big boy pants

Bribery with treats. He got to the point of hovering over the potty and then clapping for himself, demanding a jellybean. It was hilarious and unproductive.

Training pants. He seemed to regard these as a diaper. Not even ten minutes after we’d put them on him, he’d have an accident. It was almost as if he’d feel them and think, Ahhhhh… finally!

Asking if he needs to go. He still fights this with a quick, “No thank you.”

A toddler seat on the big potty. The boy’s stubby legs can’t even bend on it. He has to lock his arms to keep from falling in. Those things are scary & uncomfortable.

Things That Do Work:

The oven timer. I got this one from my cousin. It literally takes the power out of the battle, and the parent out of the equation. He simply had to sit on the potty to get the timer turned off.

Leaving him alone to play with a potty nearby. While this system occasionally leaves a bit of a mess for us to clean up, it seems to work pretty effectively. We often run upstairs to change the girls or put them down for naps and come back down to a potty with a deposit. He’s usually squealing and clapping for himself, too. Maybe he likes his privacy?!

Nudity, and lots of it. I don’t need to expound on this much. The whole world knows about his habit.

Big brother cheerleaders. They whoop & holler & high-five him all the time. We recently picked up some toddler boxer briefs, since that’s what they wear. Ames woke up from his nap and hit the roof. He adores those boys, and now he gets to match!

Upstairs potty + downstairs potty. I tried using only one potty for a couple of months, and it was absolutely silly. Now we have one for each floor, and it’s made all the difference in the world. Convenience and quick access really do matter! I recently bought one for the car, and we’ve been accident-free since.

He still has a hard time pulling his “big boy pants” on and off in time. He (obviously) prefers to be naked, so we are working on using the potty while wearing clothes. He often wakes up from naps and nighttime with a dry diaper, and he tells us about it. He tells us when he needs to go in public, but I haven’t found a way to keep him from yelling “TOTTY” just to get out of a high chair at a restaurant or the nursery at church.

All in all, he’s getting it! I’m thankful for all of the advice I received from you guys. I tried a little of this and a little of that, and eventually it just clicked with him. Looking forward to the weeks to come, and I am excited for him to be diaper-free completely!