Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Well Played Wednesday: Potty Training

Jayna now has a renewed interest in the potty.  We like.  We also like when she tells us that she has to go.  She says, "Have potty now."  Then she grabs my hand and takes me to the bathroom.  It's pretty cute.

The problem is that she is now using "have potty now" to get out of things that she doesn't want to do, i.e. time out and bedtime.  The bedtime thing isn't really a big deal.  We've just begun putting her to bed 10 mintues early so that when we say goodnight and she inevitably says "have potty now" we have 10 minutes to get it done. 

Here are a couple of Well Played scenarios involving potty training:

NUMBER ONE
Yesterday she got put in time out for hitting me in the face with a marker.  It was mainly an accident, but she hit me in the face with the marker because she was throwing a fit.  And when she hurts someone (or a dog) because she's throwing a fit, she gets time out.  No discussion. 

We now have to leave the room when she's in time out or she doesn't really think it's time out.  I sit her on the couch with no television, no music, no blankie, no toys, NOTHING...and tell her she needs to sit quietly until I come get her.  This usually involves some screaming and me having to remind her that screaming constitutes a longer time out. 

And this was exactly what happened yesterday.  I put her in time out and this was our conversation:

J:  Wanna color mommy!!  (through elephant tears, of course)
Me:  You are in time out.  You can color when it's over.
J:  AAAAAARAARRRRRRRRRRRRAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!  COLOR NOW MOMMY!!!
Me:  Now you have more time out for screaming.  Sit quietly until I come get you.
J:  AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!  (full blown fit at this point)
Me:  I said quietly, Jayna.  (and I left the room and she sat quietly for about 1.5 minutes)
J:  Mommy?!?  (I did not respond...she was in time out)
J:  Mommy?!?  (no response from me...yet I did walk through the room to get to the kitchen)
J:  Mommy.  Have potty.
Me:  (heavy sigh...and lots of on-the-spot contemplating of what I should do)  If you don't potty, you're back in time out.
J:  Have potty, okay.

We proceeded to go to the bathroom only to have her sit there for 5 minutes with nothing happening.

Me:  Remember, if you don't potty, you have to sit back in time out.
J:  No hitting, mommy.  No screaming.  I sorry.  Love you.  (her way of reasoning out of time out...and buying time on the potty)
Me:  Go potty, Jayna.

And she then squeezed out about 4 drops of pee.  Well played, Jayna.

NUMBER TWO
One of the biggest obstacles as of yet with the potty is getting Jayna to go on the potty first thing in the morning.  There have been several mornings in the past 2 weeks (since she's been going right before bed) that she's woken up with a dry diaper.  Chris always asks her a handful of times if she has to go potty to which she strongly objects.

This morning she woke up dry.  Chris put her panties on her over her diaper (like every morning) and told her that she should tell us when she had to go so she doesn't pee in her panties.  She was asked SEVERAL TIMES within the course of the hour if she had to potty.  Her response was always no and she just refuses tell us in the mornings.  Right before we left the house I noticed her diaper was wet.  I asked her if it was wet to which she replied, head hanging, "Yes mommy.  Diaper change."  We do not scold her for wet diapers.  We just try to reinforce the potty chart stickers and that she shouldn't pee in her panties.  We changed her diaper and I again reinforced.  "Tell mommy when you have to pee pee so you don't pee in your panties.  And one day soon you won't have to wear a diaper and you can just wear panties."

We got in the car and were on our way.  We got about halfway to Summer's and this is the conversation we had in the car:

J:  Mommy, have potty.
Me:  You have to potty now?
J:  Okay.  Alwight.
Me:  Well, baby, we're in the car.  Can you tell your pee pee to stay in until we get to Summer's?
J:  Okay, mommy.

We continue to drive and I continue to reinforce telling the pee pee to stay in.  A little further down the road

J:  Almost there?  Pee pee, STAY IN!
Me:  Yep, almost there.  You're doing so good, Jayna!
J:  I know mommy.  PEE PEE, STAY IN DERE!!
Me:  Yay, Jayna!  You're a big girl!

When we got to Summer's we raced inside to the bathroom.  No sooner than I sat her on the potty, she peed.  Her diaper was still dry!!  And we did a dance!!  I then put her diaper back on her.

J:  Mommy, pee pee stay out now!  Get a sticker. (nodding her head)
Me:  Yes, we flushed the pee pee and you can get a sticker.
J:  I good.  No pee pee in my panties.  Big girl!
Me:  (silent and teary-eyed while hugging that little ball of cute)

Well played, Jayna.  You made me cry over pee pee.

This is rough.  Potty training is a daunting task, but having a kid who knows a little bit of what's up really helps.  She's not all the way there, but she had to start somewhere!  I'm just not sure I'm ready for her to grow up...

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