We finally got through Dante's Forgotten Circle of Hell- potty training the stubborn pre-schooler. I knew that timing was going to be pivotal with Ted- pushing him too early was simply going to make him intractable and it's not as though one can actually force a child to produce. My bigger problem, however, was going to be Henry.
Henry is a force of nature. He is part hurricane, part tornado, part earthquake and part flood. Leaving Henry alone while giving Ted the time and attention that potty training was going to demand was something I occasionally contemplated and I saw no solution to. I was disinclined to involve family due to the scope of the favor I'd be asking. Henry is tiring. Asking someone to come and watch him for 3-4 days while I worked with Ted seemed a monumental favor.
Then opportunity knocked.
Henry turned 2 on February 12. He received a train set and one of the engines from the "Thomas and Friends" tv series- "Henry." Henry the train is a fine, green engine with a smiling face and a coal tender. Ted coveted Henry the train. Ted would take the engine from Henry and I'd give it back. Ted would take it again and again and again. I'd give it back. Finally I said, "You know what, Ted? If you poop in the potty, I'll take you to the store and you can pick out whichever engine you want."
Henry, upon hearing this, jumped to his feet, marched upstairs and pooped in the potty.
The next day, February 14, I put them both in underpants and didn't look back.
Ted's totally potty trained and about 2 weeks into the process he decided he wanted underpants at night instead of a Pull-Up- he's been completely dry at night. Henry got an ear infection and went on antibiotics. Any mom who's had a child on antibiotics knows what that can do to a child's digestive system and I'll just say that I was glad we went back to diapers for him. He'll probably train again this summer- I'm not worried about Henry. Henry will do it on his own, when he's ready. Henry's a force of nature.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Finally I said, "You know what, Ted? If you poop in the potty, I'll take you to the store and you can pick out whichever engine you want."
In my family, there were known as the "toilet trains." I'm glad to see that still works as a motivation.
We tried the free, the cheap and the easy- stickers, charts, special outings and what worked were the most expensive toy he could find. I wasn't even serious when I initially said he could have a new engine because I didn't think anything would happen.
Oh well, at least they have a nice train set now.
Post a Comment