Bribery is such a useful tool with toddlers...
Although I'm not particularly fond of the negative implications of the word "bribery" - I prefer to consider our discussions "negotiations." As in, "If you take three more bites of chicken and two more bites of corn, you can have dessert." Or, as is so much more often the case these days, "If you keep you big boy pants clean and dry ALL day, I will give you a present."
Yes, the potty training war drags on, and I have a tough opponent, one who continues to insist, for reasons I just can't understand, in running behind or crawling under the nearest piece of furniture to poop in his pants rather than the potty. One who has become resistant to my ever-increasing attempts at bribery.
Take yesterday. Driving home from preschool, Monkey expressed dismay at the fact that his Fireman Sam DVD case, which he had brought to school for Show & Share day, was now empty. I told him that surely it was somewhere in his classroom, and we'd look for it in the morning:
Monkey: (Sadly) But I wanted to watch Fireman Sam tonight after dinner...
Me: I'm sorry, but we can't get your DVD back until tomorrow. Unlesss.... Now that I think about it, I think I have ANOTHER Fireman Sam video at home, and if you poop on the potty tonight, you can have it!
Monkey: Hmmm..... I think I'll just watch Curious George instead.
So much for what I thought was some great leverage and a prime opportunity - the kid simply refuses to be bribed on this subject. And without bribery, I am simply at a loss. I need to re-group, re-strategize ... the battle wages on.
2 comments:
My sister's friend is going through the exact same thing with her boy who's the same age. I'll let you know if she figures something out.
I understand! The other day I found a good deal on a Thomas Lego set and promised my guy he could have it if he filled his sticker chart (one sticker if he poops or pees on the potty, also requires successful washing of hands and putting on UNDERWEAR!). He spent the next half hour running to the potty every five minutes for three drops of pee so he could fill his chart. I finally got tired of that and gave him one piece of the set (Thomas, of course). He's got the other guy it came with and now he could care less about earning the rest of the set! It drives me bonkers because I know he can do it, he just chooses not to right now.
And I tried putting him back in Pull-ups or training pants and no can do, the kicking, screaming fight we had was not worth it. He insists on wearing underwear now, but refuses to use the potty, it has to be his idea. Just finding the trick to get him to choose to do it is hard!
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