Potty Training

(Tracen a little over 2 sat for hours "trying")

Last week I dropped off forms for Skylor to transfer to a new pre-school that is a block from our home starting in September. One of the rules in bold was must be potty trained. I signed off saying he either was or will be.

They say every child is different and boys are always harder than girls in this department so I've never really worried about it. However I have to get this kid potty trained by September or I'll be driving in two totally different areas for drop offs. 

With Tracen I tried potty training him when I was at home on maternity leave; he was two and a half at the time. At our daycare if your child is 3 and potty trained it's like $5 a day less. It didn't really work out though. He sat on the potty a handful of times when I asked him if he wanted to but that was about it. He never got those feelings or showed any signs that he was interested he just wanted the damn M&M's I waved at him every time he "tried."

6 months later he was close to three and a half and hated taking baths, brushing his teeth or changing his diaper. Basically he was our own Pig-Pen from the Peanuts. I on the other hand didn't want to look like a bad mother. So in all efforts to get him pee on the pot, scrub his butt cheeks and brush his teeth I told him if he didn't do these things he'd get sugar bugs from not brushing, bootay bugs from wearing diapers and bugs in his ears for not bathing.

He would get this look of sheer terror on his face when I'd yell HURRY HURRY WE HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR DIAPER OR THE BOOTAY BUGS WILL START BITING YOU! When I would change his diaper I would pinch his butt the tiniest amount and he'd freak out and say ahhhh huwwy, da bugs gettin me!

Now some of you are probably thinking what a terrible mom I am for scarring my kid into going on the toilet but he was almost three and a half and he was being so lazy about stopping from playing to go pee. He just needed some encouragement or the kid would still be in diapers to this day, I can promise you that! Tracen basically potty trained himself in a week. It just clicked one day. He didn't want the bugs getting him and he felt the urge to pee so he went to the bathroom. I remember one night at the dinner table him running to the bathroom and me yelling after him SIT DOWN! You're not done eating!!! I got up and went to find him, low and behold he was sitting on the pot and said I had to poop or da bugs gonna get me! 

It took him much longer to stop having accidents in the bed or {OUR bed} but he powered through it and he's almost five and a half years old and not wearing diapers (a real fear I had for a while!) You sometimes hear of people potty training their 18 month old and think keep it to yourself lady, no one cares if your daughter is barely walking and pissin on the pot. I'm sure we've all done it, been jealous someone else's child has done it before there's, I know I have, it's natural.

(Tracen [at our old house] trying to potty)

So with Skylor I'm not too worried. He see's us go and asks us if we're pooping every time we enter the bathroom. Hell, I can't even walk into the bathroom without a full parade of people, and animals, following me. He usually goes in the corner, squats and poops and then waddles up to you and says i poop mommy! (always me, never Jer it seems like.)

So with the ever impending transfer school date approaching I'm off to have him pick out his own potty (he won't sit on the kids seat for the toilet yet) and really work with him in the summer. IE: pee outside when you feel it coming! And yes, I'm going to try the old bug in your diaper trick! I just need the kid to pee on the pot while at school, we can tackle the night time thing later on!

Remember when you see people posting on Facebook, shouting to the moon about their 8 month old walking, their 12 month old being potty trained or their 2 year old being fluent in 5 languages they are not yours and you shouldn't compare. Each kid learns things at their own pace and some take more time than others.

If you have any potty training tricks that have helped you leave them below, I'd love to hear! If I don't get this little human potty trained soon maybe I'll just be forced to stay at home with him...but that wouldn't be such a bad thing now would it ;)