Marshmallows and Ninja Turtles

Potty training is in full effect now, and she’s killin it.

 

It’s been pretty stop and go at home over the past couple of months as we’ve attempted a multitude of potty training styles. But our savior has been the awesome teachers at her daycare and a ton of positive reinforcement. Oh and marshmallows, tons of that as well. I was never really sure how I’d feel about the whole “treats for using the potty” deal, but it made sense when I first heard of it and it makes sense now.

We ask if she needs to go, she says yes, and immediately declares “I’m going to get THREE marshmallows” while holding up three fingers. She makes her way upstairs, puts the stepstool in front of the potty, puts her little Ninja Turtle potty-seat in place, pulls down her pants, then sits down and does her business with a big smile on her face. It’s harder to get her to poo…but y’know….baby steps.

For a while I had been making the classic mistake of not so much doing the treat thing, more like doing the logic thing. Like “hey if you go potty like a big girl it’ll be so much better than going in your diaper” and that sort of nonsense. We even came up with a plan for a sticker chart since she loves stickers. But in the end, marshmallows prevailed.

It’s one of those things that takes you by surprise to a certain extent. On the one hand, she is doing the treat-for-action thing which seems more like a thing for babies, not toddlers. On the other hand, she’s taking it on like a total boss. Our kid is so crazy smart its ridiculous to even consider sometimes.

To really get a toddler to learn something, sometimes you have to start in the simplest of ways, then watch as they grasp it and master it faster than you can say….well….”marshmallow”.

 

-Ben

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A couple of dads podcasting about being dads! Open your ears for some great stories and conversations about all things we dad's face on a daily basis. Also hots of #AskADad on YouTube.

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