KELLY BROWN Mum's the Word...There's plenty of praise flowing for my little man at potty time

Random mats on the floor, toilet rolls everywhere along with packets of wet wipes and pants.

No, we have not gone barmy (not yet anyway) but have instead embarked on the wonderful world of potty training.

No sooner had the Christmas turkey gone cold, then we were in the middle of a self-induced home confinement so our little man could grasp the concept with few(er) distractions.

With our second child due in three months, we thought it would be great to try to get the potty training done and out of the way if we could.

The thought of doing it while at the same time looking after a newborn seems a little daunting.

Now for months my munchkin has been fascinated by the potty and happy to sit on it (usually clothed).

But it’s most important function to him has been to stand on it while cleaning teeth, washing hands or throwing toys into the bath.

So it was a little adjustment to convince him on day one that it actually has another practical function.

He seemed very happy to play along, but the idea of doing an actual wee in the potty was a step too far as he protested that he could not do this because he didn’t have a nappy on.

So the little monkey held on until nap time and bed time (and therefore nappy time).

A breakthrough came on day two when he was happy to sit on the potty while watching Peppa Pig and he successfully used his potty.

So there my husband and I sat next to him, clapping and cheering like manic seals to congratulate him on his great achievement.

And of course the rest of the day was spent whisking him to his potty every time he needed it, and again clapping, no matter how much liquid was on the carpet and how much was actually in the potty.

No longer afraid to use the potty there was no stopping him as he rushed to it every time he needed to go on days three and four. Cue more wild celebrations from us and from him as he shouted in great excitement ‘I did a wee wee in my potty’.

Day five brought an added challenge – pants. Not only did he have to remember to run to the potty but also call for mummy or daddy to help him pull his pants down first.

But no matter if he remembered or not we still had to clap and cheer, even when he was wearing pair of pants number eight of the day.

Today is day six – our first day back at work and his first day back at nursery with a whole new potty to find and use.

So when we pick him up at the end of the day we will either receive a report of how well he has done, or a bag full of wet clothes. But either way we know it will take a bit of time (and washing).

And we will continue to be so proud of him as we practise yet another round of clapping and cheering like complete idiots!

[email protected]