The beginning of this week marked the start of a difficult struggle.
Dum, dum, dummmmmmm.... POTTY TRAINING!
I knew that Haven needed to be potty trained, (She will be 3 in August and I refuse to have a 3-year-old in diapers or to change double diapers for much longer) but all of my attempts in the past had been completely unsuccessful. Haven just hated using the potty. Plain and simple. We would say, "Haven, if you go potty we'll give you m&m's!" And she would just say, "No. I don't like to use the potty." Then a few minutes later I'd find her hiding underneath our kitchen table pooping in her diaper. What is with that?! Why do kids want to poop in a diaper and get all messy? Gross. Anyway...
So I asked my veteran* potty-training dad if he had any tips. He said that what he does is sets the kitchen timer to 45 minutes. Every 45 minutes you put the potty-trainee on the pot without fail. Also, they have to wear big-kid undies. No diapers. No pull-ups. That way if they have an accident they feel the wetness or ...stickiness of the mess they made. Every time they use the potty successfully they get a small treat, like one hershey's kiss or 10 m&m's. I kind of combined all of those tricks with an old school one - the sticker chart. We made a beautiful "potty chart" out of pink glittery card stock, some sticker letters, and a silver sharpie. She gets to put a simple glittery circle sticker on the chart every time she goes #1 and an extra cool flower sticker if she goes #2. After almost a week of filling her chart with stickers she got a big prize - we went to the zoo today! (We were only there for 45 stinkin minutes though because we didn't know they closed at 5!! ugh... but we're going back tomorrow hopefully.)
this was her general attitude towards potty-training at the beginning of the week
this is her potty chart now! success!
I have got to give my dad some props. We started on Monday and have only had a few accidents. They have all been very minor and most of the time they were my fault because I would forget to take her to the potty. (hey, she's not the only one who's learning. this is all new to me too!) I knew we were making progress the first time she told me she had to go to the bathroom by herself. We went in, she sat down, and she went right away. I was so impressed!
If you're reading this and are currently going through (or are about to start) this challenging process, just remember that your child has to be ready to potty-train. I wanted to potty train a long time ago and Haven simply wasn't ready. My words of advice: don't start until they're ready. It's a waste of time. And also, potty-training takes dedication. You have to be willing to stop what you're doing, whatever it may be, and take your little one to the bathroom. It can be a little aggravating if you're in the middle of cooking, reading, watching tv, cleaning, or in my case breastfeeding. But it's so worth it once they catch on.
Soo, hip hip hooray for potty-training, and hip hip hooray for a daughter who is finally ready!
Thank the Lord above!
*my dad is on kid #4. He knows his stuff.
3 comments:
Thanks for leaking that story, I'm relieved to hear it. You're #1 Haven!
Good job! Stick with it! Potty training has been my least favorite part of parenting so far. I think the biggest thing I needed to realize was that the worst thing that could happen is that she would have an accident in public and all we really would have to do is change her. It stressed me out at first but eventually I realized it's not that big of a deal. I always carry extra underwear and outfit in my diaper bag. My Haven is doing pretty well now but it has been a long, drawn out process! We did a very similar method except I am not as cool of a mom and I would only give ONE M & M for #1 and she could pick a different candy for #2. We did have a sticker chart but it wasn't sparkly! Geesh I am going to have to step it up next go around! :)
Whoever "Anonymous" is, you're hilarious! :)
Nichole, don't feel like you have to step it up. If one m&m and a non-sparkly potty chart worked for you go with it!! I had to make potty training seem extra cool and fun for my Haven to even try it, so that's why I had to use those "extreme" measures. Would you say your Haven is completely potty trained at this point? I totally agree, potty training has been the least fun part of parenting. This week really has given me hope though. She's done really well. :)
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