Crap.
We were doing so well yesterday morning, and then Grasshopper got up from his nap. And wouldn't go on the potty. He said, "I sick. I can't go." followed by "I no like potty."
I attempted to stay positive through 4 accidents and multiple trips to the potty with no pee or poop being deposited. I told him what a big kid he is. I counted all of the gazillion stickers on his potty chart and reminded him that all of those represented a time when he peed or pooped on the potty. He can do this!
Only, he isn't.
This morning, same thing. We spent forever and a day in the bathroom with me reading books and him saying, "I no can try anymore. I sick."
For the record, the child is not sick. He has no symptoms of anything, and is on antibiotics for his ear infection, so I KNOW that isn't going on. He just doesn't want to do this any more because it's hard.
I felt like I had to put him in a pull-up for school this morning because there are 10 children in his class and it isn't fair to them or to Grasshopper's teachers for them to deal with the number of accidents he seems prepared to have in his quest for not going on the potty anymore. Other than that, I'm only putting him in pull-ups for nap and bed.
Is this a mistake? I don't know. I'm at a complete loss as to what to do. He seems so down about the whole thing, even though he was making such excellent progress. It is causing JR and I a lot of frustration which we are trying to hide, but which I'm sure comes through anyway.
So please, Dear Internets, help a sister out. What do I do with this child who yesterday went HOURS with just one little accident and today wants nothing to do with the potty? With the kid who begs to watch "Potty Power" again and again and then won't sit on his own potty. Who keeps asking for the bike that my parents promised him for when he is accident-free, but won't do what is necessary to get it.
I am at my wit's end, and I really don't want to screw this up.
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11 comments:
YIPES! That is, well, just poopy. I don't recall how I did any of this stuff. I remember that they would digress some. So I can listen and sympathize but I will leave the advice to moms with younger kids and/or better memories!
How old is he again? He may not be quite ready. The older they are - the easier it is and the faster it goes. Maybe better not to push it? Maybe even reverse psychology would be effective? "okay, Grasshopper... forget it."
I guarantee you, 500% guarantee you, that he will not be in diapers when he is 4. He WILL be ready at some point.
If you're determined to stay the course, do you have "interim" rewards for all of the stars? I did my rewards potty chart on a sliding scale. example: 1 successful potty earned a hershey kiss. 2 more earned 5 hershey's kisses. 3 more earned a little game. 4 more earned blah blah... with escalating prizes... so that something is always within reach?
Once he's ready, I PROMISE you it will click really really easily...
He will be 3 at the beginning of June. We were planning to wait until the summer, but he kept telling us that he WANTED to use the potty. That he didn't like diapers, and had even started taking off his diaper at every opportunity.
He HAS to be potty trained for school in the fall, and also for some of the activities we're planning this summer.
So we're not going back, and the fact that he hasn't been asking for diapers again is what I'm clinging to.
I think that his confidence is taking a hit because it's HARD and he wants it to be easy. But I know he can do it because he has been doing it, just not as well as he would like.
okay... so you're sticking to it. (Although I'd be willing to bet the farm that if you started July 1 it'd be a breeze...) How cool are the big boy underpants? very appealing Dora or batman or teletubbies or some such thing? That helps. Does he have a slightly older potty trained male friend he admires? Are there interim rewards or just the bike at the end? I had a friend who gave out a few M&Ms after every successful potty...
By the way, Natasha. lol. The first word of your post is a pretty funny pun... :)
Funnyrunner:
I hear you about how it would probably have been easier to wait, but with him taking off his diaper, I was cleaning up puddles and changing sheets anyway, so I figured if this was what he wanted, we'd go for it.
I am giving him candy treats after poops on the potty since that was the toughest thing for him when we started. I'll think about adding in other treats while we're in this "confidence dip."
And the bike is kind of a bribe, but the way my parents phrased it was, "You have to be a big kid to ride a bike, and being a big kid means wearing underwear."
We are potty training too & I find my guy gets bored so we try mini prizes. You go all week and you get a Diego Matchbox Car! Sometimes instead of candy or stickers we do Tattoos-these are a HUGE hit. And Wal-Mart sells cheapo ones that wash off after like 2 baths. Or we hit the Dollar Tree-he thinks he's hot stuff getting any toy he wants. Good Luck!
okay; keep us "posted" (hee hee) and good luck! I must admit it DOES sound as if he is ready...
Just a couple of thoughts:
1. We also did the sticker chart. At the end of the row, he got a smallish prize. We also did a pretty good-sized prize for a full day with no accidents. It keeps him more interested.
2. We didn't use pull ups as it was pretty much permission to have accidents.
3. If you're going to use them, friends of ours used to put the underwear on *under* the pull ups so he wouldn't like the wetness.
4. Go look at my posts on potty training. Not to plug my blog but more because I put out the same cry for help and got some good advice or at least commiseration:
http://shesjustanothermanicmommy.blogspot.com/2008/06/like-new-girl-always-says-ask-internets.html
http://shesjustanothermanicmommy.blogspot.com/2008/09/potty-whisperer-fable.html
It's been four years since I did PT I can't remember. All I know is you're not supposed to pressure them but keep reminding, umm, I honestly bought the book Potty Training for Dummies (yeah I really did, it's on the shelf right here). I can give it a look-see later and see if I can think of anything to help.
I'm sorry to hear you've hit a PT snag. I can't offer much help. N was in diapers until somewhere between 4 and 4.5 and J seems to want to follow in his footsteps. He has sensory processing disorder and one of his main deficits is that he really doesn't feel it when he has to go, even now, at age almost 8. He just goes on a schedule and we have to remind him. But if G was doing pretty well for a sustained period of time, that's probably not the issue. Good luck!
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