Now Goldrush?

We've been getting quite the amount of ideas and feedback about potty training from other parents and friends lately, solicited and non. The thing I've realizing after 4 years of doing this is that no kids are alike and what works for you doesn't work for Evan.

Case in point - potty training. Every time we ask if Ev wants to use the potty, he says no. Straight up. "Wanna use the potty?"

"Nope!"

"Ok, then."

Most parents I've talked to here at work say their kids started going once they offered them some sort of reward. M&M's seemed to be a common theme. Here's the thing though - Evan could give a crap about M&M's and certainly isn't going to sit on the potty - something he despises - for some stupid M&M's. The trick for us is going to be finding something that would interest him enough to actually try going.

On Friday, I had an idea.

This was only going to work not by rewarding him but by taking stuff away. The thing that finally worked - Wolfenstein Enemy Territory.

We don't really let him play it, we just let him loose in an empty map and he runs around and throws grenades. All in all, it's pretty harmless, but he likes to play it. He calls it Goldrush - after one of the maps he likes.

On Friday night, we took the game away and told him that if he wanted to play he had to use the potty. We tried first in short spurts - we would sit him on the big potty, and he would cry. We tried counting to 20, then he could get off and take a break, then back on.

Saturday - more of the same. He wanted to wear his big-boy underpants so there was more sitting on the potty, with just a little less crying but still no poop, so no Goldrush.

Sunday, it was more of the underpants, so we tried the potty a few more times. He was acting like he had to go so bar - dancing around and fidgeting. We'd sit him down between rounds of Guitar Hero and nothing would happen.

Finally, we coaxed a few drops out of him. We praised him profusely, and rightly so. He finally went on the potty, albeit a small amount, but it's a step in the right direction. There were no tears and I think he likes wearing the big boy underpants.

I'm a man of my word, and since he went in the potty (I suppose 4 drops counts), he got to go play Goldrush. All was well.

To thank us, as soon as he started playing Goldrush, he crapped his pants.

Thanks, Ev.