3-1/2 years ago we were complaining about our almost-3-year-old son refusing to go on the potty. I have a journal entry full of scribbles and curse words because on this given day, I was just so upset with him. We had Rychen's mom come over and sit with him on the potty (because I was too stubborn to let him get up) while we escaped to go have a good cry in the park.
......Oh boy we had it easy. Little did we know, that was potty training minor leagues.
We made deal after deal which never worked out. Finally we said "You may continue wearing diapers for a couple more months but when you turn 3, No more diapers," and he said OK. The day before his third birthday, he woke up and said "Grandma said it's OK to go potty before I am 3." So he went potty and never wore a single diaper again. Poop, nighttimes, public places--all in one shot!
I've heard moms say a lot how otherwise potty-trained kids are scared to poo in the potty, but I never understood that .. until now.
Now we have a 38 month old who has been keeping her underwear dry for months. She does nighttimes alright but we actually gave up on that because I didn't like to clean up the messes... ha, ha.
This girl WILL NOT go poop on the potty. If you don't put a diaper on her, she will hold it in for days. Recently we found out the effects of holding it in, as I was becoming more stubborn and experimenting with not putting diapers on at all... Well it ain't pretty. Let's just say when a kid has been holding it in, the diaper becomes utterly useless and you still have a mess to clean up.
Finally somebody told me, let THEM clean the mess up and realize exactly what they are doing. Let them see all the consequences. So today when I had a mess of poop on the carpet, I let the emotions flow and sat there crying. I told Elisabeth my back hurts, I haven't gotten any sleep, and the last thing I need right now is green goop stuck in my carpet. I put her in the bathtub, leaky diaper and all, and said "Take off your diaper and wash off your legs" then went to work on the carpet.
20 minutes later she was still standing in the bathtub with poop dripping down her legs. I wanted to make sure she experienced the nastiness in full glory. When I came back, she told me "I don't like to poop." (Which I already knew, but isn't it time to realize that holding it in until you have 2 diapers worth is not a great way to deal?) And we had a good talk about how yucky and messy poop is, but how easy and clean it can be on the toilet. I asked her what she's going to do next time, and she said "Put it in the potty and just flush so its not a big mess."
... I am just really hoping that talk was effective. My washing machine is about to break.
2 comments:
Funny...the girl's harder. Sorry this is tough! I remember doing the same thing to Millie - sticking her in the bathtub and telling her to clean it up herself.
what's wrong with putting her the diaper on to poop? If she's clean otherwise? Would she tell you that she needs to poop and needs a diaper? I would go that way. much easier. My son also used to prefer diapers to potty. so i let him have diapers when i felt that he needed to poo. it went smooth. now he is "clean" with both (with occasional accidents). And he was a bit over 3 when he went clean. So give her some time. You are so patient with everything else.
btw, i am pregnant again, too :-)
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