Trick to Potty Training: Send Kid to Grandma’s! & Stickers!
by FireMom ~ March 19th, 2008. Filed under: Parenting.Like what you're reading? Subscribe to our feed.
We had been stalled on potty training for awhile. Sometimes he would go, sometimes he would not. He was always very excited when he went but couldn’t be bothered to remember to go on his own or be interrupted by his Mean Awful Interrupting Parents. That said? Pull Ups are a joke. A complete, utter, doomed-for-failure joke. BigBrother had no problem doing either job in a Pull Up and continuing on his merry way. We decided to stop wasting our money.
BigBrother and I then took a trip to the Big Store with Everything from Tomatoes to Underwear. He picked out two packages of Cars underwear and one package of Thomas underwear. (He had another package at home.) He put each package on the counter at the cash register and said “Thank You” as he set each one down. We made a big deal about the underwear, let me tell you. We put them on and went for it.
We failed miserably.
Okay, maybe not miserably. But we were making the mistake of letting him stay in a diaper in the morning until after he pooped. And then switching to underwear. No go. Has to be all underwear, all day. He was getting frustrated. We were getting frustrated. And then he went to stay with Nana for the weekend.
And the Kid only had one accident. Say what?
Stickers, man, stickers. Previous to this experience, my texture and touch resistant child would not touch a sticker which is why we did not employ this idea. However, he seems to have moved past the ick-factor. Nana took a piece of construction paper, got some stickers and he was rewarded with one each time. When we picked him up, I decided I’d make a chart and we’d continue in the same fashion the next morning.
It’s going well. He occasionally gets distracted by trucks, cars, trains, balls, dust floaties in sun beams and air in general. But, for the most part, all of the pee is going in the potty. He’ll occasionally start to pee, realize what is going on, stop, scream, “PEE MOMMY,” run to the bathroom, wait for me to hurdle over the Exersaucer and run to the bathroom behind him, help him with his underwear, and help him get situated and then he’ll finish his pee-business. I consider that definite success. Yes, we need to get a new pair of underwear at that point but that’s why we have 17 or 18 pair for the Kid. His sticker chart is filling up after three days of the idea. In fact, I need to go to the store tonight or tomorrow and buy more stickers. (Also? His idea of “chart” is different than mine. I would be all straight lines and organization. He’s all about layering stickers and abstraction. It’s visual torture for me.)
Also? Pantslessness. He’s just been running around in a shirt and underwear all week. I did turn up the heat a little but it’s also been a smidge warmer than freezing so he’s not uber-cold. I’d put socks on the kid but he’s like me and can’t have anything on his feet. So, cold feet it is.
The thing that’s not working for us? Potty training BigBrother while breastfeeding LittleBrother on demand. Why? BigBrother chooses times when I sit down in a dark, quiet room with the Distractable Nurser named LittleBrother to run off and do his #2 business in his underwear. He then comes in and tells me, “I pooped.” Yes, I can smell that, Buddy. So, I have to unlatch LittleBrother, set him down in his crib or on my bed (which he rolls now so I should stop doing that) and go deal with the accident in a calm manner. But, interrupting a feeding makes LittleBrother scream. Which then upsets BigBrother. And so both boys end up crying. And my nerves fray and frazzle. Of note: I did ask BigBrother if he had to go use the potty before I sat down to feed LittleBrother. He did pee at that point. But no to the pooping. I’m not sure how to get past this point.
And so, yes, successes are happening everyday. The best part about this whole process? He will take our faces in his hands when we do something that he perceives as good and say, “I’m so proud of you,” as he hears it from us no less than fifteen times a day now. There’s something heart-warming about having your child say that to you.
I’m sure we’ll get there someday. Right?
March 19th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
i obviously have no personal experience…
but do you have a little potty? could you get one and around the time he normally poos sit him on it outside littlebrother’s room or somewhere close by and tell him to sit on the potty until you’re done nursing? give him a couple books to hopefully keep him semi quiet and occupied?
March 19th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Since the stickers worked so well for ‘go pee in the potty’ try buying extra special stickers for ‘go poop in the potty. Maybe larger stickers or stickers that are extremely different than his ‘go pee’ stickers. Give him the special stickers when he poops and the regular stickers when he pees.
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March 19th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
I am so glad we’re over Conner’s potty training thing. I mean we still have a hard time at night with not waking up, but thats why we use the pullups. ONLY thing they’re good for. other then that they suck.
good luck!
March 19th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
You poor thing. There nothing that can stress you out faster than both kids needing your attention at the same time and it just can’t happen.
Lil’ Bum, thankfully was potty trained a few months before Baby Bum was born. That being said, she was a couple of months over 3 years. I tried the pull-ups thing, your right, she was fine to go in them. The first few times we tried panties she went in them too. I’m sure that is why I easily gave up.
Upon arriving home with a gigantic box of pull-ups I decided enough was enough and Lil’ Bum apparently had enough too because it worked.
It will get better.
March 19th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Aaaahhhh we are potty training this week so I feel your pain. We have been using the toddler potty for some time now but this week I hid all diapers and pull ups (I do keep 2 in the car in case we run out of spare changes of clothes while out). We went cold turkey to panties 24-7. She wakes up wet every morning but dry every nap. Yesterday was a disaster but today has been much better. It takes so much patience. Our sticker chart does have straight lines and it drives me crazy when she puts todays sticker in the last spot for Monday!
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March 19th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
At least BigBrother will use the potty. Our daughter, roughly, the same age has no desire to sit on the potty, wear panties (no matter if Curious George, Dora, Disney princesses, etc are on them) or wear pull ups. She has on occasion used the potty for pee and poop, but now she just really has no desire to do so. Stickers don’t work either for us. I have just given up for awhile, but I am tempted to do the underwear all day, but that doesn’t work on days I work (I work 2 1/2 days per week). Oh well. I am sure we will get there eventually. She is advanced in just about every other way so I am trying not to stress too much. Good luck!
March 19th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Hi, I can’t remember if I ever de-lurked, so if not, Hi! It sounds like you are doing a great job with the two kids. I like reading your blog - you have a way with words. We potty-trained early (my goal was done by 2 years old), but one thing that helped (someone mentioned as well), if bigbro poops approximately at the same time (i.e. in the morning or in the afternoon), have him sit on the potty with a favorite acitivity. we had a lego table that fit over his knees on the toddler pot, and we also read a lot of books there. eventually he would just go without the long sitting session…then again, i didn’t have to nurse another at the same time!
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March 20th, 2008 at 6:41 am
Just thought I would point out to you that BigBrother’s name is on your blog now. As a reader of your previous blog,I thought you might want to know that it isn’t so private now.;) Love your mad writing skillz…
March 20th, 2008 at 9:59 am
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March 20th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Hi,
I have a three year old son who is potty trained and I work in daycare so I have seen lots of things tried. I hope you don’t mind me giving you a few things that I have seen work. For my son we let him run around with no underwear at all. He did not want to poop on the floor so he quickly started using the toilet.When he was in underwear and pooped in them we taught him how to clean them out and put them in the laundry room himslef. Yes, that is messier and requires me to clean the bathroom when he isn’t looking, but the added time away from his toys and fun things really got the message through to him. We always made sure we didn’t treat it like a punishment but just what needed to happen next. And just so you know he was a little bit younger than your son is now. At daycare we use the sticker thing a lot. For pooping issues specifically we sometimes give a glass of apple juice or something along those lines and then put them on the toilet about 15 minutes later. Or sometimes we have played music and had a little impromptu party for the child. This may not help with keeping Little Brother breastfeeding at that moment but at least Big Brother will poop in the toilet. We usually use Jock Jams but I suppose it could be any special song. We only play it for pooping on the toilet though. Again, these are just a few things I have seen work. In the end it will happen and then all this will seem like a bad joke. Best of luck to you.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
I potty trained BigSis at 25 months when LilSis was 5 months old and nursing a lot and needing tended to get to sleep at naptimes. BigSis did exactly the same thing, where she’d barge into the dark room and announce her needs - or her accidents!
My solution was to make the toileting totally her responsibility. She did her own pants and unders, turned on her own light (with the help of the stepstool), and unless it was a poo wiped herself and washed her own hands. All that is very do-able with some practice. If she pooed, she would just wait on the pot until I was done with LilSis and then I’d help her clean up. I also had to purchase an extra little pot for upstairs (her main lil’ pot was downstairs) because I kept the stairway gate closed. So then she could do the whole thing.
With all that, she RARELY still had to use the toilet while I was totally occupied with LiSis - even though it had been constant before. Whatev. The problem was solved.
Be encouraged, it’ll get better.
March 21st, 2008 at 6:39 am
Yes, you will.
Mike
http://somethingaboutparenting.typepad.com/
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March 21st, 2008 at 9:05 am
Ha I guess this is the big weekend for a lot of us. We are in the throes of it over here too. I bought new stickers and M&Ms and new underwear. All of it helps but nothing is perfect until they decide it’s worth the effort, right? Hope things improve quickly for you all.
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