Ah……even more adventures in potty training…. So recently, we moved Kwabena out of pull-ups completely (only allowing him to wear a diaper at night). He’s been doing really great at daycare! He’s still not at the point where he’s consistently saying he needs to pee. In fact, it seems like he’s had more accidents recently, along with a bit of leaking, than before. Could he be regressing? And just how long will it take for him to realize that he has to tell us, or just go, when he needs to pee?
He’s come home from daycare the last couple days with not-so-hot notes from Miss Marilyn about him peeing all over her wall and all over his clothes when he’s in her bathroom! LOL! Okay, I know it isn’t funny, but it is, in a way! He’s just now learning how to pee standing up, so I don’t know if it’s because he’s got poor aim, or if he’s purposely doing it. Miss Marilyn thought it was the latter, but when she caught him playing in his pee, um….yeah…I think he’s starting to do it on purpose!
I’ve decided that the approach I’m going to make is to not give him lots of reminders about using the bathroom. He’s got to learn, on his own, when he’s got to get to the bathroom. If he wets his pants, he’s going to have to stay in them for awhile until he realizes that they are wet and uncomfortable. Right now I am having to tell him, “Kwabena, look, a little bit of pee-pee leaked out! Doesn’t that feel wet and cold? Looks like you have to go to the bathroom.” Sometimes it works; other times he’s just resistant.
So that’s the approach I am going to take now: let him remind himself most times, and if he has an accident, I am going to let him determine when he wants to get out of those yucky wet clothes, not me trying to tell him to do it. It’s like that old trite saying: “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” Same with potty training.
I have to keep in mind, also, that he is a bit younger than most boys who are learning how to use the potty. There’s a 3.5 year old at his daycare that will use the potty at daycare, but not at home. So, that kid isn’t totally there yet, either. So, considering that Kwabena is 2.5, it’s only normal that it will take some time.
Anyhow, all else is going well! Kwabena’s sleep had been really off last week. I was trying to get him to go to sleep on his own, without the 40-minute interventions that he was requiring of me (i.e. rubbing and scratching his back!). I had a talk with him about how I expected no crying of him when I left the room, etc. And wouldn’t you know it–it’s been about 4-5 nights now and the kid just goes to sleep! Not a peep! It’s really quite remarkable. Doesn’t mean that another thing won’t happen to disrupt his sleep. But I think once the routine is established, it will become even more consistent. YAY! At least I’m not falling asleep at 9 p.m. instead of using my evening to be more productive!
We’ve been trying to establish some dinner rituals, as well. We used to eat in the living room in front of the tv, but then realized that we were doing a disservice to Kwabena by not allowing him to focus on his room without the distraction of the tv. Now he knows that when it’s dinner time, the tv goes off. The funny part of this is, it doesn’t matter if Kwasi is watching the tv or what–Kwabena will go and turn it off right in the middle of whatever he’s watching and insist, “It’s dinnertime, Daddy!” It’s quite hilarious 🙂
It’s still a struggle to get him to sit down in his seat throughout the whole meal, but I think that’s partly due to when he has had enough. The minute he’s done, he wants to get up, which is normal. At least it’s getting easier getting him to sit long enough to eat. Again, once that routine is established, he will know that this is just what we do: sit down at the table and eat. I think routines are very important to getting kids to cooperate (most times!).
Not much else going on in our lives! Oh, we are planning a trip to Canada in a couple weeks. We’re headed to a ski resort, along with Kwasi’s brother, and their cousin, who lives there in Canada. Should be pretty fun!
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