I did it. I became THAT mother. You know, the one that bribes.
I’m not really that kind of mother. I believe in firm, but reasonable, boundaries. I believe that when you parent in love, give clear expectations, use positive re-enforcement, and swiftly correct and redirect, life will run smoothly.
And generally it does. But this potty training will be the death of me. The last time I did this I was not even 30. Now that I’m 40(ish), the world operates differently, it appears. The game has changed. This child doesn’t seem to be bothered by wet floors and stained furniture. Even after much coaxing and reminding and encouraging and jumping for joy.
So I gave in this morning. M&Ms have saved our morning. The idea came when she, at 8:30AM, began asking for candy. Nothing unusual. Since before she learned how to say the word and so cutely said “quain” instead, the kid has loved candy. But this morning when she asked before I could give the usual no-it’s-too-early-how-about-breakfast spiel, a HUGE light bulb went off. Before I could even respond, I ridiculed myself.
I’M NOT THAT MOM!
But the expectant look on that baby’s face. Oh my. I thought, “This is a goldmine! This might be our ticket. She has no idea what I’m about to do!”
So I looked at her squarely in the eyes, and said, “Yes! You can have some candy. But FIRST, you have to tee-tee in the potty.”
She looked at me like I was nuts. What? Work for food around this joint?
Ah, but she fell for it! And she tee-teed in her potty. A lot. And received her reward of ONE TWO THREE candies. (See how I incorporated math into it? Maybe colors next time. Ever the home school mom!)
And lest we think it was just a fluke, she did it again. Maybe there’s something to the bribery potty training deal. We shall see.
The only downside might be keeping the rest of the family out of the Potty Rewards.
Eternally Secured 