Well, so I was wrong about the diaper thing. Boo woke up after sleeping in and insisted on his underwear instead of a diaper. So, hacking and feverish, he chose to continue the potty training. He was definitely a bit groggier and less energetic and I can tell he's not feeling well. Although, I have to wonder if the lower energy actually helped with the potty training! Less bouncing around meant more focus during the teaching.
I must say that thus far I'm impressed with the "Potty Train in Less Than a Day" method, which is mostly what I went by. I did incorporate some of "The No Cry Potty Solution" also. I do think that the implementation of PTLTD method could make a huge difference. I think it could be very harsh and insensitive if implemented in an impatient manner. I don't like the author's use of the word "reprimand" simply because that word has a negative connotation. If you ever read the book, you'll see where it's used. However, I think a person could easily take the ideas and methodology and soften the plan a bit, which is pretty much what I did. One thing that was not in PTLTD that I added was a potty prize box. I picked up stickers, $1 stuff at Target, party favor toys, etc...to make the potty prize box. I decided that potty prize would ONLY be for a deposit in the potty, not for an attempt. For an attempt, I still gave candy in the beginning. However, towards the end Boo forgot to ask for the candy after attempting and I didn't offer. I don't plan to offer anymore candy at this point, only praise for attempts. I do want to continue with the potty prize box for now because he's very proud of this.
We spent about 3 hours in the kitchen on potty training. Then his yawns and fussiness increased, so we settled in for a movie. He picked out "Up Down" or "Up" as it's known to most people. I reminded him often that "mommy likes dry underwear" and if he "has to pee pee, that needs to go to the potty." Towards the end of the movie I noticed a potty dance. I reminded him that "pee pee goes in the potty". He started heading towards the kitchen potty area. I followed and sat down on the floor as he started to potty and then subsequently got sprayed with urine. I feel bad because I kind of jumped a little and had to reassure him that what he was doing was wonderful and mommy was so proud. He was very proud to retrieve his potty prize after that and showed it to daddy when daddy got home shortly after that.
So now that he has the concept down and has successfully peed in the potty on several occasions, I'm supposed to remind him every once in awhile that "underwear stays dry" and we put "pee pee in the potty" and other such things. Also, I'll be conducting a dry pants check every hour. At this point I'll still give him candy for the dry pants in order to reinforce how important dry underwear is.
Then tomorrow, according to the book, I should just be doing dry pants checks prior to events that occur regularly, such as meals, snacks, before nap, etc...I will also be sending out constant reminders of where pee pee and poo poo go as well as reminders of the expectations of wearing underwear. There is a procedure to follow for accidents whereby a child practices using the potty 10 times in a row after an accident. We did this for the one accident that Boo had today. He was reluctant of course, but with some encouragement he completed all ten trials very quickly. The point is to do it quickly so that the child practices rushing to the bathroom. So it was easy to make it more fun because we got to run to the potty. So if he has an accident that is the procedure to follow for now. I will still be putting him in diapers for nap time and nighttime. This is a completely different skill that is more dependent on his physiological development and not something he has direct control over. So for now, I'm not going to worry about nap time or night time wetting.
So I feel like we've gotten a great start on our potty training journey. I'm looking forward to seeing how things go. Of course Boo will have accidents. Many people misunderstand the PTLTD method and think that the author is claiming that a child will be accident free after a day. That's ridiculous! Accidents are part of the process of learning. I would definitely recommend this approach, even just as a catalyst to start training or to mesh with other methods. There's just a lot of great ideas. There a few things that sound a bit harsh that I think a person must wade through and soften up a bit, but overall I think it's very great.
And on another note, I'm so proud of Boo for working so hard despite being sick. I'd love to get inside his head and figured out what motivated him all of a sudden to make the switch. It seems like a lot of work for just a few pieces of candy!
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