So the potty has become the place to be in the Alien and Caveman household. Supposedly the Caveman has been going potty in the toilet at school no problem. Yet when he comes home the idea of going potty in the potty seems silly. What is a mommy to do?
Bribery my friends, bribery.
Currently residing in the main potty in our house is a jar of yummy Reese’s peanut butter Easter eggs. The rule: the Caveman goes pee pee or poo poo in the big boy potty he get a piece of candy. I have heard from other mommies that this method works, particularly for boys.
Well, today I tried this approach and the following conversation took place:
Mommy: “Caveman if you go pee pee or poo poo in the potty you get candy!”
Caveman: “I want candy!”
Mommy: “Okay then go poo poo or pee pee please.”
Caveman: [now sitting on the potty] “All done! Candy!”
Mommy: [looks in the potty] “You did not. No candy until you go poo poo or pee pee.”
Caveman: “Do you need to go potty mommy?”
Mommy: “No, I need for Caveman to go potty.”
Caveman: “Mommy’s poo poo?”
Mommy: “No honey, you need to poo poo. Mommy is all done.”
Caveman: [Tries to get up] “All done! Candy, please”
Mommy [looks in the potty] “You did not go potty, no candy.”
Caveman “I WANT CANDY!!”
Mommy: “NO! Candy only for poo poo or pee pee”
Caveman: “Mean mommy!”
Mommy: “Thank you. Are you going potty or not?”
Caveman: “No! All done” [gets off of potty and pulls up the training pants and his jeans]
Ten minutes later I am cleaning up after he goes potty in his training pants. At least he didn’t ask to have candy for that.
I am over this potty training thing. The worst part is that this is the first thing in a long run of things that teachers will be able to get my child to do that I am not able to get him to do.
Someone told me that the Alien will be easier. I think at this point in the Caveman going potty in the potty at home is more challenging than getting President Obama an invitation to be on the 700 Club.
I realize that some day and more likely soon the Caveman will abandoned his training pants for big boy underwear. I am just wondering how many chocolate peanut butter eggs it will take?
Try not telling him he will get candy. Studies show that positive reinforcement is most effective in getting a behavior started when it is given after every good incident (ie: potty usage). Eventually, Caveman will learn potty=candy and keep using the potty. To keep the behavior going, change the reinforcement schedule so that after every 2 potties he gets candy, then every 4, etc. until he no longer needs the reward. If you keep up the 1 potty= candy he will always expect it and when you stop paying he will stop going.
ReplyDeleteYour story just reminded me of something I was teaching in my classroom management class last week.
I am to remind you of this when you have your own caveman or alien
ReplyDeleteI won't need reminding. Trust me. By that time, I will have taught the class enough to have it ingrained in my brain.
ReplyDeletelol- so you are saying college students are just big 2-year olds- yeah I can see that
ReplyDeleteNo- I am saying that behavior modification (as in the book I am using to teach teachers how to manage their classrooms) is the same for everyone, big or small!
ReplyDelete