Saturday, August 13, 2011

Potty Training Gone Bad

So for a while now we have been passively potty training Grady. To be honest, I'm feeling very guilty that things have not gone better considering how many months we have been trying to work with him.



While I have been on partial bed rest I have held off super duper potty training. I know that in my condition there is no way that I can pull on and off 50 wet/poopy underpants a day, clean out the little potty that he likes to sit on, wash all said dirty underpants etc. I had hoped that with extra time he would naturally just "get it". Let me tell you, there has been NO "just getting it".

I would love it if I could share how we have been doing it so far with you ladies and get some feedback from you as to what you would do differently or what you would try next!

Grady has proved to be very bull headed about potty training. He seems to have this attitude of "I don't care if I ever use the potty". I have been curious since his birth how potty training would go because he was one of those babies who never cared or even cried when he had a dirty diaper. He still acts this way.



I've tried to see if he wanted to be "just like Graham" or "just like Daddy" and use the potty but he seems fairly unimpressed that they use the potty and not a pull-up like him. He just doesn't seem to care at all! Most of the time I am ignored completely when I ask him if he needs to go potty. No "yes" or "no" answers from him ever.

The only success that I have had at all is if we are able to spend all day long at home and I let him run around in just a t-shirt only. When we do that then he uses his little potty all day with no accidents! On these days though, he will still never tell me that he has to go potty or that he has just gone potty. So weird. It's as if he has very little awareness of the act itself I guess??



As far as rewards go we started out letting him have lollipops whenever he would sit on his potty. Now he is getting immune to the candy treat to sit there : \ . He for the most part will turn it down. I am in some serious trouble now! When he does accidentally make it into the potty we give him M&M's or some other special treat along with lots of praise, some clapping and he gets to flush the pee pee down the toilet himself.

What the heck do I do with a kid that just doesn't care one way or the other?? I never had these problems with Graham. He went to daycare everyday and got the chance to mimic the other 20 kids in his class when they all went potty together. Grady doesn't have this opportunity with me here at home.

 I checked out a potty training video from our library that I'm going to watch tonight and maybe make a run to the bookstore tomorrow for some books. Other than that do ya'll have any ideas that I could try? I'm really starting to feel like a Mommy failure! I'm starting to hear more and more comments from random people (and family) about how old Grady is (a little over 3) to not be potty trained yet and how they know of kids just over the age of two who already have it down pat.

Help!!

4 comments:

The Anglin Family said...

My last one was so hard. It took forever it seemed but finally one day when he was close to four he just did it all on his own. And never had an accident since.:)

ccc said...

Try not to listen to others. I have potty trained 10 children and they are all SO DIFFERENT. Some decided they were ready on their own at age two and did it, and my latest was 4 1/2. But, I do have to say that I refuse to use pull ups anymore. They just work too darn good and they can't feel the yucky mess/wetness. A cloth diaper or actual big boy pants is what I would use. But, like you said, you can't do that right now. My son who was 4 1/2 when trained just had a hard time connecting the two thoughts together of having to go and getting there on time and if I tried to have him sit at my suggestion, he would just "clam up" and not be able to go. For him, only time made it better as he got older. My special needs son was easier than him. For Ben, I just had to follow him around and have the potty chair with him wherever he went so that there was a visual reminder--even outside. But, Ben only wanted to do it because he hated the wet cloth diapers I had on him.
Good luck, it will eventually happen one day.

Kerry said...

You are definately not 'mummy failure', and I believe it will happen so fast one day, he'll just 'get' it. Ryan was 3.5 and straight out refused to use the toilet. His very first day at preschool wearing a pull up, he come home trained just like that. I think seeing the other kids really helped...good luck xo

Brittany said...

I know that the pressure is so hard. Give it time, it will happen:) - *as you know*

Potty training is difficult though - worst part of parenting so far.

 
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