P is for Potty Training

On Day 16 of the A - Z Challenge, P is for Potty Training

Potty training was a huge challenge.  Boys tend to take longer than girls and I found that to be true.  David was fully potty trained by the time he was 4.  But Michael was a different story.  He got the peeing down, (other than wearing pull ups at night) by the time he was 4.  He would NOT poop in the potty.  We coaxed, we let him watch David, we begged, but Michael would have none of it.  He knew when he had to go and would go in his room, get a pull up, put in on and go behind the living room chair.   There was a pull up in his back pack for school just in case, however he never rarely went at school.

One day for some reason I missed a call on my phone from school.  When I saw the school number a half hour later,  I immediately called back.  It was Michael's kindergarten teacher and they didn't find his pull up.  He cried because he had to go and the CNA in the room sat with him for 20 minutes while he sat on the toilet and eventually pooped.  But for nearly 4 months that was the one and only time he did.

As we approached Valentine's Day that same school year, I mentioned to the boys that we had to get Valentines cards for the kids at school.  I casually said to Michael, 'let's do poopy on the potty and then we'll go to Target for the Valentine's Day cards and I'll get you a truck."  He said "All wight, " walked into the bathroom and pooped on the toilet.  I was thrilled and kept praising him. We called Daddy to tell him! Michael didn't know what the big fuss was, he was just matter of fact about it.  We went to Target, he got his truck and then proceeded to poop on the toilet 4 more times that evening.  And that was that, he was trained, other than night time.  He was almost 7 before we could eliminate the night-time pull-ups.

I still don't understand his reluctance up until that point.  He would know when he had to go since he'd get his own pull up and put it on.  But once he was ready and did it that first time, (actually second time) there was no stopping him.