Good to Stay at Home Today
It was nice to not have to go into the hospital today. I'm starting to feel sick, so I didn't want to do much of anything. I'm guessing that I'm catching a cold. Ugh!
Daddy was up early and working and then gone most of the day with clients. He is always working hard and long hours. And he still doesn't seem to be feeling well, either.
Tonight, we removed Bekah Bear's "tubes". When Rebekah got her first central line (which we've always called tubes), Bekah Bear got tubes, too. We thought it would be good for Bekah Bear's to go away now, too, and Rebekah agreed. It was a family affair, Rebekah wanted us all to help. We asked if she wanted Bekah Bear's tubes to go into the bin of keepsakes or in the trash. She decided the trash and put them into her diaper pail.
I want to start to potty train both girls. It should be fun! One at the late end of the spectrum and one at the early end. I've got a toilet cushion for the regular toilet for Rebekah (it has Dora on it) and a potty chair for Sarah. I have "real" underwear for the girls and stickers for bribes (although I'm not sure how well I like the bribe idea). Any advice?
Share a thought or prayer: 14 Comments
14 Shared:
Think of it more as reward than bribe. Set up a sticker chart in the bathroom and they will get excited about earning them. Sam got excited about anything. Lots of jumping up and down and cheering always brought a proud little grin too.
Yes, the reward approach is good.
Someone told us we could start trying at 24 months and work at it and they'd be trained by the time they were 36 months. Or we could start trying at 34 months and they'd be trained by the time they were 36 months.
We went with the 2 month process!
Having 2 daughters, ages 8 & 12, I am not above bribing and never have been. I prefer to think of it as "incentive." We found something each of the girls liked that they did not normally get. With the first one, it was Andes candy. With the second one, it was stamps. Of course, you have to know when to do wean off of the bribes, I mean, incentives. Our deciding factor was when we noticed that our first one starting using the potty about 10 times an hour. For our second one, it was when we noticed that the stamps were appearing on the hallway walls. (As an aside, the little ones response when asked what she was doing with the stamper: 'I am NOT writing, coloring, OR drawing on the wall!)
Good luck with everything! Love hearing that things are going so normally right now!
I don't see it as a bribe but more as an encouragement and I don't think there is anything wrong with encouragement. We all need it from time to time:-)
God's Grace.
I agree. The sticker chart is a good idea. And if they fill a row or block or whatever in it, they get a little something bigger. A sucker or toy or however big you want to go. Potty training is frustrating. If it isn't working, take a break and go back to it in a few weeks.
Good luck. It is nice to read about normal life going on at your house right now. :) Take care!
there's a special joy that I just experienced knowing that todays post was about potty training, something so "normal" but really it is "huge" in your household, that brings a special smile to my face
STICKER CHARTS W/ FAV. CHARICTERS!
WORKS LIKE A CHARM!!!!
You made me laugh out loud when you said "it should be fun" - especially when trying to potty-train two of them at the same time.
The stickers are a reward, not a bribe!
Now, go have some fun!!!
Val
P.S. You aren't going to believe us, but the first two letters on the word verification thing are "BM". HA!
We started with the sticker chart but it wasn't very successful for us. Ultimately, I put our oldest in underwear and told her she was too old for diapers. I let her pick out her clothes in the morning so she didn't want to have to change and her natural dislike for making a mess worked like a charm-- two accidents over three days and we were done. But she was over three at the time. My two year old is more in the 'you can start at 24 months or start at 34' category. She loves the potty. Loves to sit on it. Would sit there all day. But that has not lead to the ability to tell Mama when she needs to get to the potty.
I recommend a very relaxed approach. It will happen-- but on their schedules not yours. Encouragement and praise are key. Your belief they can do it will convince them.
I've also heard training a doll or teddy bear and having a party for the toy is a good motivator. We did have a party when our oldest went a week without an accident/diaper. She decorated the cake herself and she got to pick out a reward at the toy store (she picked one of the cheapest toys there, too!).
Good luck and enjoy the at home time with the girls.
--Annika
I hope you are all feeling well soon. Congrats on starting potty training. My brother and his g/f have started to try to potty train their son (my nephew) but it hasn't gone all that well...it does at times except when he's up to our house. He tends to freak out then like it is the end of the world to sit on the potty (he's a little over 2 1/2) but apparently he's ok at daycare and home when he tries it.
A friend of mine used the sticker method. She found it worked pretty good. She set up a sheet of paper on the fridge (held by a magnet) and made it look like a calendar or something similar. Every time her daughter used the potty she got to pick a sticker and put it on the sheet. When she didn't go on the potty she didn't get any.
Hi friends. It warms my heart to hear about Rebekah and all the good going on. So precious!!
As for potty training. Well with both our kids we had two very different experiences.
Just try everyone's advice, go with what works, and be patient. One might 'get it' while one might be stubborn, but eventually they'll do it.
We are now now diaper free and oh how nice it is. :0)
God bless you guys. Thank you for just the impact you had unintentionally in our lives. Rebekah will be in our prayers as well as all of you and forever will you mean a lot to us.
In every instance God is there.
We do lot's of cheering and nickels at our house! Leeann gets a nickle every time she goes in the big girl potty and she takes it straight to her piggy bank. She loves to hear the 'clank' and she knows that money is good, but she doesn't know yet what it's good for. Regardless, from everything that I've read an immediate reward of some sort is always a good idea. Check out some books from the library... I've found some good ones there. I like what someone commented about trying lots of things and seeing what works for your family!
Also, the choice is certainly yours, and I can see the benefits of both, but I'm curious if it would be easier to focus on training Rebekah first, then tackle Sarah? One book that I read suggested sending all siblings away for the day (or weekend) and give your constant undivided attention to potty training the one. I think it's called 'Toilet training in 24 hours' or something along those lines. We're making progress in potty training at our house, but it's hard to remember to take Leeann to the bathroom every hour or so. She'll go when I tell her to, I just forget to tell her. You might find you have more patience for both by starting with one? Just a thought...
When we were training Luke, we also used the sticker method - that really helped. Alison and I sound like we were doing the same thing. We also cheered and jumped around. We tried to make doing business as fun as possible.
Tucker kids potty trainging experience from years back: Joe---pretty much trained himself at 2 and 1/2 after watching Daddy a time or two. Both B and L---bullheaded and obstinate (now how could this happen??). Both knew what to do, but would go hide with number two in the corner somewhere and drive me flippin' nuts! Eventually, I gave up all incentives/bribes, etc. and just figured, "Hey, they'll be outcasts at kindergarten if they don't get this!!" Right around age 3, a little friend told L, "You're a baby with diapers. I'm a big girl."
That was the beginning of Positive Peer Pressure 101. L came home from church, whipped off the diaper, got the fancy panties on and declared,"I am a big girl now."
And thus, she was potty-trained on her own timetable(which was later than my timetable). That's the story. They are now 20's and teens and have kept to the whole potty training thing!
Post a Comment
Thank you from Rebekah...
Back to Rebekahs home page...