Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Golden Showers

I'm livid. Absolutely seeing red angry. Mary had to go to bed early because I could barely stand to look at her, I'm so angry with her. I have been trying a new tact to get her potty trained. I bought a seat that goes on the actual toilet, I bought a bunch of really pretty little stickers, I put up a chart beside the toilet. I've been gabbing non stop about the wonderful stickers she will get if she does something - ANYTHING, on the potty. Tonight while I was bathing Frances Mary sat on the potty for about 15 minutes. Of course nothing happened, and she announced she was all done. I asked her if she was sure, she said yes, and I let her go while I got Fran out of the tub. Mary was naked at this point as she was next for the bath. Not ten minutes, TEN MINUTES, after she got out of the tub, she pissed about a gallon all over the hallway floor. I honest to Christ don't know what to do with her. I know, I know, everyone says it'll happen when it happens. I KNOW. But it isn't happening. She's over three years old. She has no interest what so ever in using the toilet no matter what I do. I yelled at her tonight, I called her a bad girl, I feel like a terrible mother but I am literally at the end of my rope. At this rate Frances will be potty trained before Mary is. Is there something wrong with my child? Is there something wrong with me? She can't go to preschool without being potty trained. I can't trust her to go even 30 minutes without shitting herself, let alone 2 hours twice a week.

On a positive note, the string is gone. It passed naturally Saturday evening.

The play is finished too, thank God. It amazes me that women in their 60's can act so bloody immature. Yes, there's a story behind that statement, and I'll share it later on, suffice it to say, I've managed to make an enemy or two in this wee town of Milestone. Yay for me.

To end happily - here are some pictures of Frannie Lou. In the first she is enjoying my birthday cake, can you spot her two teeth? In the second she is enjoying our NEW WINDOWS! Yay!


2 comments:

Starlin' said...

I've used the book _Toilet Training in Less Than a Day_ on a huge number of children- it sounds hokey, and it's old, but there's truly excellent advice in there and a very solid method. I think La still has a copy, or you can get it at most bookstores without too much trouble.

Hugs, strength, and luck. Toilet training sucks potty.

Goody said...

I shamed him. A lot. He'll probably bludgeon me in my sleep years from now in retaliation, but at least he's toilet trained ;)

I also stayed on him 24/7 for a couple weeks until he finally started using the toilet just to shut me up. Those couple weeks were awful (he kept peeing in the space between his bookcase and bed) but I just kept mopping it up and walking him back to the loo. When he finally did go, we presented him with some major bribes (toys)but only if he went on his own without prompting. It was a couple weeks of sheer hell and I did lose it and scream at him a few (many) times. In one frustrated rage I grabbed his little tractor toy and tossed it across the room and broke it. I felt like the very worst mother ever, particularly when he would ask me:
"Is mama going to break more toys?" Ouch. But he did catch on to the whole potty thing rather quickly after.

I'm not sharing this because I think traumatising your kid is the way to go about toilet training-but to point out that EVERY parent loses it at some point and having all the parenting books telling you how their self-esteem will be shattered beyond repair if you don't do A B & C are rubbish. I'm sure your overall treatement of a child is going to have a hell of a bigger impact than whether you laid down the law on using the toilet.