The Mugwump is "Potty Trained", but we still need some work on the social issues involved. Our big challenge at this point is hand washing. Of course you should wash your hands when you're done, but how do you convince a 3 year old of that. Well, you notice that when he pees he will often drip a little on his hands. Of course when you drip on your hands you have to wash them. This worked well until he stopped dripping. Now he finishes and says, "look, no drips" which means, "look I'm done and I'm not going to wash my hands because there was not a perceivable amount of urine that landed on my hands".
Of course it is the perception thing, you should still wash your hands. Icky had an amazing attempt at solving our problem (or creating another problem, I'm not sure which). She rationed with him that if he touches his penis he needs to wash his hands. Now he goes into the bathroom, pulls down his pants, holds his shirt up to mid chest height and sticks his belly out so his penis rests on the rim of the toilet while he goes. When he's finished he puts his shirt down, pulls his pants up and proudly proclaims, "I didn't touch my penis and no drips" which really means, "why in the world would I wash my hands, I have mastered this practice and can now urinate with my hands near my armpits, certainly the urine doesn't splash that far". Frankly, he's right, however we really need to do something about his aim. This 'no hands' act is leading to other problems.
So here are the issues that I need help solving:
1) I need the Mugwump to hit the toilet at least 98% of the time while he's going
2) I need the Mugwump to wash his hands when he is done.
So in 3 year old logic, how do I convince him?
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4 comments:
If you put a cheereo or a fruit loop in the toilet as a target then he is bound to increase his accuracy. He may even have to use his hands to help. If this is the case you can probably convince him to wash when he's done. Of course, for the real competetive kids they usually try and try to hit the target even without using their hands. At least you increase their accuracy.
Lol! I had some good laughs while reading your blog, although I probably should spend more time trying to have sympathy. One thing is for sure, I have no idea how my mom potty trained my brothers and taught them to wash their hands. I think it is an intersting dilemma.
You could create a general germophobia by telling him that there are germs in the air in the bathroom in general (especially after the toilet is flushed) or that if he flushed the toilet then he had to touch the toilet which has germs, and that he should wash his hands every time he goes in the bathroom. You could make him clean up the pee when he misses, thereby creating a situation where he has to come in contact with his mess, which would create the need for him to wash his hands...and unless he likes cleaning, his aim might improve as well.
I will tell you that I still routinely find the toilet seat splattered with pee from my boys who are old enough to not have such bad aim. It really sucks being the only girl in the house too, because I am the only one that cares when the seat is a bit on the soggy side.
I can't offer anything except my sympathy...and a few giggles, I admit. My son is 9. And I'm still trying to train him to wash his hands consistently. And aim? Pft. My solution to that is to make HIM clean the bathroom on a bi-weekly basis (also takes care of the toothpaste he routinely leaves in the sink). Take pride that you have such an intelligient, creative, problem solving little boy!
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