The teachers and I agreed that she was indeed more than ready and that the best approach would be to establish a routine. Well, we spent two solid years routinely rushing to the bathroom only to find that we were too late. The laundry was killing me, but I was determined not to back down.
We tried pull-ups and the best thing I can say about that whole experience is that it was horrible and brief. We tried praise and she looked at us as though we had gone completely bonkers. I tried bribes, rewards, timers, everything I could think of and we only had about a one in five success. My stomach was churning, if not from desperation, then sheer disgust.
So, I tried a logical approach and sat her down to explain exactly why we wanted her to be a "big girl" and go to the potty. I even tried a little reverse psychology by telling her that since she was a "big girl" she didn't want to wear "baby pants" anymore, right? What can I say? I was desperate and grasping for straws and I definitely got my just reward the next morning when I awoke to find that she had put her diapers on all her baby dolls. She was so proud of herself and I felt like I was failing her.
Okay, so logic goes right out the window and I recruit my oldest daughter to help. Example, yeah that's it. Maybe she'll learn quicker by example. I'm sorry to say that the whole affair was beginning to border on the bizarre. Going to the potty was suddenly a family event. Whenever my oldest went to the bathroom, we tagged along and I danced around like an idiot telling her what a "big girl" she was. Well, if she had any doubts, this little experiment in stupidity certainly affirmed them.
