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View Full Version : Potty training advice needed - what to do now?!



kalebsmama
11-23-2004, 02:49 PM
DS has been using the potty on and off since last spring. We got to the point this summer where he would use the potty if running around naked. He was also keeping pretty dry when dressed. (not always though)
Then, we adopted our daughter suddenly and Kaleb decided to start using his diapers again. That was expected - it was a major change in his life!
Now, 4 months later, we are back to being ok if naked but using the diaper if wearing one. He asks to use the potty if we are out, and if he is procrastinating going to bed. He also stays dry at preschool and asks his teachers to use the potty. Any other time at home, he pees in his diaper/pull-up. He usually poops on the potty since we can tell when it's coming. He always says "no" when we ask him to use the potty at home.
So, do I push things along by leaving him naked or putting him in underwear and letting him get wet a few times? Or, just wait until he decides to train himself? I think at some point he will want to stop wearing diapers, but I'm not sure!
He will be 3 in 3 months. I'm so ready for him to be done!
Thanks!

Edited to fix typo!

egoldber
11-24-2004, 09:25 AM
Well, IMO, if he can do it at school, he can do it at home. I know that even my DD that I consider fully trained, will pee in a pull-up if I leave her in it for too long (she still wears one overnight). My best mommy friend refers to a pull-up as "license to pee" LOL! I would put him in underwear at home and see how he does!

HTH,

brubeck
11-24-2004, 09:45 AM
I agree with Beth that he CAN do it at home if he can do it at school. So right now then his only problem is motivation.

He seems like he is ready for some kind of calendar/sticker chart. When DD was at the capable-but-lazy stage I started drawing faces on the calendar every night: a big blue happy face if she had stayed day all day and a big red sad face if she had had an accident. I told her that when she had 5 dry days (happy face days) in a row she could have a prize (some plastic bracelets). To motivate her, I put the prize on a hook on the wall (too high for her to reach) right next to the calendar so she could see it every day. Every day she would ask me for the prize and I repeated the conditions under which she could get it. If she was dry that day, I took her over to the calendar before bed and we drew the happy face together. If she had an accident then as soon as we finished cleaning up I took her to the calendar and showed her how I was drawing a sad face. I would also draw big red crosses over the happy face days to show her that they no longer counted (since the prize was for 5 days IN A ROW). After about 2 weeks she finally did it and I was so proud! Then I put another prize up for another 5 days. After three 5 day prizes we went to a week prize and then a 10 day prize. At this point she had been dry daily for over a month so we just kept up with the faces and no more prizes.

This definitely worked for her motivation! HTH!

kalebsmama
11-24-2004, 03:59 PM
Thanks for the advice! No kidding about the "license to pee"!!!
I think we need to just do the underwear at home. My only worry is him sitting on the sofa or my bed!
We've tried to motivate him more. Stickers don't seem to do the trick. We have used chocolate chips for pooping when he went through a constipation/withholding phase and that seemed to help. I need to think of something he would want enough to try and stay dry for 5 days!
Ok, after Turkey-Day we'll give it a go! Thanks again!