Remember back at the end of January when I expressed my frustration that Sariah, after several weeks of near-perfect pottying, had regressed to a state of almost continual accidents? Remember how I knew that I should just relax and not push it, but it was so hard to not get mad when I knew she was perfectly capable of putting in the potty?
Well, I decided to keep going with my efforts to not force it, to let it be her thing, and to not let her see my frustration. I made a deliberate effort to avoid showing anger when she had an accident, and to say "that's ok, you'll learn".
A few weeks ago, I realized that she was hardly ever having accidents anymore. In the past week, I've left her for four hours at cousins' and taken her on multiple errands to the store--all in underwear. And, no accidents! In fact, she is taking care of her business often all on her own, only telling us after the fact, "I went potty."
What did I do to make this happen? Absolutely nothing. No bribes, no charts, no threats, no nothing. It took a few months, but she did it. All on her own, when she was ready. And the best part is, our relationship is still intact. She potty-learned without ever having to feel shamed or pushed or that we were mad at her for not getting it.
Now, for the final test: three hours of church on Sunday in underwear. I'm still nervous about that one! Even though she consistently tells her teachers when she needs to go potty.
Well, I decided to keep going with my efforts to not force it, to let it be her thing, and to not let her see my frustration. I made a deliberate effort to avoid showing anger when she had an accident, and to say "that's ok, you'll learn".
A few weeks ago, I realized that she was hardly ever having accidents anymore. In the past week, I've left her for four hours at cousins' and taken her on multiple errands to the store--all in underwear. And, no accidents! In fact, she is taking care of her business often all on her own, only telling us after the fact, "I went potty."
What did I do to make this happen? Absolutely nothing. No bribes, no charts, no threats, no nothing. It took a few months, but she did it. All on her own, when she was ready. And the best part is, our relationship is still intact. She potty-learned without ever having to feel shamed or pushed or that we were mad at her for not getting it.
Now, for the final test: three hours of church on Sunday in underwear. I'm still nervous about that one! Even though she consistently tells her teachers when she needs to go potty.
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