It’s been a long road with potty training our boys. Matt was horrible, Preston is worse.
We’ve tried everything with Preston. Rewards. Punishments. Ignoring it. Making a big deal. Avoiding it. Taking his favorite things away. Paying him.
He just doesn’t care.
He doesn’t mind being wet. He doesn’t care about the <gag> feel or smell of poop in his underwear. He’s just too busy.
I don’t think anything happened; I don’t think he’s been traumatized or hurt in any way. I honestly think he’s just lazy, just really doesn’t want to go. No pain, no problems that way, he just doesn’t want to go.
Our newest form of bribery motivation is a jar of marbles. Every time he pees, he puts a marble in the jar. #2 is 2 marbles. But for any accident, he loses twice the amount. I was hoping that a physical reminder would serve us better.
I just don’t know. He loves getting the marbles (such a satisfying clink they make!), but while he is upset when he loses some, it doesn’t seem to motivate him.
In the meantime, I’m losing my marbles. I know it will click eventually, and I will ask his doctor at his visit in a few weeks, but …
Marbles
Learning to ride
All of sudden, after months of asking if he was ready, Preston decided that he was ready to ride a bike without training wheels.
I got his pads on and he was ready. He’s still pretty wobbly, but he did great for his first try. He rode quite a bit on his own, so it was a successful beginning! His brother even made him a sign to cheer him on!
joy in the rain
hard to breathe
“Hey, it’s J from school. P threw up all over himself”
Deep breath. “Is he okay? I’m on my way!”
I frantically stacked up my paperwork, turned off the computer screen and grabbed my bag. Whatever accomplishment filled work zone I had been in was certainly gone now.
*****
I walked quickly through the school doors, eyes set on getting a glimpse of my sweet, sick little boy. At first glance as I approached I wondered where he was, and what was wrong with the bigger kid in the office. A couple of steps closer and I realized that bigger kid was my baby. Briefly I wondered when that had happened.
*****
He coughed hard enough to throw up. Worry filled me as I pasted a smile on my face and took him home. Set up under a blanket with a bowl in his lap, I called the doctor. He’s been coughing on and off for months. My slight concerns about a cold lasting too long were turning into a slight panic. An appointment was made. We waited.
*****
It was the first real playdate/birthday party he had been invited to. One that included McDonalds, Miniature golf and ice cream. I was thrilled when he said …
P, pee and more pee
My week by the numbers:
3 – times that Preston had pee accidents at school this week
0 – times that he was bothered or embarrassed by the above.
1 – doctor visit to rule out UTI or some other issue
0 – physical issues with P’s body
1 – diagnosis of normal 5 year old not wanting to stop playing long enough to go to the bathroom
1- awesome teacher willing to remind my kid (1 of 29) to use the bathroom throughout the day
1 – mom trying to let it go a little and finding it to be a very fine line between projecting my worries and stigma about peeing and realizing he’s still little and it’s not unusual.
2 – parents trying to stay on top of one small boy going to the bathroom on a regular basis without annoying the crap out of him.
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Pee is my kryptonite. Whether small boy, big boy, dog or cat, urine is the one thing I have a hard time dealing with. My inner therapist says it’s because I peed the bed as a kid and remembers that nasty, cold wet feeling. What ever the reason, I can’t stand pee. The cats have been peeing in the kids’ …
