Stephen Takes Charge - Potty

We were hoping we would be diaper free by the New Year. However, Stephen has taken matters into “his own hands” and we need to rescind him from our Top 8 List of 2008. Over the vacation time Stephen, after some significant success with going potty, decided that he was going to take some control by consistently soiling his pull-ups. After a few serious conversations between Ryan and me, we decided that we will pull away and give Stephen a week off from asking him to go potty. He is back in diapers and we do not remind him. We decided to go the Kevin Leman way and let it go and let Stephen decide what he wants to do. However, we would no longer clean up the mess – Stephen would. This week Stephen spent on average 30 minutes 3x a day in the bathtub, cleaning himself often with a great attitude and very agreeable – “OK! Like this?” he would ask in a cheery voice. As I helped him get dressed today for the 3rd time he says, “I love it, Mommy. I love cleaning myself!”