Potty Drama

[sewaneecook]

3.5 yo DS is dry all during the day all on his own and he doesn't need reminding. He's even dry for short naps. The one drawback is that he has to be naked to stay dry. When we run errands, I put him in a diaper. Every time we come home from running errands he wants to stay in it because he prefers it to using the toilet. He's obviously physically ready to use the toilet, he just doesn't want to. Do I push the potty anyway? After 3.5 years of diapers I'm ready to be done with them!

[3*is*magic]

My son is 3.5 and we are just now out of dipes. Like your son he was able to stay clean and dry for long periods of time but simply didn't feel like using the toilet. It was inconvenient, apparently

I decided about 2.5 weeks ago that I was just DONE with dipes - buying them, changing them, carrying them with me. So I stopped using them. I didn't tell DS that we were stopping, I simply put him in undies for school (which he had already been wearing from 9-12 three times a week and keeping clean and dry) and when he came home I left them on. I told him to do his best to keep them clean and dry. I shamelessly bribed him with candy to use the potty. He was doing quite well but making zero effort to poop on the potty unless we happened to plop him on at *just* the right time. After a particularly messy poop incident I told him (not angrily, just very matter-of-factly) that some poopy undies are so messy and yucky that we simply have to throw them away. The next day he had a huge messy poop in his batman undies while we were at a friend's house, and I put them in a bag and threw them in the trash. He was very, very surprised and a little distressed because he LOVES his superhero undies (fear not, we had more superhero undies at home . And he wasn't crying or begging to keep them, he just seemed a little sad that I'd throw them away). Something just *clicked* for him after that, and he's been pooping on the potty with surprising accuracy since then. And he doesn't even ask for a piece of candy when he's done! (Though he will occasionally invite one of his sisters to view his "GIANT POOPS"!)

ETA: To answer your question - I'd just not have any dipes to put him in from here on out. Put him in undies when you leave the house. If he asks for a dipe I'd say, "Sorry Sweet Pea, we're out of dipes so we're wearing undies instead!" He might not initially *like* the idea, but if it's the only option and you KNOW he's capable of using the toilet, I think it's worth pushing a bit.

[nameisrio]

It must be potty drama month - there are lots of us going through this right now! Here's what I posted to someone else recently...

My daughter is 3 yrs. 2 mos and we were in the same boat less 2 weeks ago. She was definitely holding onto diapers for security or maybe it was a control issue. I tried refusing to put her in diapers; that led to major tantrums. I tried telling her we weren't buying any more diapers when we ran out - that didn't go over well either. Finally, I suggested we have a "Potty Party". I bought a cake and let her decorate it. Then I told her to have some cake (she LOVES cake) she had to use the potty. She did - and this was after her not going NEAR the potty for probably 2 months, at home or school. Then I told her we were giving our last few diapers to the "Potty Fairy". We put them in a bag and set it outside. I told her the Potty Fairy would bring her a present in the AM and that she would wear panties from now on and pull-ups at night.

IT WORKED! She had had maybe 3 or 4 accidents since then, most in the first couple of days. She now uses the potty at school too. Yesterday, she used a public toilet (adult size) for the first time, while we were at a bday party. Last night she gave her little potty chair to the Potty Fairy, as well. Now she uses the big toilet (yay, no more cleaning her potty!).

Sounds a little silly, but it might be worth a try. (I did a similar thing with the "Bottle Fairy" when she turned 2, which also worked great.) Good luck!

[sewaneecook]

I like the potty party idea! I may have to try that. After Christmas, DS loves unwrapping gifts, so this may be the way to go.