Thursday, January 27, 2011

The Power of Pez

Yes, you read that correctly and perhaps more precisely...the power of Buzz Pez. It started yesterday. You see, I have an almost 2 1/2 year old that is VERY motivated by sweets. And he has decided that since he gets candy rewards for potty success, he will go potty every 2-5 minutes. I'm not kidding. I really, really wish I were. I haven't even really pushed the potty training thing - my other two were 3 and 3 1/2. While I think it would be fantastic to be diaper free, I'm not one to do it too early - been there, done that, tears all around. :)

So, I seem to be the one who is kicking and screaming at the potty training timing while he announces every 2-5 minutes, "Poop" or "Potty." And here's the thing, he goes 70-80% of the time. A small stream but a stream nonetheless. He will not be convinced to go anymore, he hops down, receives his reward and after savoring every bit of it (about 2- 5 minutes), once again is ready to go again. My day is consumed. My thoughts, my actions, my every thing interrupted all for a little taste of the candy that comes from a Buzz Pez dispenser. Perhaps I should switch to taffy rewards so that I might get a full 10 minutes between trips to the porcelain throne.

I applaud his motivation, his self-starter attitude, and his commitment. But I have to wonder, when the Pez is gone, will the resolve and success remain? I'll let you know, folks, I have my doubts. But for now, we are going strong.


Today's Note: He has stayed dry and I have given some other rewards, so perhaps I'm wrong...maybe this will be the real thing. We are giving it everything we've got - I can't squelch the enthusiasm. :)

6 comments:

Alyssa said...

Hi Alaina,
It has been a while since we have seen each other, but I found your blog through Micah's blog. I enjoy looking at pics of your three boys, and I could relate to this post so well that I just had to comment. Our son is 2 1/2 also, and we are potty training. We do not have the same problem, but I can just picture the sweetness of age two figuring out how to go just a little bit. Hee hee. Our problem is that he comes running as soon as he has already gone in his pants, and yells, "I wet. Are you happy Mama?" I think we have a problem with the "before" aspect. Anyway, I enjoyed this post. Take care, and good luck! Love, Alyssa Rundle (Wisecup)

liz nelson said...

hilarious.:) although i can imagine how tiresome that gets. but look how cute that face is.:) i also love that he'll do anything for any kind of food.:)

Alyssa said...

Jesse did the same thing for a few days just for a chocolate chip. Though I don't think he was quite as persistent!

He's 2 1/2 now and is fully potty trained, so it can be done this early, thought I think 3 1/2 is more normal for boys. And I agree that rushing it is no fun. I will never try to potty train like I did Jesse again. I think it was a full year on and off. Oh well, live and learn.

It's would be nice if he trained himself, I've head of kids doing this and am always jealous!

Jenny said...

Mark really responded to his prizes, and then, once he got hte hang of it, stopped asking for them at all. Adam asked for them a litlte longer until I told him he had the hang of it and didn't need the prizes (they didn't work that well for him anyway). So here's hoping he's motivated himself into BIG BOY LIFE on his own! :)

Mama10EE said...

YAY for Titus!

Alaina said...

Alyssa R. - So nice to hear from you! And I totally had to laugh that he asks if you are happy when that is probably the farthest thing you are feeling. :) Hope it starts to click for him!

Thanks everyone for the encouragement! He has contintued to do well despite my misgivings. He is so proud of himself. And I will admit that being out of diapers sounds pretty wonderful. I did not expect him to want to start training until the summer. He is 2 1/2 next month which is just way younger than I expected based on my previous two potty training experiences (one of which was pretty easy and one of which was very hard).