​And then there’s just a million and one excuses. He’s not developmentally ready (says who, and what’s the actual requirement for potty training? It all seems sort of arbitrary), he’s not showing an interest (well, he likes the word poop and to flush it, is that interest?!), he’s not asking to go potty. I think more than any of those questions and standards, it’s on the parent to be ready to do it.
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After deciding that I could handle a weekend of potty training, I got two different potty training books, one of which had been sitting on my shelf since March 2020. I took them out and placed them on my nightstand and…never read them. I have every single intention of reading them, but I was just too tired at night and had other things prioritized so I decided to go into the potty training blind—using only my gut as my navigation system. 

All I have to say is thank goodness we got the pre-put together house because there is no way this guy would've sat longer than he already was. He was SO excited and I'm sure that made him a little more jittery than he normally may be!

6:30 AM: Wake up
7 AM: Breakfast (yogurt with granola + half a banana or sometimes smoothie + fruit)
9:30 AM: Snack (raisins or fruit bar or chips and dip or rice cake)
12 PM: Lunch (really anything with a veggie + fruit + treat)
12:30-2:30 PM: Nap
3 PM: Snack (cheese stick or cottage cheese or pretzels or nut bar)
5 PM: Dinner (changes but I give him items I know he eats so he goes to bed full)
6 PM: Bath, jammies, books
6:30-7 PM: Quiet playing
7 PM: Bed

Here's the actual truth, you can't. HOWEVER, I do believe that you can equip your child with coping and self-regulation skills to where a tantrum is a quick and relatively painless process. Tantrums are developmentally appropriate for toddlers as this is a time in their life when they discover their autonomy and that they're an individual in a big, big world. 

But that doesn't mean your child should be miserable and fighting with you all the time in this crazy power-struggle. It starts from day one and it starts with you setting them up for success. The tips I mention below are all practiced in my house (as much as possible) and I think they've helped Lincoln, my two year old, be able to work his way through tantrums better. 

My son loved his pacis. Since birth he has used the MAM brand. The idea of ditching the paci has been plaguing me for MONTHS, and I am not even exaggerating. Since Lincoln was about 18 months old I was debating on when and how to get rid of them. And I was dreading the day because my son is such an amazing sleeper and I was scared this would be the downfall. 

I prefer using paint to decorate the binoculars but Lincoln was very eager to outside so we used crayons to avoid drying time. He told me that he drew birds and squirrels and the sun. We put our binoculars on and went outside to search for random things. We went on a color hunt, a bear hunt, and eventually picked some raspberries from the bushes in our backyard.