Monday, September 29, 2014

Another Potty Training Update

I was going to have my next blog post be our trip to Oregon but ... this is more pressing.

I completely gave up last week. Things were going so well until I put his pants back on him and made him quit running around naked.

After the pants went on it was an ongoing battle. There were tantrums and crying followed by more tantrums and more crying so instead of heading to Oregon with underwear in tow I packed a ton of diapers and resolved to do it at some point after we got back.

While in Oregon one of my friends was talking about how she'd potty trained her daughter.

She'd put away most of the toys so her daughter could be more focused on just going to the bathroom but it backfired. The beginning was absolutely miserable and nothing was being accomplished. While her daughter was sleeping she was talking to another friend who gave her a brilliant idea. Before that nap was over the toys were all restored to their original places and when her daughter woke up it was show time.

Literally.

Anything within reach became a temporary puppet. Each one of them asked this little girl about the potty. Some just wanted to know what it was, others wanted to know how it worked, etc.

It was a hit.

So today we headed to the store for a mattress cover, just in case. When we got home we started this for real.

Dragon was immediately back to his tantrums. He didn't even want his diaper off until Mr. Snowman suddenly woke up.

The crying ceased completely and he even WANTED to take his diaper off and just wear pants.

Mr. Snowman was a little confused about the potty. He knew he sometimes needed to go but he wasn't sure how or where to do it.

Dragon took Mr. Snowman to the bathroom and showed him his potty seat. Then he took him downstairs and showed him the portable potty. It was super cute watching Dragon trying to show Mr. Snowman how to do it.

Mr. Snowman even got Dragon to practice pulling down his pants and sit on the potty.

Well, I was keeping a pretty close eye on the clock just in case but, after about a half hour, Dragon totally went and sat on the potty on his own. He pulled his pants down and did it!

I told him he could wear underwear if he wanted, and he did!

Next, his trucks suddenly had an interest in the potty. They were practicing pulling their pants and underwear down all on their own but they usually needed help pulling them back.

This went on the rest of the morning right up until nap time.

I know it's only been a few successful hours but man it has been night and day from the last time we tried this (last week).

It helps that it's his toys doing the talking but I think the biggest thing is that it seems like he's the one in control since he's "choosing" to show his trucks and animals how it all works.

Maybe we'll be able to put the diapers away before too long after all!

Also, I think it goes without saying but I am a huge fan of collaborative thoughts! No way would I have thought to take this approach on my own. Thank you, brilliant friends for having other brilliant friends. It makes me seem a bit more brilliant too.

3 comments:

Fran said...

That is amazing! who would've thought it?

kelsey said...

That's such a cute idea! Everything's better and easier to take when it's coming from someone other than your parents. I can see why it works. Good luck.

But I still say wait until he's 3. :)

christy said...

Awesome! Yes, you've learned an important parenting tip. If the child feels they are making the choice it works so much better. They don't like to be bossed around just like we don't.