...and that means one thing: somebody is about to be potty-trained.Even though I've done this twice, I still feel like a complete novice when it comes to potty-training. How exactly did I ever manage to teach Josiah and David to use the bathroom when needed? I have no idea. And now that it's time to teach Tobin, I feel at a loss all over again.
To tell the truth, not only do I have no confidence when it comes to potty-training, I also have absolutely no desire to even do it. If I could, I would send Tobin off with The Potty Training Fairy to be taught by her; and then after a few days or even a week, he could return to me completely trained, and that would be the end of it. Ah, but it's not so easy.
Tobin has expressed an interest here and there, now and then, to use the bathroom. But he hasn't been consistent, and neither have I - mostly because of my aforementioned lack of desire to even deal with this issue. However, the time has come to take the bull by the horns and dive in (to mix my metaphors).
Here's what I do know:
1. We're bound to have some puddles on the floor.
2. Bare wood floors are easier to clean than rugs.
3. I'd better unpack from storage boxes ALL the underwear that fit him: a few pairs of Thomas the Tank Engine underwear are not going to be enough.
4. Printing a potty chart is a good idea. Stickers are the first line of reinforcement; if they do nothing, we'll resort to chocolate.
5. Even when I feel like Tobin is requesting to sit on the potty just so he can get my attention, it's still a good thing for him to be sitting there so we'll just go with it.
6. Reading potty books (we've got quite a collection) 99 times in a row just might give me a headache; but if they somehow encourage Tobin to leap over this hurdle, it will be pain with a purpose.
7. The fact that potty-training is one of my all-time least favorite parenting tasks (right up there with sleep deprivation) doesn't mean I get to display a bad attitude about it to Tobin.
8. More than anything, I need an extra large helping of patience tomorrow!!!
7 comments:
You can do it! I will say, that especially with Paul, at each step of potty training, if he wasn't ready, it didn't work NO MATTER WHAT I DID! I would try a program for a week, and if there was no progress, I would stop it and try again in a month or two. He wasn't entirely (day) potty trained until he was a few months away from turning 3. It was not because of lack of training, it was largely because it took that long for him to be ready, I guess mentally and physically. So, give it a try, but don't beat yourself up if it's not working and he's not ready. (He just turned 2 in Jan., right?)
I've had to clean up lots of "oopsies" when we're training the toddlers in the 2 year~old classroom. One little boy was completely unfazed after soaking his little pants and didn't let me know that he had peed {I was tending to a squabble}. I was made aware of his accident by another little boy who interrupted my medation of the other conflict--he had knelt in the offender's puddle! I definitely had to mask my frustration that day!
My Pastor and his wife had to go to a meeting in another state. They left their 2 year old with Grandma for the week. When they came home they were handed mini M&M's and instructions for potty success... he was in big boy underwear the whole week with Grandma! :)
Good luck Davene! Potty training is such an exciting time AND such a stressful time.
You can do it, girl! :) And I know exactly what you mean about feeling like you've completely forgotten how you've done it before! :)
I know that taking my kids to the store and letting them pick out their very own Character underwear did wonders for us. It was not fool proof but it did help them not want to soil their cool new undies. With GOD all things are possible even potty training!!!
We had quite the time training Kaylee...she started showing great interest when she was 18 months, and with Logan being born at that time, we weren't even going to attempt to go all in.
She just turned 3, and something *finally* clicked. We did somewhat of a sticker chart, and after a certain number of stickers, she got a small prize. She helped me pick out the prizes at the dollar store. We spent a few dollars, and got an assortment of stuff.
We finally had to resort to paying her for #2. I'm not sure when she is going to stop asking for money, but it was well worth a few coins. :)
I'm not even thinking about when it's time for Logan, so I can totally see how it would be like starting over. Each personality is so, so different...
I was glad to read that I'm not the only mother who forgot how to potty train. I put off starting Sarah, but when I made it a priority (after she turned 3), it was done in about 3 mos. For her, language seemed to be key.
Hope you're seeing some small victories, Davene!
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