James' News

As many of you know, James has not been interested in potty training in the least. I haven't pushed the idea, because of all the changes he has had to deal with recently, but we have always had the potty in the bathroom and encouraged him to sit on it. Well, about 2 months back now, James suddenly became scared of the potty - he would ask us to hold his hand if he sat on it, and would often cry if we asked him to sit for a while. So, we left the issue totally. I am not a believer in pushing the whole thing. And I had no idea where the fear came from. After Kate's arrival though, Rein and I were both a bit weary of changing nappies on 2 kidlets and we thought we'd try again.

Well, on the advice of many people we decided to try a "Star Chart" incentive thing to encourage our little boy. It has worked like a bombshell. We made a big song and dance about buying the cardboard and stickers and Rein made the chart and stuck it on the wall 2 evenings back. The deal was he'd get a sticker for every wee, 2 for every poo and after 5 stickers we'd get him a cheapish toy. The first evening he already had 3 STICKERS! We were gobsmacked! And absolutely overjoyed too!

So, I went out yesterday and bought him his first reward (a small Barney puzzle that he chose). No luck on the #2's yet, but I'm sure things will sink in soon. At this rate, James is going to cash in on some nice loot and we're going to be very poor!

Yay for James!!