusinmama06]

For the girl, advise her parents to dress her in sundresses only (for AO). She'll have an easier job in a dress.

 

For your son, elastic and no buttons.

 

And yes, it's true, they are not allow to touch your child at all. As far as the small bathrooms. I asked my older daughter and now I can't remember what she said. :confused: I'll have to ask again.

 

I know the bathroom is actually in the 3-5 year old room so the kids don't leave AO to go to the bathroom.

[Nanatravel]

As a Nana, I have noticed the little kids bathrooms on these great newer ships- they are so cute. The toilets are definitely child size. With six more months of "getting ready for the cruise" and the great clothing hints for both boys and girls, the children should be all set.

 

Bon Voyage

Nanatravel

[cruiseram]

When we went on our cruise our son went to AO a couple of hours at a time so we just took him to the restroom before we dropped him off, and I also dressed him in elastic waisted clothes just in case.

[nothriver]

I agree with everything posted above. I dressed both of mine in elastic waist pants from the time we started potty training and they both managed their clothes themselves. If you kids don't dress themselves yet, they can definately learn.

 

Your kids are also old enough to understand that the rules for the kids centers are different from your rules at home, just tell them they need to go potty all by themselves and I'm sure they will be just fine, especially if they have the little potties, they may actually want to use them! My niece is 4 and my sister thinks she needs someone to wipe her but I spent the day with her on Saturday and I simply explianed to her that she needed to wipe herself, and sure enough, she did it herself all day with no further discussion. Kids like to use potty issues as "control" issues with their parents and it really is so funny how they easily accept a new set of rules from another adult!

[NoelsCat]

Thank you. I guess I will need to work on my son in being totally self-sufficient... He is 2.5 now -- by the cruise he will be 3 ... so hopefully it won't even be an issue by then.

[Cheryl H]

Good luck on that. Our son is 3 yrs 4 months and training is not going well. We cruise in 63 more days. I'm ready to pull my hair out.

 

If he's not fully trained by cruisetime, I'll just try to go with the flow and bring along the pullups. Who knows what 63 more days of training will do.

[beachchick]

Good luck on that. Our son is 3 yrs 4 months and training is not going well. We cruise in 63 more days. I'm ready to pull my hair out.

 

If he's not fully trained by cruisetime, I'll just try to go with the flow and bring along the pullups. Who knows what 63 more days of training will do.

 

Don't give up hope! Sometimes (especially with boys I think), it's like a switch finally flips. You despair that he'll finish training fully; you have setbacks; you get frustrated (so does he). But then, over the course of just a few weeks, it's almost as if they think, "Okay, that's enough; time to be a big boy/girl and use the big kids potty."

 

Best of luck and I know you'll have a good time no matter what.:)

 

beachchick

 

p.s., It's been a very long time for us, but this is one issue where I think bribery is a parent's best friend.;)

[Cheryl H]

Don't give up hope! Sometimes (especially with boys I think), it's like a switch finally flips. You despair that he'll finish training fully; you have setbacks; you get frustrated (so does he). But then, over the course of just a few weeks, it's almost as if they think, "Okay, that's enough; time to be a big boy/girl and use the big kids potty."

 

Best of luck and I know you'll have a good time no matter what.:)

 

beachchick

 

p.s., It's been a very long time for us, but this is one issue where I think bribery is a parent's best friend.;)

 

Thanks for the pep talk. I could use that today. I've been up half the night researching this. I read where one mom of a boy that had sensory issues tried those terry cloth training pants that are waterproof on the outside. Our son has had some sensory issues. So I went ahead and just ordered 4 pairs. Maybe this will work. Who knows. Yep, we do the bribery too. Our son likes little white donuts.

[NoelsCat]

I hope the terry works for you! I know that we cloth diapered and I think that worked to our advantage. I think that Davey learned to use the potty earlier (he was 2 years and 2 months) because of the cloth and he trained himself because he doesn't like to feel wet. I don't know if he has sensory issues, per se, but he does HATE TAGS... so probably somewhat... :)

 

If he would only pull his own pants up and down!

 

I went and both a bunch of elastic waisted shorts and have been using the bribery technique since yesterday with incredible improvement... he has started to at least TRY to pull up and down rather than waiting for me to do it.

 

LOL.

 

I hope I don't have to bring smiley faced cookies on the cruise....

[FOURunderFOUR]

At 2 1/2, your son is still a bit young to be expected to be fully self-sufficient. Don't get me wrong, I think it is absolutely WONDERFUL that he is already trained. (I'm a bit jealous!!). My oldest (a boy) was nearly 3 1/2 when he started preschool and had to wear pull-ups for the first few weeks, and got lots of help from his teachers (with pants, washing, flushing, etc) until it all finally clicked. I am about ready to have #5, and #3 and #4 are still in diapers. (#3 is a girl who is almost 3, but was born 15 weeks early and has some developmental delays and sensory issues, so her therapists have recommended that we hold off on training until we resolve some of her other issues). I would definitely consider going back to cloth, as you are right, that probably does help a lot. We CDd with my son until he was 10mos old and I was pregnant with #2 and couldn't stand the smell and the extra laundry. But, my point is, keep doing what you already are, and I bet you anything that by the time you cruise he will be just fine. I think you have already accomplished the hardest part. These next few steps SHOULD be a lot easier. As someone else mentioned, a lot of times it is simply a control issue. Perhaps another adult (close family friend, grandparent, etc) might have better luck explaining the rest of the steps to becoming a "big boy!".

 

Good luck and happy cruising!

 

J