Combining the Two & It Works for Us

I've been SOOOO torn about posting this for a couple of reasons:

1. People are going to say I'm mean

2. People don't like talking about potty training

3. People are going to be like "you shouldn't give rewards for pottying"

4. People are going to say things like "if you're going to reward for pottying, it doesn't need to be with candy"

5. People are going to say we are "forcing" her out of her childhood

 

Well, guess what....it's my blog & this is my family, so we do what works for us. Here goes.....

 

I don't buy candy for our house. The reason why I don't is because if it's there, I will eat it. I am weak & do not have much will power when my favorite candies are in the house. I also don't let the girls have much candy. They get to have it for snack some days, but not every day. So when we have holidays where candy is typically given (Halloween, Easter, etc), it lasts A WHILE at our house.

 

I FORCED Kayla with her potty training. The minute she started expressing ANY interest, I started the "training" process & put her in pull-ups. Well, I didn't "listen" to others' advice: kids will potty train when they are ready. I listen to the advice of others saying: she's shown interest, she is ready now & should potty train quickly. We tried EVERYTHING that would interest her to get potty trained....& it still took almost 2 full years.

 

So when Jamie came along, I was VERY adamant that we let her do it at her own pace. And guess what, she has mostly trained herself in a couple of months. But she is a toddler & works well for rewards that are immediate AND ones that are more long-term. This child LOVES candy; so we have "potty candy" in the bathroom that she can earn for going. That's her short-term reward & we have had VERY FEW accidents.

 

She gets a choice between Skittles & M&Ms (I obviously need to stock up on some M&Ms).

 

Now, I do realize she is only a little over 2 1/2-years-old. But we are having a little trouble with her remember/recognizing her colors. She wants to be so much a big girl like Kayla & tries to tell you the color of things. But she gets more wrong than right.

 

We also have a special event that happens at our house: Daddy Daughter Dates. Greg takes the girls on individual dates so they see how they are "supposed" to be treated by a guy (plus I get a little individual time with the one who doesn't go). It's usually dinner & a movie. Kayla has LOVED these times with her Daddy (they haven't had one in a while & need to do another one, SOON). And they have been plotting when/what their next one will be.

 

Well, Little Miss Jamie is starting to realize that she is missing out on these; so we decided that when she can successful name/recognize her colors, she can have her 1st Daddy Daughter Date. This is a long-term goal & she is very excited about it.

 

Now you are probably thinking "what in the world is the point here & why is she talking about both of these in the same blog post". Jamie is potty trained (we haven't had an accident is 2 weeks, so I count it as done; knowing accidents are still possible). But she is STILL very much interested in eating some candy (remember, her & Kayla don't get it often), so we've decided to combine these two. After she goes, she can have either Skittles or M&Ms (& have 5-6) AS LONG AS she can successfully identify the color. She always gets at least one right, so she doesn't go unrewarded for pottying. But we are trying to make sure she has a good incentive for learning those colors (candy as her short-term) so she can go on her 1st Daddy Daughter Date (long-term goal of learning her colors).

 

We've only been doing this a couple of days. It REALLY hit home with her when she started not getting more than one piece cause she LOVES candy. She is trying REALLY hard & will tell you "Let me think bout it" before giving you an answer. It is starting to spill over cause she will tell me "Mommy you have on a pick jacket or blue shirt". I'm sure you'll get another update once the date happens. If/when you see Jamie out & about, feel free to visit with her & then ask her what color something is....this girl is too cute with what she will say sometimes.