My middle child is now 3.5 years old and still in diapers. My oldest child was similar…it was very difficult to potty train him and once we stopped pushing, he trained himself and never had another major accident. We decided to try this again, only from the beginning with no pushing. We gently ask, remind him of the fun things he could do if he used the potty, bought fun underwear, offered rewards, etc. The only thing we didn’t do is force it.
Well, I want him in preschool next year and that requires potty training. Plus diapers are a huge waste of money that could be spent elsewhere. I’m done waiting patiently and today is the day. My husband is on break so we have 4 days in a row where he can be here to help me make sure someone can attend to potty needs as they arise.
I finally convinced Colin to wear underwear sometime around 11AM. He wouldn’t put on a new shirt, so he is wearing a pajama shirt, Elmo underwear, and Baby Legs. (Baby Legs are sort of like a cross between legwarmers and socks, they cover the entire leg with elastic at the top to hold them up but don’t have feet.) He didn’t want to use the little potty we have or the big toilet, so every 15 minutes my husband is taking him out on the back porch and letting him make his potty attempts in a more natural setting.
I am not sure what is funnier…seeing his little bare behind above his striped Baby Legs while he makes his attempts outside or the victory dance my husband did for him when he succeeded! It’s been a great day at this mama’s house. And the best part? No accidents yet! Maybe this will be easier than I anticipated. Hope springs eternal in my heart…
Sarah Ivy
March 4, 2010 at 10:10 pm
Yay!!! We love going outside too. He’ll fit right in at our place. We even have a pee pee tree out back. A little boy’s dream! (p.s. I might have to ask Donnie about the pee pee victory dance…..sounds fun!)
Kelly
March 4, 2010 at 11:41 pm
Javi loves when he gets to pee outside. It’s definitely a boy thing. When he was about Colin’s age, we were on a road trip and made a pit stop for him to pee right by the road. He still talks about how fantastic that was.
Now you’ll just need to convince him to come inside to pee sometimes.