Potty Power [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

I have to say I was throughly impressed with this video the first (and subsequent) times my daughter watched it. I do agree with a previous viewer that it is kinda geared toward girls, with dainty little songs and a princess story at the end.

My daughter is just over 2 years and we've run headlong into negativism in our attempts to potty train. She knows EXACTLY what we want her to do when we sit her on the potty, and blatently refuses to do so (to the point of painfully holding in both "number 1" and "number 2"). In desperation, I ordered this video based on the positive reviews.

I have to say she has loved it FAR more than any books (which she has been mildly interested in), which makes sense since 2-year-olds are much more "sucked in" to the TV than a book. In fact, I think creating a DVD on this subject was an ingenious idea! She watched it once the day it came, and in the week following, she completely undressed herself 3 times on a whim (and to my complete surprise) and sat on her potty chair. This was without me even mentioning it - just the sight of the chair triggered her enthusiasm. She didn't go, but I figure getting her interested and willing to go alone is a BIG start! When she watched it again, she insisted on it three times in a row before declaring it was time for Nemo. :)

The kids in the video are about 3 years old, which I think is perfect because my daughter still considers them "equals" but they can talk and sit on the potty well. The narrator is a pretty young woman with bright eyes that will easily attract any child. Although they primarily talk about kids going potty on a potty chair, they do also show video of kids sitting on a toilet. Some of the discussion might be a little advanced for my daughter, but all the video of real kids (no animation) using the potty chair has had powerful influence.

Here's a quick run-down of things in this 30 minute video:

- The narrator defines the difference between being a baby and a "big kid" with a little game that shows what babies do (sleep in a crib, spoon-fed by Dad, wears diapers, etc) and what a big kid does (swings, stacks blocks, etc).

- Sings a song about all the things a "big kid" can do by him/herself (sleep in a bed, eat ice cream, kick a ball, etc) and says that going potty by yourself is just one more thing big kids do.

- The definition of "pee" and "poop" (terms they use) as being made by the body. Babies go in their diaper and "big kids" and grownups go in the potty (the grown ups in a toilet).

- Introduces the idea of the potty chair (versus the toilet) and explains that they come in different shapes and sizes. Also introduces what toilet paper does - wiping yourself is just like when mom and dad wipe a baby with wet wipes.

- Sings a song about what you can do while you're sitting on the potty for awhile - read, sing, play with a toy. I really liked this part because it showed my daughter that she'll just spend some time sitting for awhile as part of her training.

- Sings a song about wiping afterward - the children wipe a large teddy bear (front to back!) to illustrate since they obviously can't show the children actually doing it to themselves.

- Sings a song about washing your hands, and says that you should scrub with soap and water for about 20 seconds, or as long as it takes to sing Twinkle Twinkle little star. I LOVE this idea!

- Mentions that learning to use the potty isn't an over-night thing, but that once you do, you've got POTTY POWER!!!

- There is a princess story at the end that they could easily have left off as far as my daughter is concerned, but I would imagine a 3 or 4 year old girl (I'm thinking of my nieces) would LOVE the idea of becoming a princess with "royal underwear" after learing to potty. I think the purpose of the princess story is to establish how great it is to get to wear underwear after you've got Potty Power.

The songs are simple and catchy, and I sing them to my daughter sometimes throughout the day (usually because they are - unfortunately - stuck in my head). Obviously this video isn't going to replace parental training, but repetative viewing along with lots of book reading and a general "toilet training" mindset throughout the day is going to be a big help!

We've been having trouble with my son's potty training ever since a hospital stay over the summer, so we were pretty much willing to try anything at this point. The first night we had this, he asked to watch it three times. He was so "inspired" he started immediately asking to sit on the potty. It seems to be geared more toward a slighly older potty challenged kid, and it hasn't solved all our potty woes, but has definately helped with the positive attitude he was lacking. WARNING: though entertaining to kids, beware! You can only watch an animated, talking roll of toilet paper for so long and still keep your sanity. Put it on when you will mostly be in another room doing dishes.

We have an autistic 4-year-old, and we desperately needed him to be potty trained in order to get him into an inclusion setting. We were having trouble getting him to understand what he was supposed to do on the potty- he'd just sit there. This video really helped! The songs are catchy and simple, so he could understand and even sing them himself, and relate to what was happening. It also uses mostly older kids, which he liked, because he was interested in being a "big kid."

In all, this is a video to use if you have a child who is over 3 and still not using the potty. You may get the songs stuck in your head. When we first watched it, we were worried that it seemed more geared to girls than boys, but my sons both love it. The over-acting actually works well for the kids, too, and will make you giggle.

We love it, even watching it 3 times a day. :)