Weaning Off the Stickers

Baby A started potty-training last April, when she was about 27 months old.  While those first couple of weeks were very “hands on”, she only had a handful of accidents.  After a couple of months, though, she started to have little mishaps here and there…just enough to wet the seat of her panties…but the “regression” felt very frustrating.  And she never seemed upset with herself (like I later experienced with Baby B).

Baby A is a go-er and a do-er.  My gut was that she just didn’t want to take the time away from play to go to the potty…until she realized it was too late.

Whereas I hadn’t used any type of reward system during her training (other than the lure of the “big girl privilege” of getting to flush the potty), I decided to try a sticker card.

At the end of every day, if she’d stayed clean and dry, she could pick out a sticker to put on a card that was hanging on the refrigerator.

Viola! 

Once she finally earned her first sticker, she was hooked.

And Baby B was so proud to begin earning stickers herself a few months later.

We’ve been using our sticker cards for about a year now.  I won’t say we never have accidents…it’s still the same issue (I think) as we were having a year ago…a certain someone who is occasionally having too much fun doing other things to address her business on time…but all in all, we’re doing well.

It’s time to wean off the sticker cards.

I told the girls a few weeks ago that we would earn stickers until their half-birthday, on July 5.  At that point, they’ll officially be “big girls”. 

“Keeping clean and dry all day is just what big girls do.  Mommy and Daddy stay clean and dry, and we don’t get stickers at night.”

The girls seem to understand what’s coming, and they haven’t launched any formal protests.

A couple of days ago, I thought I’d offer something to mark the retirement of the sticker cards.  I proposed we’d go buy some new panties.  “Won’t that be exciting???”

“Yeah!!!” Baby A agreed.  “Will they be BIG panties???” she asked.  “BBBBBBIIIIIIIIIIIGGGG???”

Daddy and I couldn’t help but cackle.

I guess she’s taking my emphasis on being a “big” girl very seriously!