The power of 2 Smarties.

About 17 months ago, Carys was a 1/4 way potty trained. Then, her little sister was born and everything changed. She's occasionally peed on the potty but, one day (last Summer?), it abruptly came to a halt. Not only did it come to a halt, but her reaction to peeing in anything but her diaper left me to believe that she'd be still wearing diapers at 16. Along with the anti-potty attitude came an intense fear of the tub. I read about resistance and something about 3 years becoming aware of sensations and not exactly liking the feeling of cold air on their bottom....

For the record, it didn't stress me. In fact, I really didn't care that she was a minority amongst her other 2-3 year old friends and acquaintances who have, probably, been potty trained for quite some time. I figured she'd just, one day, figure it out. But, every now and then, it would get to me. It's mostly the #2 in the diaper that puts me over the edge and then I want her trained immediately.

So, something magical happened. The Easter Bunny made an early visit to our house. He dropped off a jar of Smarties (right there in the bathroom, no less) along with a note:

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The note reads: Carys, If you pee on the potty, you can have 2 Smarties. You are a big girl now. I love you. The Easter bunny.

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Carys was over the moon, was shocked and speechless for a few seconds. Then, she said: "I want to do it". So, off came the pants and the diaper and she sat down. It took a few seconds but few trickles came out and a loud scream of praise came from my mouth. It worked! It really worked.

Since then, she repeatedly tells me that the Easter Bunny is her best friend. I think he just might be mine too. She has peed on that potty in the morning and evenings since that day- she's not quite ready to try it at the babysitter's just yet. She only has one request before squatting on the potty: "Maman, please don't yell like that again!". So now, we only give high fives when she pees- and she gets 2 Smarties of course- even at 7 a.m.