Payback
I'm sure of it.
I have been blessed with 3 of the most easy-going, mild-mannered, compliant (mostly), soundly-sleeping children ever to draw breath. While friends struggled with toddlers who still had yet to sleep through the night, mine slept through between 8 and 12 weeks; while others had screaming tantrums of epic lengths, mine blew over relatively quickly; while others experienced what seemed to be never-ending separation anxiety, mine rarely looked back. But now? God is getting me back for all those easy times.
I have spent the entirety of 4 of the last 7 days in one of these two places: sitting on the floor in my sons' bathroom as they sit on their toilet seats or sitting on the carpet in my den watching my bare-bottomed sons like a hawk for 'the signs' of needing to go. "Helping" Elmo use the potty. Pulling down "big boy diapers". Singing every toddler tune known to man and making up several new ones no one but my sons will ever hear. Pushing liquids on these kids as if I were a drug dealer looking to hook a couple new customers. Reading aloud every single book in their library four frillion times. Playing untold number of games of "I Spy" and building more train scenarios than I care to remember. Getting NOTHING done around the house.
Willing these children to 'go'.
Wondering how much liquid a toddler can ingest before exploding or their eyes begin to float.
Witnessing not one single drop make it to the exit.
Except, of course, on the den rug during those 6 seconds I turned my back to answer the one phone call I had to take.
Elmo is mocking me.
If any of you have hints/tricks that worked for you PLEASE let me in on the secret. I understand that it doesn't happen overnight, nor do I expect that, but I really think that if we could get started, they would get the hang of it fairly quickly. They both are "ready" in the sense of all the signs. A positive: I don't think I've ever spent this many uninterrupted hours playing with them! We've had a lot of fun, and they should at least have good memories of that.
posted by Leska McCall at 1/31/2006 02:27:00 PM
12 Comments:
Well, not having any children of my own, I'm not much help.
However, I did catch a Dr. Phil episode once that was 'How to potty train in one day' that seemed like it could work. Here's the link to the show archive and instructions:
http://drphil.com/articles/article/264/
Good luck with the potty training!!! :)
Oh goodness a long potty training road ahead of you it seems!
There is Carrie again and her internet links of knowledge! LOL
I also am no help, but I wish you the best of luck.
Though Elli has taken a few steps back on the potty training I have found putting her in underwear helped lots. Most of the time she would tell me when she had to go, but sometimes she would start to go in the underwear and then stop because she would feel it and then finish the job on the potty.
SOunds like you're doing the right stuff. Just don't push it. It's okay to put it off and wait again. :) Hell, it's no fun. We didn't even start until three. Yee haw. This damn child still won't poop in the damn potty. I've bribed with everything but the moon. ???? Oh well. I'll just get a dorm next to his at UT so I can wash his poopy undies every day.
Pull ups even the feel n' learn kind were of no use. I just had to go straight to underwear which created daily accidents. Finally my ped suggested letting him run around nude from the waste down while we were home alone. I also made a point to put him on the potty every hour and asked him to try, if he said he didn't need to go I didn't push it and let him get down. Like Kami, I waited until he was 3 as well. Took us 2 wks to pee train fully and another 2 wks for poop training. All in all it took a month and there were tons of accidents and loads of laundry. But now I can say it was so worth it. Good luck!
One thing to look forward to is that I've heard girls train earlier and they are easier.
One last thing, Little Man never would go in the potty chair. Yea he'd sit on it but that was it. I got the same kind you have pictured above. I converted it to the foot stool and he just used the regular toilet.
OMG. I am doing the same thing with my daughter. We sat in there for 30 minutes singing the damn Wheels on the Bus song. Finally, she went!
That sucks. Sounds like you're doing all the right stuff, from what I've heard. Nathan is only 16 months and nowhere near ready, but at the suggestion of a professional nanny I bought a potty and keep it next to his bathtub. Right before he takes a bath I sit him on it, if even for a second. She said not to make a big deal of it, so it becomes second nature to him. She claims she had both her kids trained before 2.
I agree on the real underwear thing.
I think using pull-ups sends a confusing message to them. It feels like a diaper but we want them to pull it down and sit on the potty?
good luck
We would always 'introduce' the seat to ours slowly and fully dressed. I would take them into the bathroom and let them sit on the pottyseat(while I sit on mine of course) for about 5-10 minutes(or however long they will tolerate it) while reading the all important picture book on potty training. We would do this about every half hour. Of course they would be wearing cotton panties as well. After a few weeks sitting with clothes on, we would attempt the taking down the underwear. It's a long road but eventually the oldest warmed up to the idea. That and urine doesn't really bode well in your socks! TIP: Don't use pull-ups. I don't know about the 'boy' kind but those girls' pullups tend to hold it in just like a diaper and were pretty useless in the land of potty training. Good luck.
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