I have finally got my little boy potty trained..
Well sorta.
I started Jan. 3, 2012 shortly after he turned 2. I would have to say it has been a crazy struggle and a long hard road with this one. The reason I decided to start potty training him at 2 was because he would come to me and tell me that he went poop or pee in his diaper all the time and want changed. I had heard that those were some good signs that he may be ready for potty training. So we went to the store and picked out a potty chair, some pull ups, and underwear.
He started out great and really loved sitting on the potty and even peed a few times. We would praise him like crazy and it seemed like we were having fun and things were going great!
But then all of the sudden he decided he hated the potty and wanted nothing to do with it. He would cry and fight me and wouldn't even sit on it anymore. Not really sure what happened. It was just like a switch was flipped and he hated it with a passion. He would cry and become hard to deal with if we tried to push it or make him go on the potty. I remember becoming very frustrated and even going into my room and crying over it. I felt kinda like a failure, like maybe I was doing something wrong. I didn't know if it was him or me or what the heck was wrong really. I guess in my mind I figured it was going to be a lot easier then it was and I had this idea of how it was going to go.
I realized there would be messes and it would take work and time. But I never thought He would fight me so much and react toward everything like he did.
So What did I do?
After a little while I decided to just back off and let him have some room and just let it go for awhile. Even though I had let it go and he was still refusing to have anything to do with the potty at all. I decided to keep talking to him about it here and there. I would mentioned things like how big boys go to the potty and I would show him books and we would listen to songs. I would have his daddy take him in the bathroom with him and even I would bring him in with me to try and get him to see it was a good and natural thing everyone does. Every time he was around my nephew who is only a few yrs older then him, I would draw attention to the fact he was going to the potty and even doing it by himself.
A year went by and we did nothing and had let the whole thing go. Finally he turned 3 years old and I had been contemplating maybe trying to start things up again to see how he would do this time. I realize he was not ready at all the first time. But maybe, just maybe he would be ready this time.
I brought the potty out again and started trying to have him sit on the potty. It was a little bit of a rough start but he decided he was finally ok with it and started peeing in the potty again. He actually did a lot better with it this time and would even try to go on his own. I think he just needed some time. He was doing so good with the potty chair I decided to let him try peeing in the big potty standing up and he did great with it. He is 4 yrs old now and goes to the potty great and for a little while was staying drying all night and getting up and going to the potty in the morning. However the staying dry all night thing didn't last very long and we are still working on that right now. Plus he has this terrible fear of pooping in the potty. He pee's just fine but for whatever reason he struggles with the pooping part. I had tried just about everything with him to get him to go on the potty. It has gotten a little bit better since we started and we are working on it with him, but it's still a struggle with him. I know with a little time and patience he will eventually get it.
If there is anything I have learned about potty training it is that every child is different and learns differently. You can read as many blogs or articles about how to train them in a week or a day as you want to. That doesn't mean that your child will be willing to do that and if it doesn't work out for you don't think you are a failure or that there is something wrong with your child. Because in truth what nobody really tells you is that potty training is a long process that doesn't happen over night or in a week.
It happens more in stages or well atleast for me it did.
The first stage is the introduction, getting them to tell you they have to go and then to go in the potty. (Make sure they are truly ready!)
The second stage is getting them to wear underwear all the time and go in the big potty and maybe even by themselves.
The third stage is getting them to ditch the pull ups at night, sleep through the night without peeing the bed and get up when they have to go.
Each one of these stages is a process and takes time to do. Trying to do them quickly and pushing them on your child to fast is only going to frustrate you and your child. Take your time, try and figure out how your child works best and try to make it as much fun as you possible can. Lots of praise, love, hugs, kisses, and most of all patience.
