Here we are…weeks from my first gleeful potty post. Weeks since we’ve had a successful potty trip. Seriously I guess we must have
gone through a three day beginners luck because there has barely been a whisper
of a mention of the potty from Emma. It’s like we have this big plastic
(however not horribly distasteful looking) potty sitting in our bathroom taking
up precious square footage for no reason. It’s just sitting there staring at me,
laughing its gurgley potty laugh at me. And then there are the diapers that
seem to keep finding their way into my shopping cart at the store every week.
They sigh blissfully, content with their useful status. Their job is safe…for
now.
I however will not rest! I will not back down! I will stare
those diapers in the face and say “NO MORE!” Heck I might even give the kiddie
potty a whirl just so it remembers what its place is in this world (not
silently mocking me.) My toddler however will continue to care less. I ask her
if she needs to go, sometimes she says yes, sometimes no. If it’s a yes, we
rush, skipping quickly with glee to the bathroom, only to end up with no
results. I cannot tell you the last time she went in there! I really
never pictured my kid being the kindergartner who wasn’t potty trained! Now
maybe, just maybe I am over reacting because we haven’t even reached 2 years
yet but I was kind of hoping it would be a one and done kind of thing. I mean
COME ON! One of these parenting responsibilities HAS to be easy right?
We haven’t quite reached def con 5 potty mode at the
Patterson household just yet, but starting this weekend we will be stepping it
up a notch. The plan? I will be single handedly designing the most colorful, sparkly
potty training poster EVER in existence! Then I will get the AWESOMEST stickers
in all the land and I will erect a shrine to potty training SO GREAT that upon
visual contact you might shed a tear. I plan on having the poster laid out like
a spreadsheet (yeah I stare at them all day of course the format is stuck in my
head) with spots for each sticker. Emma will get a sticker for every time she
uses the potty. After a number I haven’t figured out yet…maybe 5 maybe 10,
there will be a larger prize. If we ever get to the no diaper phase then there
will be possibly an even bigger prize.
I am not one to bribe my kid. In fact other than birthdays,
Christmas, or the occasional awesome thrift store find, she doesn’t get any new
toys. I am willing to go hardcore bribe for this since I’ve heard it gets good
results. I can’t say I won’t resort to this in the future…it depends on the
success of the plan (aka the bribe) and what ridiculous milestone we have to
make it through next. Being potty trained is one of life’s necessities so I will
consider the successful completion my greatest parenting achievement to date!
But really…… what am I doing again?
Moms I’m reaching out! How did you get your child potty
trained?
Well, to be honest, you can push and bribe and coax until you're blue in the face, but if they're not ready, they're not ready. And there's not a whole lot you can do about it except wait patiently. Doug went in the potty the first time on MLK day, about 8 weeks before he turned two. And then it was a sporadic thing after that. Maybe 2-3 times a week it would happen. He just wasn't ready to put all the pieces together and do it until he was three. Shrugs. Every kid is different and just about everyone has this down pat by kindergarten.
ReplyDeleteWe also used sticker charts. We kept increasing the time/number of stickers between prizes. He got prize (match box car) almost right away, and then it was two days, then four and then a week and then a lot of stickers and then he lost interest and just went in the potty anyway. I highly suggest slowly increasing the time between prizes. Good luck!
Thanks Katie! I am trying to be patient and just bring it up every now and then. I guess I was in a hurry because she goes into the 2 yr old room at daycare in June and I think they really want you to have at least put some time and effort into it but I am with you, she's just not ready. Her sticker chart is on the wall for when she is!
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