So, Gabe has been ready for potty training for awhile now. I kept putting it off because I knew I was going to go to LA for E3 and then Japan for two weeks immediately thereafter. Gabe would be with my parents while I was in Japan, and I knew it would not be fair to them to work on the potty training while they’re also playing nanny to my niece. So after I recovered from the most horrible jet lag ever, we started potty training on July 4th.
We’ve been using pull-ups for a few months, but they aren’t doing a thing. He still won’t say if he needs to go, and he honestly doesn’t care if they get full. So it was time for the tough love treatment. We went to Target yesterday and I helped him pick out his own underwear. We bought several packs and a ton of shorts. As soon as we got home, we switched to the underwear, and then life changed for the both of us.
Despite taking him to the potty every 30 minutes, he never went. He did soak his clothes three times. The first two times upset him, but then he seemed to be find with it. So not good. By the end of the day, he was frustrated, I was frustrated, and I needed some time to shoot people with lightning courtesy of inFamous 2.
I knew this would be harder for me than for Gabe. I’m a horrible teacher and I have so little patience. Unfortunately, Gabe inherited my impatience. You can imagine how this is not an ideal situation. I know I need to relax about it and know that the more I get upset, the more he won’t get trained. In other words, I need to change my personality a bit. Or keep the house stocked with wine.
He’s in school today for day 2, packed down with tons of underwear and changes of clothes. His teachers said that they preferred the tough love method over pull-ups anyway, so that makes me happy that they’re cool with it. I’m hoping that he’ll be a bit more motivated when he sees all of his other friends doing it as well. Plus, kids being mean and making fun of him for wetting his pants may be the best motivator, as horrible as that sounds.
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