After spending hundreds of dollars and changing countless diapers, I've decided enough is enough! Dan and I have made it our goal to make sure Charlie is potty-trained this year!! The sooner the better.
Unfortunately, it's been a struggle. I regret that we didn't start doing it sooner. We should've started a couple years ago but Dan got a new job and we moved almost 2000 miles. Six months later we bought a house and a few months after that we had our baby. So, now he's much older and even more stubborn. It truly seems like a battle of the wills. For a couple of days, he was really into peeing in the potty so he could get a piece of candy. We tried to get him to do number two but that wasn't going to happen. I got mad at him one day because I knew he was trying to do a bm but he told me he didn't want to sit on the potty. Five minutes later, he told me his diaper was pooy. So, I yelled at him (which I know was a no-no). Then, he decided he didn't want anything to do with the potty. A couple weeks passed and the other day he peed in the potty once. I feel like we're back to square one.
If anyone has any tips, we'd love to hear them! For now, we've told him that we're not buying any more diapers. My only consolation is knowing that he will be trained eventually.
Okay, so I wrote this yesterday and since then I've had a chance to talk with some other moms and read up a bit more on potty-training. So, I feel a little bit better now. I have a potty chart with squares that I would mark off with a star every time he uses the potty. I told Charlie that when he earns six stars I would give him a prize (which will probably be a small Thomas the Train toy because he loves Thomas). He seems to like the idea and earned his first star today!
I'd still love to hear what you've done so I can have an arsenal of tricks.
5 comments:
In August on my blog I described our potty day! Look it up! I would buy the Thomas thing you are going to give him so he sees what he is trying to earn. We bought Star Wars guys and everytime he went #2 in the potty he got one. Jens was #1 trained in one mornig(sse blog) and #2 took a month or 2 or 3 but be patient if you make it a battle he will one. The few things kids can control is what goes in their mouth and when it does and what comes out of their bodies and when it does. Good Luck!
Good luck Linda! Sometimes there isn't much harder or more frustrating than potty training!
Emma is now done, but we're still working with Kate. We did the treat thing, and that worked really well, but I'm also going to try a few prizes and see if that helps.
Thanks to both of you for your encouraging comments. I'm going to devote all next week to getting Charlie into a routine with the potty.
Maybe this won't help, but the only thing that worked with a few of mine was saying to them, "let me know when you want to wear underwear." Then I didn't really do anything but wait, and mention it occasionally. I'm convinced that potty training is letting the child decide when it's time. Kids need to make up their own mind to do it and if you try to force it all you end up doing is cleaning up messes all day, every day. J saw one diaper left (I didn't realize we had run out) and said, "No more diapers." That was that. K said she'd wear underwear and go on the toilet when she was three. On her third birthday she put underwear on and we were done. Helpful or not? Good luck however you decide - when it comes down to it, you are his mother and you know what works for your child.
Thanks, Heather! I have backed off a bit and am not making a big deal out of it as before. We have the big boy underwear (Thomas) and he knows it's there but I like your idea about telling him to let me know when he wants to wear it. Since Sunday, he's been going on the potty - not every time, of course, but that's progress! He's actually decided lately to sit on the big potty and gone #2 several times. So, I have hope.
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