“I’m a Big Boy now”

Tristan has been growing up lately.  The little boy is unfolding before my eyes and the little baby is saying good bye.  It makes me so sad to say good-bye, but I am so proud of what he can accomplish. 

 

Recently, his big accomplishment is potty training.  Yes, my son at the age of 3 1/2 wasn’t yet potty trained.  We tried many things.  Books, a video, bribery with stickers and candy (I know, bad mommy), watching mommy and daddy use the potty, and the list goes on.

 

A visit to Toys’R ’Us recently, led us to the discovery of Piddlers.  Targets for little boys.  I thought, ‘why not?’.  What have we got to loose besides a few bucks?

Piddlers were the design of a company called CHeeKY MoNKey.  You can see their site here; however, despite really nice graphics and web design, it doesn’t offer much information.  With only the description of “Just drop one in and let the kids aim”, you have no idea what the item looks like, what it is composed of, how big they might be, and so on.  However, a better description and even a picture can be found at this site (but I’ll just copy it below for better convenience.

Here is what pottytrainingconcepts.com have to say about Piddlers:

These Piddlers Toilet Targets are great for potty training boys. Of course they can be used to potty train girls as well.

Piddler Toilet Targets are:

• Dissolvable
• Non-Toxic
• Flushable
• Made in the USA

Piddlers Toilet Targets make potty training fun. Just drop the flushable foam shapes into the toilet and let kids aim. Toddlers love the bright colors and they're thrilled when they can hit the floating targets. Plus, parents are happy to avoid hours of pleading in the bathroom. Piddlers Toilet Targets are made from starch and dyed with food coloring, so they’re non-toxic. 30 targets per pack. Ages 2 years and up.

• For little boys working on their aim
• Makes potty training fun
• Non-toxic, eco-friendly and gallons of fun

 

Now our experience.

Like I’ve mention before, we’ve tried just about everything.  We bought these on a whim thinking they may or may not work, but it was worth a shot – no pun intended.  The day we brought them home, Scott took Tristan in the bathroom and gave him a demo.  When he asked Tristan to give it a try, he promptly said no and left the bathroom.  Another failed attempt.  Or, so we thought.

The next day, Scott went to work and it was just me and the kids.  I thought, maybe I’ll try it out.  I know that he can be a bit shy about going potty.  So, I got him set up.  I let him choose which target he wanted and I explained him what he has to do.  Then I told him that I’ll leave him alone so he can go potty.  With no objection, I left but kept the door slightly cracked so I could look in.  To my surprise, he did it.  I gave him a sticker (it is what they do at school/daycare) and even let him have a snack.  I asked him if he wanted to wear “big boy” underwear so he did.  And he even went potty again later that evening, no accidents.  It has been two weeks since that day.  He has had accidents, especially with number two.  But he hasn’t worn a diaper since.  Only pull-ups at night and underwear during the day.  He doesn’t need to be asked anymore.  This morning he got up and went to the bathroom without any prompting. 

 

It may not work for every child, but these Piddlers were what did it.  Scott and I are proud of him for his accomplishment.  He’s taken one big step towards finally leaving babyhood and entering boyhood.  Now I just need to break his finger sucking habit (mostly at naptime and bedtime though).