delayedtoddler

photo by griffithchris on Flickr.com

Isn’t this a great picture?  This happens to B a lot too.  We’re finding that now that she’s into size 3 clothes, they don’t have as much room for the diaper as the size 2 does, so her diapers peek out the top a lot.

As you can probably guess by my reference to diapers, she’s still wearing them.  B was interested in using her potty seat and getting stickers for about 5 minutes.  Now, she just doesn’t care.  I’ve tried mentioning that people she admire (like her big sister or older cousins) all use the potty and that doesn’t really phase her at all.  She’s not interested in getting panties–I’ve told her that once she’s using the potty, I’ll take her out to buy special big girl panties.  I’m pretty much at a loss here.  I refuse to make potty training into a battle of wills.  We know she can go in the potty, but I don’t think she can feel when she has to go.  She does not feel when she is wet–she does tell us when she’s done a number 2, but number 1 just doesn’t bug her at all.

Our OT’s recommendation was to set a timer and have B sit on the potty every 40 minutes.  That’s all well and good, but have you tried to make a kid go to the bathroom that often when they don’t want to?  I tried it for a short time but found it to be frustrating for both of us.  So I’ve relaxed about it now.  Since I found out that she can still go to school if she is not potty trained, it’s taken some of the pressure off.  Sure, I’d love for her to be diaper free for school next year, but if she isn’t, we’ll just deal with it.  I’m not going to make this into a big issue because she’s just going to dig in her heels and be stubborn if I do.

B recently was approved for an incontinence grant, so we have some help with funding for her diapering needs.  It’s been a blessing to receive it.  If you have any ideas to help us on our journey to being diaper free, please let me know.  We’re going to the OT this week, so hopefully she’ll have some new ideas too.

photo by MoBikeFed on flickr.com

Figuring out how to incorporate different sensory activities into your child’s day can be a little tricky, but once you get the hang of it, it can be a lot of fun for both you and your child.  One activity B really enjoys is riding her tricycle.   She’s not actually a very good rider, but she tries very hard.  There is a lot of heavy sensory input in pushing the pedals and moving her feet around.  B got to the point over the summer where she could actually get the bike to move under her own pedal power as long as it was in a straight line.  It never occured to me how much there actually is in riding the tricycle–figuring out which foot to push down when and how to keep your feet moving around is just part of the whole thing.  I give B a verbal reminder along with a tactile reminder of which foot to move.  I tell her to push down with her knee that is high, and then I’ll touch that knee so she can actually feel which one to move.

We don’t generally ride for very long because B gets tired and frustrated easily.  After she pedals for a bit, she likes to push the bike around, and that’s fine by me because she’s still getting heavy input.

Now one more thing I have to mention here, because it’s not in the picture.  B wears a helmet whenever she’s on her trike.  First, because it’s the law for kids under 18 to wear a helmet and second, because I want to keep her safe.

I’m looking forward to the day when we can take a family bike ride together. 

and speaking of tricycles, how cool is this one??

with a cool helmet, of course!