Six days and going strong

We started potty training Michael (for real this time) last Monday. We have played around with various techniques, but haven't been consistent at all. However, preschool looms on the horizon and Jason has to go back to work soon. I make it a point not to have to potty train a child by myself. So, Day 6 and he hasn't had any accidents today. Those first couple of days, I wasn't sure he was going to do this. Our technique has involved both negative consequences for peeing/pooing in his underwear (and we have gone through many a pair this last week) and positive for using the toilet. On the negative side, he has to spend 10 minutes in his room with no toys when he pees in his pants. On the positive side, he gets to pick a toy or piece of candy from a reward basket when he uses the toilet. And lots of love and games and hugs in between. We didn't see much of Michael those first couple of days. But here we are and I am fully confident that he will be ready to start preschool next month.

On a more general note, I have decided that one of the difficulties of parenting is that for a child to learn a new skill that will make my and his lives easier, first our lives have to get much, much worse first. I hate potty training and often long to keep the kid in diapers during the process. But, having a potty trained child is both easier and cheaper - once we suffer through the learning process. Same thing with walking (bumps, bruises and frustration), talking (screaming, pointing and mumbling), and eating solid foods (spitting, throwing and constipation). Clearly, these are all skills that we have to have. Of course, the other key is not to let them see my frustration. That is a mommy skill I still struggle to master.