The Hayes Method
When you think about how efficient of a multitasking device a diaper is, it is a wonder we ever give it up. When you think about how gross it is, it is a wonder we ever use it in the first place. But the idea of going from diaper to potty is daunting. Training Isaac has really be difficult. Not because he doesn't want to or he is being difficult but because he has quickly found the weaknesses in every reward system we have devised. The Rollo Method worked for about two minutes. So we switched recently and he has been doing very good.
The new method is an idea that has been around for a while, but I was introduced to it by a friend of my from work named Justin Hayes. The Hayes Method of Potty Training involves a chart and stickers. In the first phase every pee gets one sticker and every poop gets three. Five stickers equals a small reward and 30 a large one. The idea is that a sticker is a reward that quickly leads to more and more rewards. The second phase awards rewards for more stickers. The third phase awards stickers for days with entirely clean pants. It is a really good system and Isaac took to it a like a fish to water.
We were worried that the delayed gratification might be too much or that it would be too confusing, but when he got a beep beep on his fifth sticker it all became cemented in his mind. He is holding pee over night, waking up to go to the potty with a dry diaper. He is also remembering how many times he peed at school (though the number is not always accurate). Thus far he has received five small prizes and just today he received his "large" prize--a tractor trailer pulling a backhoe. He was thrilled and even called it his Pee on the Potty Beep Beep. There might have even been a bit of pride worked in there and it is a really great thing for a parent to see their child take pride in their accomplishments.
He is a great kid and thanks to Justin Hayes for the potty training method.
The new method is an idea that has been around for a while, but I was introduced to it by a friend of my from work named Justin Hayes. The Hayes Method of Potty Training involves a chart and stickers. In the first phase every pee gets one sticker and every poop gets three. Five stickers equals a small reward and 30 a large one. The idea is that a sticker is a reward that quickly leads to more and more rewards. The second phase awards rewards for more stickers. The third phase awards stickers for days with entirely clean pants. It is a really good system and Isaac took to it a like a fish to water.
We were worried that the delayed gratification might be too much or that it would be too confusing, but when he got a beep beep on his fifth sticker it all became cemented in his mind. He is holding pee over night, waking up to go to the potty with a dry diaper. He is also remembering how many times he peed at school (though the number is not always accurate). Thus far he has received five small prizes and just today he received his "large" prize--a tractor trailer pulling a backhoe. He was thrilled and even called it his Pee on the Potty Beep Beep. There might have even been a bit of pride worked in there and it is a really great thing for a parent to see their child take pride in their accomplishments.
He is a great kid and thanks to Justin Hayes for the potty training method.