WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IS A POTTY TRAINING VENT!
Arrrg! I cannot take any more potty training. I am going crazy here. When will it end? I feel like we have tried everything and nothing works. He started last spring showing an interest in the potty. It was going really well and I probably should have really run with it, but the pregnancy and the move really kept me from working it too hard. This summer he was almost there. I could leave him in his under ware and we would only have problems when he pooped. He would go on car trips with out accidents. Then about a month ago it seemed like he just gave up and decided to revert on everything. I have tried working on it, and I have tried letting it go. I have tried bribes and withholding his shows. I have tried the kid potty and the kiddie potty seat. We have sat down on the potty for hours and no poop. I am going crazy. It isn't about the money on diapers or that I feel he is behind, I am just sick and tired of changing that diaper! He is so big that it just looks ridicules when he comes up to me requesting a change. He also does this thing where he poops in stages! He will take out up to three clean dry diapers with one slow bowl movement. This has gone on for almost a year now and I am sick of it. Any secret weapons I haven't tried yet? And please no karma comments from my family.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Stop the Insanity!
Posted by Emily Larkin at 3:41 PM
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3 comments:
Suggestions: (but really, each kid is so different, who knows what will work for each individual personality?)
I vote ditch the pull ups. Or call them "Bedtime pants" and put them on only for sleeping from now on. He's capable of keeping them dry now, it's just not a habit to do so. Changing the name to something else might be one more thing to help him wrap his brain around the fact that it's not acceptable to poop/pee anywhere but the toilet.
have you tried the glass bowl full of tiny, wrapped, dollar store gifts on the bathroom counter? Being Christmas time and all...the lure of actually being able to open something might draw him in.
Buy a $1 kitchen timer (The POTTY CLOCK), set it for 30 minutes and have him go potty every time it "dings". If he has success, a sticker for the chart! Teach him how to set the timer to the appropriate time (mark a dot on the dial, and one on 30 min with a sharpie so he can line up the dots for the correct time). Do this ALL day, and be firm about whether or not he gets a sticker. (that's where it sucks for you, because you ahve to drop everything and go in the bathroom with him) but when the chart (that only had 10 squares to begin with) is filled out...go somewhere BIG. Build a Bear. Put up a new chart, and start again. Accident #1=take toy away, and he'll earn it back when the chart is full again. accident free = ANOTHER trip to build a bear.
It doesn't really seem like Maz is seeking attention like other kids are when they willingly poop in their pants. And it doesn't seem like he has no control, either. My guess would be that he's just busy doing his own thing and doesn't want to stop until it IS too late to control it. The timer might help teach him that he has to stop playing to go poop...even when he doesn't want to. Once's he's made it a habit to go, I bet the battles will be over.
I feel for you. Good luck. Read everyone's suggestions, and if nothing seems to seem right, then really, let it go. He won't poop in his pants forever. Children naturally develop the "embarrassed" emotion around age 4...so if nothing else, he'll figure it out by then at least, simply because he wants to be like the other kids. You do a great job. Don't be hard on yourself. Potty training is hard. You should get a sticker too for each success!
Pray about it, seriously, and pray with Max so hear can hear you ask for help with him to use the potty. The Lord cares about everything.
My friend a church finally had success with her little boy when she was so sick with morning sickness that the only way he could get her to get off the couch was to say "Mommy, I have to go potty." Not sure I'd recommend that method though...
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