bribery: potty edition

i came to a realization today.

every.single.day. for the past four years (and some), i have changed a diaper.

one or both of my boys have worn diapers for over four years now.

and i am so over it.

i have always had a "go with the flow" mentality when it comes to potty training. {no pun intended}

carson finally decided to use the potty the same week he turned three. and may i add that before that, he had not used it at all.

i had decided that with harper, i would wait until his third birthday to start the process.

i secretly laugh at moms who boast that their kid was potty-trained at 15 months.

i mean seriously? what do you want? a reward? a certificate? perhaps a pat on the back?

baby books may say a child is ready for training at around 2 years of age, but i actually read (and re-read for clarification :) in my anatomy & physiology book in college that most children's urinary sphincters are not even fully developed until around their third birthday.

and i don't know about you, but i trust my a&p book more than some random parenting book or internet forum.

but more than that? i trust my kids. i trust that when they are ready, they will go.

but that doesn't mean a little prompting isn't in order :)

as in...."harp, your three now. and three year olds go to the potty, not in their diapers. oh...and if you do go to the potty, i'll let you go to the circus this weekend."

worked like a charm.

i'm not into pull-ups...i think for the most part they are just glorified diapers. BUT they are pretty great for going out in public with.

so that's my method for potty training...bribery.

go ahead and try it...all the cool moms are doing it.