We have been having some major potty-untraining issues with Liam for the past few weeks. He has been fully potty trained for nearly a year now, but he has recently decided that he would rather pee in his pants and suffer the consequences rather than go on the toilet.
He knows his body's cues. He knows how to use the toilet by himself. He just doesn't want to do it. There are even times when he will tell me that he needs to go pee, he'll refuse to walk to the toilet, and he'll smirk at me as he wets himself. And nearly every car ride recently has ended with a wet car seat and a look of impish satisfaction on Liam's face.
While I think that jealousy over the attention I give to River factors into this equation, Liam's behavior has more to do with the power struggle, because with Liam, it's always about the power struggle.
Rather than make an issue over the whole situtation (tried that...didn't work), I am taking the control away from Liam by putting him back in diapers. I give him one chance each day, dressing him in underpants and reminding him that if he wets his pants, he'll get a spanking and a diaper, and every day that's just what happens. Putting a fully-potty-trained almost 3 year old back in diapers is not exactly my idea of a solution, but I am at a loss when it comes to any other options.
So apparently this morning, Liam pooped on the floor in his room and then came out to the living room to inform me that River was eating it.
Uh-huh. I ran into the room and found River, clutching a handful of it with smears across his face. Gag!
Like I said, I am at a loss.
.....................
Speaking of mishaps, I made some divine lemon curd over the weekend and throughly ruined it when the tarts refused to come out of the baking pan.
Not my finest cooking moment.
Gabriel and I have been eating them out of the pan with a spoon..........................
As rotten as Liam can be at times, there are still those little moments that make everything okay. Yesterday, he insisted on washing Gabriel's hair in the sink after a haircut. He was so gentle and thorough, completely absorbed with his job.
Moments like these make the rest a bit easier to get through. Just a bit.
What? NO picture of River's poop-smeared face??
ReplyDeleteMaybe a sticker chart so he gets to pick a nice sticker at the end of a successful day would work for Liam. You could come up with little prizes for every 3 days (this can be extended depending on his age, and what behavior you are working) of being responsible.
ReplyDeleteFun ideas like he gets to have his favorite dinner, homemade popcorn, dessert, a movie night, getting to stay up X minutes after bedtime (make a huge deal that this is past bedtime), making mud pies, etc...
For Liam he probably weighs the consequences and decides if they are worth the thrill ;) It will also give him something really special that River is too little for.
There's also someone we know that started sobbing and he was so concerned about his mom crying and promised to use the potty to make it better.
You know him best and I'm sure you will find something that works :)