Sean will be three in a few months and I haven’t done anything specific in the way of potty training. I bought all the gear, various and assorted chairs and seats — all of which are out in the garage awaiting the next haul to Goodwill. My hobby is spending money on things I’ll never use and I’ve got the garage to prove it.
If Antique Daddy were in charge of potty training, he would have a plan. A five year plan. He would have researched various potty training plans, philosophies and equipment, cross-referenced each on a spread sheet, read books and studies, consulted our pediatrician and chatted up the other mothers in the neighborhood. He would know the history of potty training.
I, on the other hand, just do what seems right at any given moment and frankly, most of the time what seems right is letting him figure it out on his own.
I will occasionally ask him if he’d like to pee pee on the potty. Sometimes he will say yes and take me up on it and other times he says he needs to pee pee in his diaper, which really means “I’m too busy playing right now go away old woman.” My attitude is pretty much “whatever you need to do dude” either way. Up until Saturday morning at 10:07 am, he absolutely did not ever want to defile the family toilet with poo poo.
Now it may seem like I’m switching gears here, but stay with me. When I say I don’t have a potty training plan, I didn’t really mean that. Of course I have a plan, just don’t ask me where I want to be in five years, I always flunk that question. The plan is the Antique Mommy “Whatever Dude” plan and it primarily involves bribery. When I’m at Wal-Mart, which is like every day, I pick up little cheapie things, which he loves, and I store them away for just the right bribing occasion.
So on Saturday morning at 10:07 am, when I noticed a certain look come over Sean that I’ve learned means incoming poop, I casually asked him if he’d like to poo poo on the potty. He said unequivocally NO. I gave him the “whatever dude” bit, but then added “I have a brand new set of paints for you if you poo poo in the potty.” He whipped his head around and said, “Paints? Ok.” And then he ran down the hall to the bathroom and took care of matters in the usual and customary manner. I cheered. He flushed. We both waved goodbye and high-fived. And then he turned to me and said, “I want dem paints!” After we called all the grandparents and anyone who would listen with the big news, we sat down and painted together.
Later that day, he came to me and said, “I gotta poo poo. You got more paint?” And that there my friends is the problem with “whatever dude” parenting. I’m going to have to buy a lot of paint.
Shannon @ Rocks in my Dryer says:
Quick! Everyone go buy stock in Crayola! ;)
This is hilarious. You’re smart not to fret this. It will totally happen!
July 16th, 2006 at 11:28 pm
Valarie says:
oh, that’s funny. I’m making a note to start smaller when bribes start working around here.
July 16th, 2006 at 11:39 pm
Kailani says:
Boy, he sure learns quick! You may have to start stocking up on even less expensive items seeing how you’re going to need them! LOL!
July 16th, 2006 at 11:52 pm
Linda says:
Oh, that’s classic! And the photo is fabulous!! I’m off to buy some paints…
July 17th, 2006 at 4:00 am
Julie says:
Heh heh, I’ll have to try this. My little guy (just turned 3) is 100% reliable with pee pee but he will not poop in the potty. Absolutely will not. He loves to paint, though. :)
July 17th, 2006 at 6:14 am
stacey says:
LOL You could always give him one color at a time. :)
July 17th, 2006 at 6:15 am
Kvetch says:
You made me laugh. “Whatever works” is a credo that leads to two things - fewer headaches AND results. Way to go!
July 17th, 2006 at 7:27 am
Wendy Boucher says:
We totally went the whatever dude route at first too. Eventually I resorted to the jealousy policy. It’s just a bribery approach ratcheted up a notch. Email me when whatever dude stops working.
July 17th, 2006 at 8:52 am
the "other" Sarah says:
Oh, that picture!!!! LOL! That’s got to top the list of embarrassing pictures to show his first date. Naked baby in the bathtub photos are nothing compared to that! Did he have any idea what the photo was for? Or did you just tell him - “Hold this, Mommy’s going to take your picture”?
July 17th, 2006 at 9:06 am
meredith says:
That’s funny! I’ve never heard about the paint bribe before :)
July 17th, 2006 at 9:16 am
veronica says:
My sister uses tiny pieces of candy. Then her kids start calling them “pee pee candy” in public.
July 17th, 2006 at 9:37 am
Tammy says:
No clever comments here since I just woke up…only TOO TOO CUTE! I’ve used the bribary tactic in other areas. (like my four year old sleeping all night in her bed)..yep, you’re right, it sometimes works great but has it’s flaws…
Funny post- as always! :)
~Tammy
July 17th, 2006 at 9:54 am
Paulette1958 says:
Hey whatever it takes because in so many days it will become a habit and natural, where he will want to run for the potty when the urge hits. Just better hope he doesnt get tired of paints!!
The key really is his timing, and my boy was a little more difficult then my daughter, just be patient, it really isnt worth stressing. Isnt it funny how we want babies, then we want them to hurry up and be big so they will potty? And this is my favorite, we try so hard to teach them to talk, then spend the rest of there childhood telling them they talk too much lol.
I love reading your posts, you are an awesome mom!!
July 17th, 2006 at 10:12 am
Susan says:
Funny picture. Both my boys were hard to potty train. Something about pooping in the potty is just stressful, I guess. Someone (possibly Gigi) reassured me that they would not go to kindergarten in diapers, and they were right.
(A package of M&M’s doled out a few at a time worked for Jackson.)
July 17th, 2006 at 10:36 am
Melanie says:
I hate potty training! Love that pic of Sean holding the sign though. BTW, M&M’s work at our house.
July 17th, 2006 at 10:40 am
Mama C says:
We’ve had a time getting Colby to train the second time around. He had to have surgery, which has made pooping kind of unpredictable. The first time around, stickers and m&m’s were good for bribes. Maybe I should try that this time… the pic is really cute!
July 17th, 2006 at 12:34 pm
mamaspeak says:
The problem becomes that the bribe du jour stops working, but I guess that’s where the “whatever dude” philosophy comes into play. Our current method is no cookies or candy except after pooping in the potty. It seems to be working pretty well. It’s all about Madelines and Milanos in our house. My kid has good taste.
July 17th, 2006 at 2:24 pm
Jen says:
ROFL! You and I subscribe to the same plan. I’ve never met a Kindergartener yet that didn’t have it figured out. ;O)
July 17th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
chelle says:
hehee that is too cute!
July 17th, 2006 at 2:42 pm
Jennifer says:
Hilarious!! My son will be 3 in Sept. so lots of similarities here. We started out with a toy…he earned that pretty quickly. Now he gets a dum-dum sucker. I hope we’re not causing a life-long case of “Hey, I pooped, now where’s my lollipop?”
I love reading your blog!
July 17th, 2006 at 3:06 pm
Teacher Lady says:
A friend of mine has her son practice “target shooting” when he goes pee-pee on the potty (trying to pee right through the center of a Cheerio or right on a Smartee) - could there be poo-poo target practice, or would that just give the kid so many “anal stage” issues that even Freud would be stumped? (I was just trying to think of something cheaper than paint, not completely mess up your child.)
July 17th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
becca says:
Way to cute! My son is 3 and is just potty trained. Actually today he peed on me. It was quite lovely. :-) At least it wasnt in a diaper right.
July 17th, 2006 at 4:13 pm
Damselfly says:
That photo is too much! Total blackmail photo.
July 17th, 2006 at 4:23 pm
truevyne says:
How many Polly Pockets have I bought since January to get my FIVE year old daughter to stay in HER bed all night? Please don’t make me say.
You are so on the right track (from a “whatever dude” potty training veteran). My friends who have made the potty the end all be all of the toddler’s day seem to produce bedwetters.
July 17th, 2006 at 4:40 pm
Code Yellow Mom says:
Marshmallows did the trick at our house. It really is all about finding what their motivation is. And letting it be their idea.
You can get 3-packs of wahable finger paints for $2. Me and my painters go through it almost as quickly as diapers - but it’s a lot less expensive!
July 17th, 2006 at 5:06 pm
Joy says:
Too funny!! I especially like the sign!!
Blessings!
July 17th, 2006 at 5:57 pm
Michelle-This One's For the Girls says:
You sound a lot like me when it comes to potty training. My philosophy has always been to wait until they’re 3 and then potty train in about 3 days. It’s worked 4 times…we’ll see about 5. :)
I don’t know who’s funnier-you or Sean.
July 17th, 2006 at 10:49 pm
Tracey says:
I was having SUCH a bad day. Thanks for the laugh, you’ve helped to “Sew my head back on” so I can keep going!
You’ve been spot lighted in todays CWO Blog!
http://www.christianwomenonline.net/blog.html
July 18th, 2006 at 8:02 am
Catherine says:
TOO CUTE!!!!! I love it.
Catherine
http://le-mon-ade.blogspot.com
http://myquestforthetruth.blogspot.com
July 18th, 2006 at 9:49 am
melissa says:
that is wonderful! how smart you got him to pose with the sign. that’s one for the baby book!
July 21st, 2006 at 1:49 pm
jozet says:
That photo is one for the engagement party, lol!!!!!
July 22nd, 2006 at 10:59 am
motherblogger says:
I love your blog! We were too ambitious with the bribes and started with matchbox cars, then stickers, then peanut m&ms and now that he’s hit his stride, baby m&ms. But it turns out flushing has its own reward:
http://motherblogger.net/2006/06/09/potty-humor/
July 24th, 2006 at 11:42 am
stacy says:
This was hilarious! Amazing how we basically had the same plan for potting training and both ended up the “bribe” plan. As the mother of a 3 1/2 year old, I can proudly say, that it works! Hannah has been totally potty trained for almost a year now, and I don’t miss the diapers at all. We bought her a Royal Potty, that we keep in her room for night bathroom trips. This lets us sleep peacfully through the night, and no wet beds! Good luck, it works!
July 24th, 2006 at 1:54 pm
Jenny says:
Ha! I LOVE this post!
Heck…I’d poop for paints.
July 25th, 2006 at 10:23 am