We started potty training on Saturday. We had 2 previous windows where Mal was very interested in using the toilet and he would go from time to time, mostly when he wanted to get a treat. The times he was interested however did not correspond well with times where we were able to focus on potty training. Since then, he has firmly dug his heels in and simply refuses to use the potty. With Jake home for the summer, we decided it was time for us to dig in a little harder and make it happen.
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Going potty requires a binky, 2 fuffies,
2 beverages and usually some form of
entertainment. |
We got some spiffy new big boy underwear. I had read somewhere that you want to make the underwear exciting to the kids. As I stood there, I was once again reminded how out of touch with kiddie pop culture my kid is. (the day before he got a sticker from the Cars movie at Kaiser. "Mommy!" he yelled. "I got a sticker with a car on it! And it has eyes and a mouth!" He had no idea). All the undies were of Cars, Toy Story, Star Wars and some other stuff I can't remember. I got the ones I liked. He likes the ones with the monkeys on them. Seeing him in his new big boy underwear made me tear up. They look so cute on him.
After a rough start and lots of tears about the act of sitting on the potty, the boy actually got into it. Right around nap time, we got several good trips to the potty and by the end of the day, we had a number 2, which was spent the remainder of the day gushing over. Mal was pretty darn excited. As he was heading off to bed, he said he was happy to go potty some more tomorrow. I had a pretty big load of laundry to do, but Jake and I both agreed, it was a good start.
I am happy to report that we are on day 4 and we had a completely accident free day that included a morning out and about running errands and an afternoon train ride and play date at the park. I am trying not to get too excited. Surely it can't be this easy...but then again, Malachy really seems like he gets it and is super happy being a big boy now.
Way to go, Mal!
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of an NPR bit in which an economist & his young daughter talked about her potty training revealed things about human motivation. He'd reward her for using the toilet, and she ended up incented to consume huge amounts of water in order to get more treats. When her little brother came along, she talked her way into being his potty helper (and thus sharing the treats), leading her to stuff him full of water, too!
Yes, Mal used to go potty the tiniest bit 10 times in a 20 minute span. He would go a tiny bit, run for his chocolate chip treat and then immediately pee again for another. Rince, wash repeat. When we demanded more volume, his interest in potty training disappeared...until now. Funny thing is that Lailah is usually standing next to him mooching water from him while he does his business.
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