flattenme blog

My brother’s kids attended something called Booty Camp in order to get potty trained. A concept I thought was hilarious — mostly because of the name and also because I just can’t imagine outsourcing something that is so personal and a major milestone for my child.  I wouldn’t outsource teaching my kid to ride a bike either, but I certainly know parents who do. Each to their own.

 Someone just mentioned to me that the owner of Booty Camp was on the Today Show and is now being called the Potty Whisperer. As a mother of 4 myself, the idea of potty training in a day seems insane - especially with boys. My daughter trained herself in a day, but only after she decided that ‘it was time’. But Booty Camp worked with my two nieces. They were shipshape and ready for school — for which they had to be potty trained to attend.

 Her techniques are interesting — load up on salty snacks and sweet drinks. That will make ‘nature call’ often during the day you are training. Tell them when they need to go, walk over to the potty, pull their pants down and do it. If they don’t make it, the child has to clean up their mess.  She says she has a 98% success rate in 1 day. I think I’m going to have to try this one with my youngest who will be 2 in Oct.

 On the flip side, there actually is a woman who has marketed herself as the Potty Whisperer. I would bet she’s not too thrilled about the Today Show using her self ordained title. Her techniques are totally different from Booty Camp. A ‘late starter’ is one that starts after 6 months. And god help the poor little soul that thinks about attempting potty training after 24 months. Apparently all hope is lost. Again, this seems ridiculous to me. Yes, you can get a young child to go on the potty consistently. The person this is training is the parent. Not the child.

Regardless, here’s a list of her no-no’s which are good ones to keep in mind:

 ”Potty Whisperer’s No-Nos”:

• no punishment
• no pressure
• no coercion
• no shaming
• no competition
• no showing off
• no obsessing
• no perfectionism
• no rushing toilet learning
• no attachment to time goals
• no negativity

One of the best parts of summer for me is digging my toes down into the sand and diving into a great book. Passion for reading is not something that comes naturally for everyone. If you want that for your kids, it’s never too early to start and to make it fun. The New York Public Library gave their top 10 tips for getting kids excited to read.
1. Read to children from the time they are born. It’s never too early to start.
2. Set aside a special time to read, when you and your family are relaxed.
3. Children enjoy setting the pace of reading time. Encourage them to turn pages.
4. If they are not ready to sit still, read to children while they are playing and exploring. Active children learn on the move.
5. Many children like to hear the same story again and again. It comforts them and develops language skills.
6. Read together — on the go, waiting on line and at the park.
7. Sing to your children. Sing songs from your childhood or make up silly songs. You can find lyrics to your favorites online or at the library.
8. Read Mother Goose and nursery rhymes together. They are short, playful and build vocabulary.
9. Show your kids you love books. Keep books and magazines at home and let them catch you reading.
10. Visit the library often to choose books and enjoy programs together. 
For a recommended book list, visit summerreading.org

To celebrate the launch of our personalized baby book, we are collaborating with the fabulous DIY photography newsletter photojojo.com in a Cutest Baby Ever contest. So grab those crazy cute photos of your wee one and hop on over to  http://photojojo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=746 .  We are giving away 10 free flattenme personalized children’s book gift certificates, as well as a signed print from the artist and the cuddliest little stuffed animal creature made personally by our writer.

These personalized baby books are similar to the other books in that they beautifully and seamlessly incorporate your child’s face and photo into the story. Totally brand new is that they are printed on hard board so that they are practically-drool-proof! Perfect for the new baby in your life. You can page through the story here: http://www.flattenme.com/stories/baby.php 

Flattenme stories can accomodate any skin color, hair length, and just about anything else you can think of.

Enjoy!

I was warned before I started this retail business that people are not honest, they can be rude, and some will try to cheat you. I have to say, gladly, this hasn’t been the case for us. We’ve been thrilled by the thank you notes our customers have sent along. In all the years I have done marketing for other companies, I’ve never seen thank you notes like these.

We love hearing your stories about our products - “Sarah brought it to school today to show all her friends”, “we gave Wyndham his book today and he couldn’t stop giggling”, “I received the book today and can hardly wait to give it to my grandson during our next visit”, and so on.

We are also particularly indebted to our most loyal customers. They’re the ones who write to tell us that they’ve passed our web site along to all the mothers in their play group, buy books for all their kids and nieces, or even write in to give us tips on how to improve our rankings on Google!

So, to our consumers…thanks to you for your support, encouragement, and the occasional kick in the butt.