Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Wanted: Someone to Potty Train a Stubborn 3 yr old

This lighthouse cookie jar only means one thing in our house........ potty training time
Steve proposed to me at a lighthouse. So when we got married, this was one of those funny gifts that someone gave to us. I'm not sure why I kept it at the time and the lighthouse was put away in a box until 4 yrs later when it came time to potty train Preston. And then 3 yrs later for Taylor. When you push the button on top, the light comes on and makes a fog horn sound. Same when you open the jar (which is great because no sneaking treats without me knowing). Preston and Taylor LOVED getting their treats from the lighthouse after they went potty. It worked wonders with them! 1 day and 3 days to potty train, to be exact!

Well now it's Mason's turn and unfortunately the cookie jar has been on my counter way too long and isn't seeming to work in my favor right now. The hard thing is that he is so smart but too stubborn! This is why I KNOW he gets it.....

Today I took him to his audiologist apt. I couldn't leave him alone in the waiting room so I took him with me to use the restroom. When I was done he looked at me, clapped his hands and said "Good Boy Mom."

If anyone has any advice, PLEASE............ I need it. If he isn't wearing anything (I mean NOTHING) he is usually pretty good about going on his own. But as soon as I put on underwear, pull-ups or diapers, he won't use the toilet. Unfortunately with apts, kid's activities, errands, etc. I can't stay at home all day everyday to train him.

What do I do??

12 comments:

Gene and Susie said...

I guess just enjoy the "Good Boy, Mom" comments.

B. Perky said...

First, relax. Make sure there is no organic reason, sounds like not if he does okay naked. Then forget about it, he will when he wants to and no other time. Maybe make it his responsibility by having him change his own pull ups. He may get tired of that and decide the toilet is a better option.

Kerr Family said...

Good Luck! I'm working on Kora...to no success. She goes when she wants and goes in her underwear the rest of the time. I'll be checking back to hear your comments.

Anonymous said...

Maybe he is not ready. We knew our daughter was ready when we picked her up at daycare one day and they told us she took her diaper off after she pooped in it. Ah...the memories.

Good luck!!

zuniga family said...

Well, I have no suggestions but after reading about Starbucks and how sweet your Preston is, maybe he can potty train Mason. Maybe he'll say, "Mom, it's not fair that you have done this twice already. Here, I will do it for you." It might work!

Janelle Anderson said...

You've been on my mind lately. Miss you guys for sure. Things are good here and baby number 2 is a week or so away! Exciting times!

What worked for Lucas and potty training...I wouldn't ask him if he had to go potty. I would tell him, "If you need to go potty, the potty is in the bathroom." Just phrasing it differently gave him the control.

Another thing that really helped us was setting a little watch alarm. One weekend (the weekend before he had to be potty trained for preschool to start) I gave him a million things to drink and every time the watch alarm went off (every 20 minutes) he had to go try to use the potty. I put the watch in whatever room he was in and of course, he listened to the watch way before he listened to me. It was a long day but made a huge impact. There were a few fights about not wanting to or not needing to so I kept focusing on "trying anyways."

Good luck. We'll talk soon.

Do you have a business website for our crafts? I have tons of ladies out here that I know would love your stuff. :)

The Carlsons said...

I don't think I can leave all my advice in one comment but I'll try.

Jonah and Sam have just been way over the top tough to potty train. Jonah took about 1 year start to finish.

Samuel who started going on the potty earlier has taken even longer.

My main advice is don't make it such a big deal. There were times that I actually cut the underwear right off of Jonah because it was so disgusting.

I did try to every 30 minutes thing and it back fired both times. It's good if it works, try it but if it doesn't back down. I gradually started putting big boy underwear on Sam for longer periods of time. I'd try to make sure that he'd go potty before we left the house. I'd praise him when he did.

The treat thing didn't really work for us because I give my kids to many treats already. But if you have a good friend that you spend time out you can try to get him to use the potty there and have her praise and treat. In fact Samuel got off after pooping today and said Aunt Sammy would be so proud of me....he even called and told her that next time he saw her he was ready for a treat.

The other thing I did was let him know that I wasn't buying another box of pull ups. I tried to only use them if we were at church, or if he hadn't pooped in a couple of days.

In just the past two weeks we've made leaps and bounds. He started telling me when he needs to go potty and hasn't had a major accident. The best thing was when on our drive to OH, he was dry even with a pull-up on for the whole trip and used the potty at the rest stop.

He'll be 4 in May. He still gets mad if I try to make him use the potty and he won't go but on his own terms he's good.

Be patient. This one is giving you a run for your money but I hear that if you pressure to much the night time training doesn't work so well because their bodies resist going during the day and think they need to go at night instead.

If this makes sense at all good. If not, call me and we can talk about it more.

The Horvath Crew said...

Well you got some great advice. I wish I had something new to tell you but all they said pretty much sums up what I have tried. I thankfully had a son that learned very quickly. He was potty trained right at about 2 years. I always did the 1 m&m for every time they went pee and 1 bigger candy for the poops. Lots of liquid and naked around the house. He will get it after a while. Enjoy!!

The Horvath Crew said...

Well you got some great advice. I wish I had something new to tell you but all they said pretty much sums up what I have tried. I thankfully had a son that learned very quickly. He was potty trained right at about 2 years. I always did the 1 m&m for every time they went pee and 1 bigger candy for the poops. Lots of liquid and naked around the house. He will get it after a while. Enjoy!!

Jodie said...

I KNEW I'd get some great advice. You guys are the greatest friends, thank you!

Wendoyoublog in Colorado said...

Just let the new dog train him. After 5 boys, I have no advice.

Wendoyoublog in Colorado said...

Well maybe one ounce.....I put gummy fishes in my pocket so that everytime they went, instant gratification. Worked well for me.

PS....word verification was rearmad. Funny