Can I have some Gummies?

Ah...potty training regression. It happens, and as much as I hate using a sweet reward to get Little Blue to do his duty, Classical Conditioning works, just as Pavlov and Little Albert.

Little Blue knows what needs to be done, but, he's discovered, he's got a choice whether to do it in his pants or in the toilet. Apparently hugs, kisses, and making Mom and Daddy proud isn't the perfect reward for potty training.

So, after some discussion with Pink and our Daycare Provider, we came up with the following plan.

Oddly enough...I can trace this idea to Queequeg's survey and her distaste for Gummy and how much LB and I enjoyed them.

Here's how it works.

If LB goes potty in the toilet AND his pants are dry, he gets 2 gummy bears and Daddy/Daycare Friends also get 2 gummy bears.

If LB pants are wet, we still go through the motions of going potty for routine's sake, then Daddy/Daycare Friends gets Gummies, LB gets to watch us eat them.

Evil? Yup. But, at daycare, LB's friends help him remember because every time they want a goodie, they ask if he has to go potty. If he does, gummies around! He's got a cute little playmate who've I literally heard say, "LB...if you need to go potty before you go with your Daddy, you can."

At home, Pink and I ask on occasion, but to make it realy stick, I leave the tupperware container of gummies out where he can see them when he's up and playing. About once every half hour or so, he'll pick it up and ask Pink or I if he can have some. "Only if we go potty first, big man." Most of the time he says no because he doesn't want to go or need to go, but he's getting better about going...even if it's just a trickle to get a couple gummies.

And when he doesn't get gummies, he cries and turns into Mr. Drama Queen. Once so far, he knew he was screwed as he waddled to the toilet, trying to keep his wet sweatpants off of his skin, "I no get gummies!" *tears ensue*

Some days it's tough to keep sympathy out of the equasion, more often it's just hard to keep a straight face.

Overnight, we're a little lax. He wears Pull-Ups because he'll have overnight accidents for potentially years to come, so we play down the Gummy bit because he'll go potty in his sleep.

But, if he wakes up in a good mood and goes potty without throwing a fuss, he gets a Transformer sticker. On the rare days he's awake, not throwing a fuss, and dry, he gets 2-3 stickers and gummies. If I have to drag him in the bathroom do do our duty, he doesn't get anything.

Daycare provider has picked up on the sticker thing, so she can usually use it to figure out the type of mood LB is in when we arrive at 7am.

Yeah, Gummies are good. :)