After 10 months of changing diaper on 2 kids, I decided it was time to get Mason potty trained. He started showing interest when he was about 18 months old. Soon he started asking about going and I told him we could go pick out an Elmo potty and made a big deal about it. He used it once and was less than impressed.
When he turned 2 I thought I might try again, so I went and bought all kids of underwear and we tried for about 2 days. We were both totally frustrated so we quit. Not to mention I was trying to sell our home and in the middle of moving and major life changes, not good timing.
Once we moved and were settled, I tried again, this time going potty shopping for the downstairs bathroom. He picked out a baseball potty, and was very excited. I also gave him an M&M if he went pee-pee or 2 M&Ms if he pooped. This worked on and off for a week or so. When he stopped using it I told him I was going to have Daddy take it back to the store for a little boy who would use it. Mason ran to the bathroom, grabbed and handed to me and said, "Take it!" I took both potties, all his underwear, and pull-ups and hid them in a box in the garage. I decided if this was going to be his decision then he would have to ask.
Finally, 2 weeks ago, we went to the zoo with a group of our friends and one who has a 4 year old little boy Mason looks up to. Mason kept asking where Brody went and I explained he was a big boy and needed to take potty breaks as he didn't wear diapers. The last time was on our way out of the zoo and Mason looked at me and said, "Mommy, I want to big like Brody." I said ok we can talk about it. We talked all afternoon about this and at bed time I noticed he only had a few more diapers left in his basket. I asked him if was ready to be done with diapers and he said yes. So, I made him a deal, I said these would be the last of Mason's diapers and he would wear big boy underwear after he ran out. He said he understood. I made sure we had enough to get us to Friday night so we could start 1st thing Saturday morning.
Friday night we discussed how he was out of diapers and that sometimes the Potty Fairy comes to visit to bring all the things a big boy needs to use the potty and be done with diapers, and sometimes he leaves a prize. I wrote a letter from the Potty Fairy explaining he went to the store and got back all the supplies Mommy and Daddy had returned and the prize (golf clubs) was for when he had a week accident free.
Now, for a prize you really need to pick something that will motivate them, but I might steer away from a time frame item, like tickets to Disney on Ice. Just in case, they don't catch on right away. We picked golf clubs because he loves sports and has recently taken to golf since he has watched his Daddy leave to go play. And of course if Daddy is in to it, so is he.
He was so excited the next morning. He ran into my room to wake me up, "Mommy, I'm ready to go potty and wear underwear!" And he did. He jumped on the potty and put on his underwear. The first day I took him to try every 30 minutes. I just set the timer on the microwave so we didn't forget. He did have 2 accidents that morning. The second one I was trying to get him to the potty but didn't want to move him and have pee all over my carpet so I asked him if he could stop and he did and finished on the potty. I did underwear while he was awake and pull ups for naptime and bed time. I will say he and I both were getting a little frustrated with going every 30 minutes, we felt we spend all day in the bathroom. He even cried after nap time, saying "I just want to wear diapers and be a baby." But then I let him hold a golf club while he was sitting on the potty. He decided they might be worth it, because he did great the rest of the day.
The next day, we had to go to Denver for a birthday party. I was hesitant, since most of the "professionals" say to stay at home for the 1st few days, but come on, this is real life! So I put a pull up on for the ride up and it was dry when I took it off. He did poop in his pants during lunch, but I really blame myself for not watching for signs. He did great at the party and even stayed dry on the way home.
And that was it! No more accidents! On Monday, I took him 1st thing in the morning and then every 2 hours unless he said he had to go. Yes, by day 3 he was coming to my and telling me he had to go. Day 7, I decided to test this a bit. I was letting him tell me most of the time when he needed to go, unless I knew we were going to be away from a potty for a while. But, I needed to run a few errands, on of which included trying on a few dresses. Sure enough in the middle of the dressing he room, he looks and me says, "Mommy, I have to go!" I tell him to hold it while I get dressed. I hurry and grab him and the baby in the shopping cart. We quickly race to the bathroom across the store (of course!) and he did it! He held it until we got there and then he did his business.
So, today we celebrated. He got free reign of his golf clubs and we took him to the miniture golf course to play putt-putt with his new putter. Oh yeah, and he got a hole-in-one!
