So This is What My Life Has Come To.
This post is about pee and poop, so stop reading now if that bothers you.
Owen will be 3 in about 6 weeks. We have been slowly introducing potty training for a few months. He really started doing well at daycare about two months ago, but has only peed on the potty one time at home.
He loves to wear big kid underwear, but the second he has to pee or poop, he’ll cry for his diaper. I had been giving in, but this last week was the final straw.
He wanted to wear underwear to school, so I told him that he could get a new Thomas train car if he kept himself dry all day at school. He did it! I was so excited! On the way home, we went to Target and got the Thomas car.
When we got home, he played with the car for about 15 minutes, and then cried that he needed his diaper. This time, I did not give in, because based on his performance at school, I knew he could do it if he’s properly motivated. Plus, I had just spent $20 on a flippin’ Gordon engine as a reward, and I was not going backwards after that.
So now, he’s wearing underwear all day except naptime and night-time, but still won’t use the potty. He either holds it until he gets his naptime diaper, or he just goes in his underwear.
I was starting to think I should go back to diapers and forget the whole thing, but Saturday night when my mother-in-law came over to babysit he went potty twice for her. Just like that. No big deal. So clearly, the little $%* is just playing me.
A very wise man — I think it was Dr. Phil — once said that you should never engage your child in a battle of wills; and if you do, you must never, ever lose. Well, we’re definitely engaged, and I’m not going down without a fight.
So if any of you have any ideas about how I can not lose this battle, I’d be ever grateful!
janeal said:
Although it’s been a while since I went through this, I still feel for you. Every child is different. And when they’re ready, it happens. My son practically potty trained himself by 2-1/2, but my daughter, like your Owen, simply did not care. I tried EVERYTHING… M&Ms, pretty panties, you name it. I got so tired of cleaning up pee puddles! Eventually, she finally decided it was time. So stay strong. I promise that despite what you may think today, he will not start kindergarten still unpotty-trained!
February 18th, 2008 at 10:01 am #
Dino Corvino said:
If I could wear big kid diapers I would.
Owen is busy. He does not have time to tinkle in the pot. He has a checkbook to balance, and snow to shovel and dinner to make for his dad.
February 18th, 2008 at 1:26 pm #
Melissa Sullivan said:
Dude, if Owen were that productive, I would let him pee wherever he wants.
About an hour after I posted this, I solved the problem. I gathered up all of his bazillion matchbox cars (except just a couple of favorites), and put them in a basket on top of the fridge. Then we had asked where his cars were, I showed him and told him that everytime he peed he could have one back. He peed four times before lunch. It seems it was nothing more than a lack of proper motivation. Score one for Mommy.
February 18th, 2008 at 4:17 pm #
iclarkz said:
My wise pediatrician told me to put potty training out of my mind for boys until they are 3, unless they initiate it. I know that is water under the bridge for you, but seriously, my son learned potty training as he felt the natural urge to take more and more control over his body. Any time we got in a contest of wills (he didn’t want to poop in the potty for some reason for months after he would pee) it was a losing situation for both sides. Seriously, we just let him set the pace and it was SO SO SO much easier. If your son has older siblings he’ll even want to do it sooner than my son did, I bet. Let it go, and he will too. (Hopefully, in the right place — ha ha.)
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:30 am #