h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

An early journal, for a change. Yay! Topic: Potty training But, before you run off, enjoy some animal smileys (we're watching Go Diego Go--and the adults are deconstructing it)--

Anyway, we've been trying to get Notepad potty trained for ages. She's got the physical bit down--when we're not at home, she tells us she needs to go potty and holds everything until she's on a toilet (well, the urine, anyway--as far as I know, she's yet to go poo anywhere other than her pullups). If she's home, even though we've resorted to "1 marshmallow for #1, and 2 for #2--but only for potties at home!" she just won't bother. Then again, *we* don't have automatic faucets or air hand dryers, like business bathrooms do At this point, it's pretty clear that it's become a power play. So, after some goggling last night, tom and I are going with the advice found at http://www.cpnonline.org/CRS/CRS/pa_btrainin_hhg.htm Basically, Notepad is responsible for her own bodily functions. She will be wearing underwear during the day (I'd bought some as an incentive a few months back--too big, as it turns out, but oh, well) and, if she has an accident, she's responsible for changing her clothes and cleaning up the mess (stool messes she'll need help cleaning herself up, but for urine, changing clothes works fine). We won't remind her to use the toilet, nor make a big deal about accidents. We *will* praise for success--we've got a sticker chart going, and the marshmallows are still available. We started this new program today--we told her that we won't be telling her to go potty anymore, and she's responsible for her body, etc. (we made sure that PaperKid heard, too, so she doesn't do any reminding--she started to just after the talk but got the idea after reminding). So far, Notepad has gone potty right after the talk, and is in her too-big underwear. I broke the sticker chart into 4 3-hour periods for a week--if she makes a week with no accidents (that being what I've made the stickers for) I figure we can switch to a regular calendar template, and just give stickers for each day. Or maybe I should make an intermediate chart with 6 hour increments (I'm ignoring nights, for now) for 2 weeks. When the chart's full, Notepad gets something special. In about 20 minutes, the first sticker will be applied.

Note to self--sticker sheet needs to dwell with Halloween candy--ie, completely out of reach, even with tall-stool-climbing. I'd had them magnetted to the fridge next to the chart, and, when I walked by, I saw that the last squares of each day on the chart were bestickered

She got her first official sticker, *and* she just had a BM in the toilet

Don't worry--I won't be doing a blow-by-blow--this should be the last potty report more detailed than sticker-receiving

Your approach seems to be working so well done and good luck!

Deb

Like I said in the journal of a few days ago, Notepad is *very* strongwilled. So much so, that she had a deliberate "accident" last night after her bath. She was still bare-bottomed, and in the bedroom. She came out to tell me that she'd peed on the floor. I went to clean it up, and, when I came back out, told her she needed to get her pullup on now, so it wouldn't happen again. She past me to the bedroom and peed in the same exact spot (equal distance from starting point to the toilet as to there)! And then she went onto the bathroom and used the toilet. So she obviously has control. *That's* when I realized that this whole thing had turned into a power play, and bodily functions is the one battleground parents can't win on.

Hang in there Mom.
In the long run it's good they have a strong will.
Too bad you cannot delay it a bit, or put it on pause some days

Well, after 2 days, we've got a checkerboard pattern going with the stickers I hope the pattern breaks...

So far, the hardest part is *not* asking Notepad if she needs to go potty/reminding her to go potty--so far, she's pretty agreeable to changing her undies and blotting up the mess. Then again, she's been wearing dresses, and so doesn't need to change anything but her undies.

()

So far, all that seems to be getting trained is her bladder capacity The chart has a nice checkerboard pattern going, and she thinks it's funny to tell me she's pee'd her pants when she hasn't. She *is* using the toilet about once each day so far, so that's progress, I suppose. (Yesterday's an outlier--Tom needed to take her along on a job where there wasn't a toilet available, so she had to be in pullups most of the day--I left it up to her whether she wanted pullups or undies when she got home, so it was pullups all day.)