One chocolate button for each successful use of the potty during the first week also works. If someone could just build me a Raspberry Pi based dispenser which detects success (and evaluates what kind of success) and then issues the appropriate reward I'll really appreciate that.
How I Helped Potty-Train My Kid Using Twilio and an AWS IoT Button
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Re: How I Helped Potty-Train My Kid Using Twilio and an AWS IoT Button
#52I just looked up the IoT button. $20, non-replaceable battery, not shipping to Canada. I don't have the skill or resources to assemble it in a nice form factor, but how are there not dozens of cheap Chinese alternatives? An ESP8266 is like $5 and the rest of the parts are probably less than a dollar. I guess it's just a bit surprising that I cannot find a cheap alternative to buy a dozen of.
I found this [0] on AliExpress, four buttons in one casing with a rechargeable battery. Haven't ordered it yet though.
[0] https://www.aliexpress.com/item/RAK413AS-UART-serial-port-AT...
Re: How I Helped Potty-Train My Kid Using Twilio and an AWS IoT Button
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's not true at all: "But over the last few decades, the age at which toddlers become diaper-free has been creeping upward. In 1957, 92 percent of children were toilet-trained by the age of 18 months, studies found. Today the figure for 2-year-olds is just 4 percent, according to a large-scale Philadelphia study. Only 60 percent of children have achieved mastery of the toilet by 36 months, the study found, and 2 p…
I think modern diapers also make a difference. They are so good at absorbing liquid that they barely feel wet at all. I think toddlers might have been a lot more motivated to learn using the potty when the alternative is sitting in wet cotton cloth.
My son will be three in May. We only just got around to potty training him. He was genuinely surprised to find out that liquid comes out of his penis. The nappy (sorry, I'm British) is so effective at absorbing liquid that he had no idea. A week in, he makes it through the daytime without wetting himself but number twos are catching him out frequently which is fun to deal with.
Re: How I Helped Potty-Train My Kid Using Twilio and an AWS IoT Button
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Going through it right now, looking forward to the end of it.
Not having to buy diapers anymore is fucking glorious, but it's also a double-edged sword. No more spending money on Amazon for diapers, but now you have to make sure they pee often, especially before car rides because you could find yourself in an emergency really quickly.
Porta-potty to the rescue
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01JILAFG0
It fits in the rear footwell of the car for zero notice emergencies, has absorbent pads in the disposable bags and doubles up as a toilet seat adapter as well.
Re: How I Helped Potty-Train My Kid Using Twilio and an AWS IoT Button
#55It's kind of cool they sell AWS IoT buttons, guess they liked what one guy was doing with the Amazon Dash devices to keep track of their baby's sleep cycle so he could try to sync naps with theirs. Of course someone else mentioned it's a bit pricey and no ability to replace the battery?... What? If I had to guess the Dash button is likely more reliable and not tied to AWS (you kinda hook it up to a Pi Router and MITM the requests instead - or similar).
I much rather some company would make a nice kit for the Raspberry Pi Zero W to make your own IoT button (with a nice case), at least then you know what you're getting and you feel like you have total control over it.
Re: How I Helped Potty-Train My Kid Using Twilio and an AWS IoT Button
#56I just looked up the IoT button. $20, non-replaceable battery, not shipping to Canada. I don't have the skill or resources to assemble it in a nice form factor, but how are there not dozens of cheap Chinese alternatives? An ESP8266 is like $5 and the rest of the parts are probably less than a dollar. I guess it's just a bit surprising that I cannot find a cheap alternative to buy a dozen of.
You could probably also do this with a small form factor Arduino, a bluetooth module, and a push-to-make button. With the added bonus that the parts could be re-purposed once potty training is over.
I was thinking a Raspberry Pi W is practically a similar enough form factor for this as well. Some HN'ers might even have one or two of these laying around doing nothing better, so it may work out for them :)
Re: How I Helped Potty-Train My Kid Using Twilio and an AWS IoT Button
#57> brew install python3 Homebrew now installs Python 3 when you run "brew install python". I'm not sure if I agree with their choice, but it makes your guide a bit simpler.
Because Python 2 already has an end of life date. You should no longer use Python 2.
Re: How I Helped Potty-Train My Kid Using Twilio and an AWS IoT Button
#58If author is here, your code for the pip3 install was corrupted by some form of markdown common on blogs. pip3 will not understand —target. That's an em-dash there instead of --.
Remember not to copy commands from web-pages into your terminal: http://thejh.net/misc/website-terminal-copy-paste
I doubt Twilio would do something malicious, but you're still technically not wrong, of course do you trust your browser plugins not to maliciously change your clipboard contents? ;)
Re: How I Helped Potty-Train My Kid Using Twilio and an AWS IoT Button
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not having to buy diapers anymore is fucking glorious, but it's also a double-edged sword. No more spending money on Amazon for diapers, but now you have to make sure they pee often, especially before car rides because you could find yourself in an emergency really quickly.
Porta-potty to the rescue https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01JILAFG0 It fits in the rear footwell of the car for zero notice emergencies, has absorbent pads in the disposable bags and doubles up as a toilet seat adapter as well.
I second that. We had twins, bought two. Works great by the side of the highway.
Re: How I Helped Potty-Train My Kid Using Twilio and an AWS IoT Button
#60I just looked up the IoT button. $20, non-replaceable battery, not shipping to Canada. I don't have the skill or resources to assemble it in a nice form factor, but how are there not dozens of cheap Chinese alternatives? An ESP8266 is like $5 and the rest of the parts are probably less than a dollar. I guess it's just a bit surprising that I cannot find a cheap alternative to buy a dozen of.
The Amazon button probably has higher build quality than anything you can replicate or buy for $5+1. That's probably overkill for most applications aimed at adult users, but it's worth it here. Is that cheap Chinese alternative toddler-survivable? Will the enclosure break and will delicious shiny metal sharps fall out? Is it reasonable water resistant? Is it coated in cheap lead paint that will come off when (not if)…
Has the Amazon button been validated for any of those things? Ignoring for a moment that we're just assuming product quality of the Amazon product, that's not really my point. For prototyping and hacking, how am I not able to source $5 or $10 wifi buttons with a replaceable battery?