Saturday, August 3, 2013

Potty Training Shenanigans Part 1


This past week I decided it was a good time to take the potty training plunge, with our youngest. He's two, very vocal and catches on pretty quickly to new things... Maybe here is also a good time to note: he is very stubborn, strong-willed, mischievous, off the wall active and the baby of three (get my point here). He's a typical child!

I start the week looking through PottyTraining 101 blogs, mommy advice columns, and searching the Internet for something useful to get the ball rolling... I have already done this two other times, so I am not sure WHY I thought I needed to seek advice or tips. Frankly, I was stalling. I already KNEW what to do and how to do it but the headache of potty training is real and was lurking in the near future.

Now, it doesn't have to be a headache... according to all the "advice" I read but let's be real here! Not EVERY child jumps on the toilet, does his business, hops off, gets his treat and goes back to playing. Yes in a perfect world you slap some underwear on the kid, one or two accidents later a lightbulb goes off and they just "get it" and start peeing in the toilet. But what about ALL the "atypical" children who are scared of the toilet; or the ones who only pee in the toilet during the day and have accidents at night; or what about the kids who think their only cool if they pee their pants?! Not all kids potty train effortlessly (in just "one week") and that's all I found when I searched for help. I don't consider my child or any other child "atypical" when it comes to potty training, every child is unique in this subject but that advice is probably many, many more clicks into the search engine. As Sweet Brown once said, "Ain't nobody got time for that!"

Dylan is by far "ready" to do his business on the toilet but convincing him of that is the struggle. He brings me a diaper when he's dirty and says "chain" (change). He grabs the wipes with his diaper when he knows there is a serious disaster in there that requires extra clean up! He stays dry during nap-time and he can even say "poop" and "pee."
Piece of cake, right?! WRONG!!

I start the week breaking the news to him. Me: "Dylan your gonna start going potty on the toilet, okay?!" Dylan: "No way."
Me: "You can have a piece of candy if you do!" Dylan: "I'n canny!" Me: "Well then you need to potty on the toilet." Dylan: "NO NO NO NO NO, ssstoooop."
SIGH!!

I tried this a few times then slowly started easing him into the bathroom with me. "Dyl you wanna sit on the potty??"
He looks at me with a little curiosity, so I walk over to help him get undressed and sit on the toilet........ You would have thought I was coming at him with a chainsaw, "NOOOOOOOOOO," he screams and begins to cry. 
I give up for a bit, he brings me a diaper to be changed.....
This time, though, he had taken his dirty diaper off by himself and is waiving the clean diaper in my face butt naked!! So I start in again, "You wanna sit on the potty?!"....... Didn't go well again and again and again. 

This went on for the few days..NO LUCK!

I try again the following day. This time Dylan gets a little closer to the toilet and allows me to take his diaper off. I think he's going to try it!!!!

WRONG!!!!

I pick him up and get ready to sit him down and he goes NUTS!! Screaming and crying like I am about to give him a swirly or something!!! He grabbed ahold of my arms and dug his tiny fingernails in. He wasn't havin' it!!! 

I came to the conclusion: He's scared of the toilet!! 


We made a few baby steps in progress over the week though!! Dylan now takes his diaper off EVERY time he dirties it.. UGH! He has also figured out the "stance" next to the tree out back and practices it often.... with no results! And underwear have sparked curiosity in his cute little head but only to be worn as a necklace :-/

I gave it a break over the weekend...... We both needed it!! I have mapped out our course of action for next week and (fingers crossed) it should go better!!

So stay tuned for next weeks "Potty Training Shenanigans" because not EVERY child trains in a week!!

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