Today was the day we made our first serious attempt to focus on potty training for Zachary. There's of course plenty of reading material on the subject (my favorite ironic title was "Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day" -- for a book that was nearly 300 pages long), and we took a few cues from friends and family as well. We also had lined up a reward system with one of his favorites (chocolate chips), including an iconic sign on the bathroom door stating "[image of child on potty] = [chocolate chip]". (Really I think the slightly melting chocolate chip in the picture looked more like, um, something that would end up in the potty, but that's just me I guess.)
Alas, it was an exhausting day of staying in the house and near a bathroom, and even then things didn't really go as planned; despite lots of drinking and occasional praised on-potty production by Zachary, Owen needed occasional attention as well, and Zachary took advantage of any lull in toilet time to go find a place to potty that wasn't the potty. The 6+ accidents (several on a carpet, and all requiring wardrobe resets and much towelling) have us thinking we may hold off until after preschool starts. On the plus side, Zachary still doesn't have negative connotations about the toilet; we've continued a tradition for the last few weeks of sitting on the potty before bathtime, which he seems to like as part of the evening routine.To wrap up a frustrating day, I managed to shatter a glass on the floor in the kitchen, which sent an impossible number of shards and fragments into every possible room; it took multiple sweeps to get them all up, and I'll still feel better if everyone wears socks for the next day or two. Ugh!
In happier news, yesterday Zachary got a large package in the mail -- it was a welcome kit for preschool, which starts next week! Teacher K (apparently "Miss"/"Mrs."/"Ms." doesn't start until elementary school) sent along chalk, a mini-coloring book of one of Zachary's favorite stories, and a super cute series of story cards telling about the adventures Zachary will have at preschool. A sample card: "At preschool, we will have snack, circle time, free play, and recess." We've read it several times, and Zachary is already excited about recess in particular, and also states "I want to go on bus!" There was also an introductory letter for parents, and we're looking forward to open house and the start of classes next week!
1 comment:
6+ accidents for a first day isn't actually that bad. We definitely had many of those. The most infuriating were the days he was dry at school all day, and then managed to go through 7 pairs of underwear in the 3 hours he was home before bedtime. I definitely think school will help, though, because I've noticed Jakub is more willing to try things if someone other than his parents is asking, and the whole process would have definitely taken longer for us if it hadn't been for the support at school.
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