Going Potty
Thursday, April 24th, 2008
This picture is from Cateyesccj’s blog at http://cateyesccj.wordpress.com/2008/03/10/blog-that-interest-me-this-week/.
Help! I’m currently trying to potty train my daughter. I think I jinxed myself because we tried this when she was about a year and a half. We just put the potty in the bathroom in case she was interested and so she’d get used to it. The first few days, she used it! She actually went. And of course, I had to say, “She’s going to potty train herself. I won’t need to do anything. Why do people make such a big deal out of this? It’s easy.” That’s also what I said when I first took her home from the hospital and she slept through the night. “Why do people complain. It’s not bad at all.” She didnt’ sleep again for three months, so karma did come back to bite me.
Anyway, the problem with potty training now is that she has no interest in it. I ask her if she wants to go and she says no. I ask her why. She just doesn’t like it. I tell her to tell me the next time she has to go and we’ll use the potty. Nope. And we even bribe her! A few M&Ms when she goes. She always asks to use the bathroom after she’s gone in her diaper.
I found a guide to potty training at the Mayo Clinic website and there is a checklist for potty readiness. One of the questions is does your child understand simple questions and can he/she tell you when he has to go to the bathroom? Peanut can understand complex questions, give complex answers, she knows when she has to go. She just does not choose to.
My quandry is whether to make her. Like enough is enough already. Or just continue to encourage - bribe - her until she does it on her own. I’m fine if she has accidents or doesn’t make it to the toilet in time. But I want her to at least try. The Mayo Clinic also gives some tips. If you want to check them out, click here.
What are you doing that gets your child to go to the bathroom? Treats, bribes, regularly scheduled bathroom breaks? Yelling and screaming? (Just kidding - I don’t want Peanut to need therapy when she grows up.)
