potty training

More reluctant potty training

I’m definitely feeling that life is on the change again. We’ve moved house, have settled into our new area of very quiet suburbia (only shattered by our family – naturally!) and are very happily finding our feet. The toddler has been to look at his new school which is LOVELY and I’ve been to a parents meeting. In a couple of weeks we’ll start a new routine. I know it’s only five afternoons a week but that’s a big change for our little threesome.

We do have a couple of major things to do before then. Like potty train. You might think that my 3 year old should be sitting confidently on the toilet by now, but he’s not. And I’m really torn on the issue. Part of me thinks he’ll do it when he’s ready, the other part of me thinks I want him to fit in right away at nursery and not feel different from the other children. A very small part of me thinks the toddler might be a little lazy. He loves his “appies” as he calls them.

blue potty

I know my job is to teach, him however reluctant he is, so we’ve stepped things up around here.

He still has his potty training reward chart but he now gets a star for telling me he’s done a wee or poo in his nappy. Once the chart gets filled up he knows his reward is a car for his new scalextrix (a lucky charity shop find).

We have big boy pants, Lightning McQueen pull-ups, an eco-friendly potty, a training seat, and a step to reach the toilet. We read books about it and we talk about it constantly. Whilst I was writing this he managed to do his first wee on the toilet and you have no idea how many people I’ve texted to share the news! Hopefully the crying and screaming about the pants will soon stop!

 

4 Comments

  • Reply
    Jane Brown
    July 20, 2013 at 7:19 am

    You have my sympathy. I forced the issue when my son was 3 years and 4 months. He refused to use a potty and just wanted to go in his nappy all the time. One day I decided that was it. I took his nappy off, with much wailing which I ignored. He started to wee over the floor and I lifted him mid-wee onto the potty. Later nappyless he said he needed a wee, I put him on the potty, he performed. We carried on in the same vein and by the end of a fairly housebound week we had it sorted, poo and all. Now 2 months later he is dry at night too and he goes on the toilet rather than the potty. My point is that I was waiting until I thought he was “ready” but in reality he was ready, just lazy about having to make the effort.

  • Reply
    Becca
    July 20, 2013 at 7:49 am

    Ladies pleased to read this isn’t just a concern I have. My boy is 3 in October and has little interest in the potty. I’ve tried reward charts, praise, songs and the like but nothing works. Everyone says it will be easy when he’s ready and because I cannot face a week housebound I’m clinging on to this “potty train in a weekend” urban myth.

    Hope you get the potty sorted, but maybe seeing he is different to the other kids is exactly the encouragement he needs?

  • Reply
    Clare Mansell
    July 21, 2013 at 9:27 am

    Well you guys have just made me feel a whole lot better. My son isn’t two for another 6 weeks and my mum is already badgering me to potty train him, I thought it was too soon, turns out I’m probably right.

  • Reply
    Lots of firsts | the-gingerbread-house.co.uk
    October 3, 2013 at 2:21 pm

    […] started at his pre-school and I’m pleased to say he was potty trained by the time he went. Potty training took up a surprising amount of time and it feels like we tried everything – books, reward […]

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