On, Off, On, Off....Up, Down, Up, Down....

There was a recent discussion on a mommy chat group I occasionally visit about potty training.  Part of it was whether a child needs to be able to take their own clothes on & off in order to potty train.  Some said, yes.  Others said no, stating they did not mind helping their child to the bathroom.

I agreed with answer #2, but worried that Livi not possessing the skills to use the bathroom without help might be a setback for her.  If my hands were tied up with her brothers, would that mean accidents?  Yesterday there was one occasion where I just pulled her clothes off in the kitchen & sent her to the bathroom alone as I was mid-Hayden Thomas melt-down that he did not infact need that ump-teenth pack of fruit snacks.  Luckily she came to tell me she had to pee, or my full hands would have caused her to have an accident. 

A couple of people in this debate said, just potty train.  And that the skill of taking clothes off & putting them on would very quickly follow. 

Well folks, they were right.  Today Livi has taken her pants off & on probably 300 times.  Up, Down, On, Off.  She is trying hard to master the art of self-dressing.  Her main glitch, getting both feet in one leg hole.  And sometimes she can't quite get those pants up over her tushy & a cheek or 2 is left hanging out.  {Too cute I must say!}  When I try to help her take them off to go potty, she pulls them back up & shouts "NO!  Ya-ya do it."  If she even feels me touch her to try to help & speed up the process, we have to start over.  So I have spent 90% of my day in the bathroom supervising {mostly supervising the boys who follow her in} & watching "Ya-ya do it" over & over & over & over...

Because of this, she has been using the little potty some too.  But really prefers the big one.  We don't have a potty ring, so I hold her hands so she doesn't fall in.  Which works just fine.  But I'm wondering when she really gets this mastered to do herself if we'd benefit from a potty ring?  So she can do it all herself?  Or if she gets used to that if it will make it harder when we brave taking her out of the house in panties?  Thoughts?

AND its got me thinking about the boys.  {Who I will be potty training when they are 100% ready so it hopefully goes at least 1/2 this easy!}  The little potty has a "pee-pee guard" so they can sit & not pee out all over the place.  Big potties do not have that.  Pointers?  Tips?  What did you do with your boys PT on a big potty so they didn't "shoot" it out all over the floor? 

PS... I accidentally put her down for her nap with panties on!  Oops!  What do you think the odds are I will be lucky & this will be one of those times she wakes up dry?