My 3yo is one of those kids who has 101 excuses to delay bedtime (I need a drink of water, I peed in my diaper, I'm hot, I'm cold, my covers are bugging me... the list goes on and on). We've been doing the "Supernanny" method and just keep putting him back in his bed over and over with no talking. He usually gets the point after a few times. So now the problem is... he's starting to get really excited about going potty (finally!!), so now he uses this as an additional excuse to get out of bed. I dont want to discourage him from using the potty if he actually has to go, but 9 times out of 10 he is faking and just wants to sit on the potty and talk. So what should I do? Should I treat going to the bathroom like another one of his excuses and just put him back in bed, or do I at least let him sit on the toilet and try to go to reinforce the potty training thing?
We had the same problem which resolved quickly when we moved the potty to her room. They are good at their game aren't they? :)
We have been struggling with the same thing with our potty trained 2.5 year old. He's been trained since he was 2, but lately, since we have him sleeping in a "big boy bed", he's been getting up a lot more at night. Sometimes to "snuggle", sometimes for books to read, and sometimes for potty. It's been driving me crazy! We decided to reward him for not crying out for us if he wakes up by giving him a racecar (Matchbox car) for ONLY calling for us if he has to go potty. Last night he only got up once, and it was to go potty, so he got his car this morning. Today we told him the same thing when we tucked him in. Incentives like these work for my son, and helped us potty train him in about a week. So, since it works well, and we can easily wean him off the rewards, we use it. We'll see how it goes again tonight. ;)
T.
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www.ReadandGrow.com
I would incorporate all the excuses into your night time ritual. Before you put child down for bed, take them to the potty. Our house rule is that once teeth are brushed, then no liquids. I potty trained my two for night by having them go at bed time, then again at 10 or so before I went to bed, I would get them up & have them go, then back to bed. Then I would wake them again at 1:00 & do it again. they usually make it till 6. Have child pick between a light blanket & a heavier blanket. Explain that once in bed, the only acceptable reason for getting out is blood or other body fluid is coming out of the body. Otherwise they are to stay in bed until they see sunlight coming thru the window. If they wake before then , then they should play quietly in bed. I never tell my kids to go to sleep, but rather time to go to bed. Hope this helps...
My daughter does this. Sometimes they are so busy during the day they forget to go to the bathroom. So, when she says she has to go I take her to the bathroom, give her a time limit (2 minutes ish), I leave the bathroom so I'm not conversing with her. Then if I come back after 2 minutes and she hasn't done anything yet I put her back in bed and leave.
My 33 month old twins do the same thing when they're in any situation they want to get out of "I need to go potty". I take them if I can, though, because I hate to say no to going potty. If he says he needs to go potty just put him on and give him a couple of minutes. If he hasn't gone then put him back in bed. I remember one of the twins started doing this a lot at bed time a few months ago and I gave him a couple of chances then just said no after that.
Hi, D.:
Your son has a need to talk at bedtime.
Arrange time for him to lay in bed and you two chat.
Good luck. D.
potty training is hard and stressful on some kids and its possible that he really is trying to please you and wants so badly to go- think of what a missed opportunity that might be to celebrate if it does come out... 9 out of 10 times it doesn't but that 1 time I bet he surprised even himself!
we trained during the day first and then at night - so really excited about what happened during the day- put the pull ups on and said you did and really good job today, let's talk a break from it so your body can rest....let him get use to this new phase of life gradually.
Going to the potty must be part of the bedtime routine. Have him sit on the potty for a few minutes, explain that since that he is going potty now, he will NOT need to go after going to bed. Make sure you do cut back on liquids an hour or two before bedtime. Stay strong. You canstill be a loving parent (like the Super Nanny) without putting up with excuses and manipulation!
I'm having the same problem with my 2 yo daughter. She will use the potty when we are anywhere and occasionally will use it at home but as soon as she is in bed she starts with telling me she has to go pee pee on the potty. If you get any good answers, please let me know. I feel the same as you do, do I let her go potty to reinforce potty training or do I ignore it and make her go to bed??
Hi!
Our 3 yo used the same potty excuse to get out of bed. She was already potty trained and I knew that she could tell if she really had to go or not. We nipped it in the bud right away by explaining the difference between a truth and a lie. We told her that she would be disciplined for saying that she had to use the potty if she really didn't. She lied one or two more times... got disciplined for it.. .and it never happened again. Good luck! :)
My daughter (almost 3) does the same thing. Since she is still wearing a diaper at night, we take her to the bathroom the very last thing before she goes to sleep (after reading books.) This way, she gets whatever she needs to out, and I know that if she asks again, she's trying to procrastinate. During this very last potty session, I don't read to her and ask her to "concentrate on peeing/pooping." So we try to take the "socialness" and fun out of it. This seems to be working... although she's happy to sit there for up to 30 minutes if we would let her, so eventually you'll just have to cut it off. On the bright side, she does usually "go."
Good luck!
After my son has his snack, he goes upstairs and pees and brushes his teeth. It rarely varies.
If you're already doing that as part of his bedtime routine, get an egg timer and when he says he has to use the potty set the timer for 2 or 3 minutes and when it rings--back to bed. Only allow once per night. You will know after a minute or two if he is just playing you! Good luck!
I would let him go, can he do the process by himself? If yes, let him go alone and then a few minutes later get him back to bed. If you have to assist still, do it without conversation. That way he isn't getting the diversion he really wants from bedtime. I would even walk out of the bathroom and then go back after a few minutes and say you're done, then usher him back to bed without any more conversation. He might get bored of it if no one is chatting it up in the bathroom. And then at least you've given him a chance to go and don't feel like you are messing with the training.
Time to invite the sticker fairy over! Our daycare has a special sticker fairy who visits the sleeping kids at nap time - it is amazing to watch them at wake up time and see how excited they get over a silly little sticker. We have been trying to get our son back into his own room (sort of) and decided to give the sticker fairy a try - guess what - it worked! The only problem is remembering to get in there and get the sticker on his hand before he gets up in the a.m.
Do the potty/brush teeth thing consistently before bed and pump up the sticker fairy visit... see how it goes :) Good luck :)
My son - now 4 - did the same thing. We had already incorporated going to potty and talking about his day into the bedtime ritual, but he would get up to go a second and sometimes a third time - sometimes to go and sometimes to delay bedtime. Not wanting to discourage getting up to go to the potty, I let him do it, but tried to take any enjoyment he was getting from my company out of it. I said only what was needed... no social hour and eventually even sat outside the bathroom instead of standing inside while he went. It stopped being fun for him and he stopped doing it... most nights anyway. :)
