Question
Hi John! Huge fan. Day 7 of potty training my 20 month old son. Feel like lady on pg82 of your book. Using potty bell, he wears thin cotton panties, both potties are in areas of most use and middle of everything (don't see how gating the very area...as we're already always there...is going to help convey what I want him to do). On day 6 and 7 we finally had 1 success each day; although they felt more like accidents and everything happening on floor, furniture, etc feels like "on purposes." One step forward, two steps back. Staying calm, no punishing or yelling. Using potty bell but can't seem to get the timing right. When he starts peeing I calmly take his hand, lead him to potty, tell him to sit and try to do more and walk away. Though it seems that once he pinches it off (as I take his hand) he can't finish and it may be anywhere from 2 to 20 min later that he does finish (hence the difficulty finding good time for bell...just piddles and then piddles a little more later). And he doesn't stay on the potty once he sits. It's two seconds and he's up and running. I've tried putting a basket of potty only toys/books next to it; even sat with him a few times (against your advice I know) just to show him patience will give it time to come. But it hasn't worked. He was dry once overnight and once during a nap. Otherwise, he's staying dry for a good amount of time if he does have a full blown peepee without interruption. I feel like he's learning that peeing his pants (or floor or wherever) is no big deal and that I will just change his panties and clean it up...just like diapers except he's more comfy. Also, he's that rare kid that doesn't mind the soggy panties and it running down his legs. What am I doing wrong?? It's been a miracle for me to keep to the 5 C's and I'm starting to doubt my ability and his :-( And I also, somehow, let the cat out of the bag despite trying not to...he knows it's important to me. Yikes! Help!!
