You know it's time to potty train your
What we can't seem to get him to do is to tell us he needs to go before he does the deed in his pull-up.
We're preparing for a possible move, and I just don't know that I am up for the whole "let him go naked until he learns to go to the restroom" approach that worked with our oldest way-back-when, because, frankly, I don't want to risk having to clean up poo behind him day after day until he finally gets it right.
Plus, leaving the bathroom door is not an option with a son like
An open bathroom door around here is taken as an open invitation for him to
a.) splash in the toilet water with abandon and maybe even drag his nearby bath toys into the fray
b.) gleefully unroll the entire roll of T.P. (or dump it into the toilet whole, depending on his mood and how much time he has to work with)
c.) to climb up on the toilet, shimmy his way precariously across the vanity counter, dig in the vanity mirror cabinet and gel his hair to new heights and/or splash on daddy's cologne so he can "wook han-some"
d.) wrest the lid off of daddy's mouthwash and gulp with abandon until he either hears me coming down the hallway or it finally registers that, like vanilla, it smells good but burns going down
e.) all of the above
Can you see my dilemma?
We're dealing with the terrible
So...stay tuned for the hilarious hijinks as FrumpMama
What a rush, huh?
And so, as the old Beatles song has it, "Won't you pleeeeease, please help me, help me, help meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
Thank you kindly for any potty-training tips y'all might have!
Help a FrumpMama keep her sanity!
24 comments:
You might want to get a toddler potty and put it in the kitchen (with wipes out of reach) for when he needs to go. And bribes for "good job"s. Show him the bribes and say, "You'll get this if you can poo in the toilet!" And big boy undies in action hero prints for when he's able to use the toilet like a big boy... If it was me, I'd say, just wait until you move. It's bad timing. Kids regress at times like that anyway. And nobody in his future will ever ask him how old he was when he was finally potty trained, so don't worry. Plus, you've got blackmail material if you can hold out until he's 3...You won't need to ask him to come over and help, you can just TELL him. He he!
I'm praying as fast as I can!!!
Taylor didn't seem very interested in potty training and when he was somewhere around 3 my MIL was visiting. She potty trained him with just a phrase. "Please, Taylor, I can't take this any more!" (She's a little light on the parenting small children thing) And that was all it took.
She lives in Orange County. Want me to hook you up??
So you know I have a strong willed child too. Potty training was...umm yeah a nightmare... I won't lie. Here's my tip! Pray... Pray and Pray some more. Praise ever time he goes. And by praise I mean clapping hands, shouting "way to go", jumping up and down... Also you may want to start after you move. (Are you moving soon?) I know that my daughter had been completely trained for a month and we moved and she REGRESSED. It was very frustrating to say the least. Also I have found that Strong willed children take longer to train. Something about their will. Maybe Judah will be the exception:) You are a great mom and I know you will do a better job than I did:)
As I have mentioned to other people's blogs and my own, I am a firm believer in the run around naked method during potty training. You have to commit to several days at home but both of my boys were done in less than a week (with some accidents of course). Even though both were interested earlier, I didn't start either one for real until they were almost three. That meant they were old enough to understand the independence of it, not just HOW to do it. I think that is one of the reasons they did so well.
Whoa, Mama! Can you even see straight after writing that?!
You have a lot on your plate right now, but I have complete faith that you will handle everything with grace....and humor...
I really hope everything works out well and that all the transitions are smoother than anticipated!
After reading your blog, I now know why God did not give T & me boys. I would've loved a son, but I have a lot of peace about just having my girls. Ha ha ha ha. I am sure boys are wonderful. I just think I'd have a coronary if I had a boy---they are completely foreign to this self-professed girly-girl. Although, my middle child likes to eat ointment and rubber bands and I used to catch her playing in the toilet. She may be as close as I'll ever get.
You should write a book Becky! No matter what you write about, you feel like you are right there in the FrumpMama house. Good luck with the potty training! It will happen!
On your list of things Judah can do with an open bathroom door you forgot....... Smear Mommas makeup all over his face! =)
Well my potty training is not to be emulated as I have a 7 yr old who still hates #2 so much that he holds it until he explodes and makes huge messes. So! Maybe someone else can help. Good luck.
I can say a prayer or two for you though. Home and school changes are big stuff.
Sometimes your posts make me wish my kids were still little (my youngest is going into high school!). This post is not one of those... :)
The only thing I remember about potty training, besides the fact that it was so hard, is that it was like starting over from scratch with every child. None of them were the same. I thought after I'd done it once, I'd know how...umm, no.
Praying for you!
Oy! I can so NOT relate, just sit on the sidelines and watch you wrestle with Judah's potty adveture. BUT, I will be praying for you and praying FAST like Jenster. =)
Um...I'll pray for you!
That said. MHO: Leave.him.in.diapers.until.he's.either.married.or.trained.
Seriously. I tried ohhh so very hard with child 1 and it bit us both in the (ahem) hiney.
Child 2, yes, was a female, but she also was under waaay less pressure and strain. And she trained herself at 2 9 months. I think, like every other power struggle, it's going to be a losing one if you decide how and when.
And...if you have a move coming, it's likely that he'll regress anyway, so you'll have accidents in pullups and pants rather than in diapers.
But whatever you do Becky--it'll be right for you. Praying. Hugs!
Okay, on potty training, you have to be able to read your kid. Some kids are just totally WITH you on it, like you were, Becky. 17 months and we're done. Good girl! Some kids don't CARE if they're sloshing around in wet pants or worse, and sometimes you're even tempted to believe they LIKE it. Others just don't seem to really know what's going on and are shocked that suddenly they've got a loaded diaper. There are a few who are the sneaky type who (having been supposedly potty trained already) may not totally wet themselves, just piddle a little here and there and then you find their nasty undies show up in the laundry inside their Toughskins (a brand of jeans from yesteryear). I think the best way to get quick response is to bribe the heck out of them using stuff they really want (not candy!) and really making a big deal of success and playing down failures. I'll bet if you talk to Judah about how it feels when he has to go, taking the time to do this in the bathroom by running the bath water and saying "can you feel that you need to pee now?" and just talking through it all with him, he'll start to catch on. Kids understand so much more than we give them credit for.
Maybe it would work to take Judah shopping to buy all kinds of little (cheap) toys or art supplies or Matchbox cars or whatever he really loves and tell him when you're buying them that every time he goes potty in the toilet instead of his pants he will get to pick one! Knowing him, he'll probably do his business in little installments to get the most out of his efforts!
He's SMART! The toys need to be on display somewhere that he sees them a lot and wants them BAD.
I just read JapanMamma's advice and she's said pretty much the same thing. Hmm, she must be related to me..... But make it fun if you can, it's too stressful for kids when parents get upset over this issue. There are other ways to damage their psyches forever as you well know. Not quite as bad as one harried mom I know of who finally resorted to the "cold water treatment" at diaper changing time. Teach 'em to THINK before they go!! However, lest I stand in judgment, let me say that some children are just difficult with this for whatever reason. I know another child who pooped in pullups until she was in school. She literally took off her own panties, put on the pullups, pooped, then had her mom clean her up, and then put her panties back on. Some weird fear of the toilet? Who knows? I was very fortunate in my children, really. They all were potty trained BEFORE COLLEGE! *you know I'm just jokin' here*!!!!
How about stickers? That's what I did with my youngest. I got a few stickers that she liked and taped a piece of paper on the bathroom wall. Every time she did a number one or two or both in the potty chair, she got a sticker. She loved that. I was firm. She had to do the deed first. It was exciting for her to see how many "accomplishment" stckers she had plastered all over that sheet of construction paper. But, yeah, wait till after you move...
Wanna know the BEST potty training advice I ever got: Suck it up and do it! There is no other way, unfortunately.
WOW! You have a lot of high priority stuff going on right now! My vote would be to decide what are the absolutely-must-be-done-right-now priorities and put a couple that are lower on the list off, just to ease the burden some. Seems to me that Judah being strong-willed will be to his great advantage when HE decides he is ready to use the potty. You already have a major plus that he doesn't like it in his pants. I wonder, if you can somehow get him to make the connection between all the things that are going on that get the potty into his pants, if he may take the initiative to train himself. If it's going to be you doing the pushing and prodding, waiting until after the move may be a less stressful choice. (As to the actual how-to, really ~ I got nothing. 3/4 of our children were nightmarish and much older than Judah before fully potty trained. The 4th - my husband bought some princess underwear or something and said, "These are big girl panties ~ you don't want to mess them so you go in the potty." That was it.
I hate say this, but I'm no help at all to you...
I'm the aunt that plays with a your kid to the point where they poo in their pants from the sheer excitement of an adventure with auntie cat... then I hand them back to you to clean up the mess... lol!
I love Judah, a.k.a. "Taz, the loose-lipped diaper devil" stories!
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!(o:
Well, I don't have any tips because I have only potty trained a little girl and she didn't get it until she was over 3. My son is almost 1 and a half now, though, so I will be anxious to hear how things go for you.
Oh my goodness! He is the male version of Grace.lol they sound like two peas in a pod. Oh the damage they would do together.
PS: Praying for your move too!
P.S. I gave you an award---here is the link:
http://pursuinghappilyeverafter.blogspot.com/2008/08/it-must-be-share-love-week.html
Oh my, girlfriend! Just breathe... Everything is just gonna be okay. Have you lost any hair recently? I'd be pulling mine out by now!!!
Looks like you got some good advice. I don't know a thing about potty training a boy (is there a diff.? I have no clue!).
First, since I was away and just now catching up. Congrats on the win for your story. That's just awesome Becky.
Second, two boys two completely different potty training experiences. Beanie was trained in a week, had one accident and we never looked back.
Shmoo was more like Judah. I tried and stopped. Tried and stopped. Tried and stopped. We got a little further each time. Some kids are just more difficult and you've gotten probably way more advice than you wanted.
You know Judah best. It probably won't be easy because you seem to already sense that. The only thing you have going for you is that you know that eventually he will be potty trained and that NOTHING lasts forever.
Yeah, pretty pathetic as advice goes. Being a Mom is hard work.
I have no advice, but offering up some prayers on your behalf.
hope you're moving here.
*smile*
yoohoo!!! Anybody there? I miss you!!
Good luck! Potty training is insanity.
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