Family matters

Disappointment reigns

11 Comments

Remember that time when we were trying to potty train Poppy? It was horrible. Pete isn’t nearly as stubborn as his sister, so this morning hasn’t been quite so bad. But it’s left me with the same conclusion: I do not have what it takes to do the one-day training thing.

I know. I can’t believe I tried it again either. But I did, and there were lots of accidents, no successes and lots of tears (again). We’re cuddling and watching “Sesame Street” now, and neither of us is hysterical. Re-diapered Pete is much happier than he was half an hour ago, and I’m disappointed in myself and rather discouraged. But — silver lining! — at least I’m not cleaning up urine and crying.

11 thoughts on “Disappointment reigns”

  1. I hate potty training, too. I’m still waiting for Wendy to be 100% reliable. On Sunday night, she peed on the floor at small group, because she was too busy playing to stop & go potty. Argh.
    .-= Jeni´s last blog ..WFMW: Cutting Spaghetti =-.

  4. Hang in there. No one is 100% reliable. I know grown ups who have an “issue” if they laugh too hard or wait too long. 🙂 Focus on the positive … no more diapers!!! It’s not easy, but one day or many … it can be done. Try to stay chipper. If you get frustrated, so will the little guy. He will be SO pleased with himself when he gets it. You’ll be pretty pleased with yourself too. 🙂 It’s a battle of wills, and yours is bigger!!! Hope the rest of the day goes better. Miss ya!!

  5. After naps for both of us and some Excederin (that has yet to kick in; ouch) for me, he decided he’d like to wear his “big boy pants” again. At this very moment, he’s sitting on his little potty, watching “Toy Story.” Definitely not “by the book,” but we’ll see if it works anyway.

  8. Hey, at least you are trying. Z shows NO interest in learning to use the potty. He freaks if you take off his nappy and leave him with just his PJ bottoms on! I am not sure if I should push it or not. People say it comes eventually, but Zach is a little resistant to change. We ended up having to go cold turkey on the cot when we were trying to get him into a bed. We had both of them in his room for weeks and he showed no interest in sleeping in the bed. He coped with that. Maybe I just need to not buy nappies any more??

  9. For the benefit of some who think this sounds like it was an insane thing to try (and in defense of doctors Azrin and Fox) their Toilet Training in Less Than a Day system does work! It’s based on the idea that Mother knows best, and that when diapers are gone…they’re gone! I tried it the first time when it was a new concept in 1975, on the advice of a most unusual source – my husband! He had seen a discussion. I was the sceptic with the “Yeah, right!” comments. But, I read the book, understood the concept, went by the book, and oh my goodness! By naptime the Weebie (a girl) was permanently in pants! From the drink-and-wet doll, through the ten practice runs following wet pants, to the abundance of favorite treats provided, it is a one-on-one very active teaching experience of only positive reinforcement that creates success through failure, with never a tear or frown. It worked just as well in 1980 for Wilbur (a boy), in 2002 for Silly Sue, and (with a bit more difficulty) in 2007 for Poppy. Just one clue, boys are generally slightly older than girls when they’re ready to train, and there are specific comprehension tests they need to pass. The happy choice I made was to trade a month (or months) of difficulty for a day of bountiful blessings and bonding activities.

  10. We have a friend whose four-year-old is just too smart to train. His logic, which he’ll share freely, is that now he can go wherever and whenever he likes. Why would he trade that in for our system? Peer pressure has started to wear on him, but it’s a long time coming.

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