Recently we’ve started rewarding Eleanor for pooping in the potty chair with m&ms because she has had a number of accidents. We thought the positive reinforcement would help motivate her in getting this right. On the first day we gave her an m&m for succeeding, she viewed the m&m suspiciously, but she was eventually convinced when Agnes told her it was chocolate. That same day, she did all sorts of straining while on the potty and ended up with a couple more m&ms. She’s gotten a lot better with pooping in the potty, and whenever she succeeds she celebrates by showing everyone her m&m.
The last time we gave Miranda m&ms is when we last tried potty training her. She loves them. She’s been upset recently that Eleanor gets m&ms and she doesn’t, so we told her that she can have an m&m if she pees in the potty. Tonight, as we got ready for her bath, I asked her if she wanted to pee pee in the potty. She said yes and sat down. She looked like she was concentrating really hard, but nothing came out.
After a long while, I said “okay, it’s time for your bath”, and lifted her into the bathtub. She said she wanted to pee pee in the potty, so I dried off her feet and let her sit down for a while longer. Agnes eventually came in to sit with her while I entertained Eleanor. Miranda just couldn’t figure it out. She said “help me”, but there’s not really a whole lot we can do to help her figure out how to pee. Eventually, she looked resigned and said “all done” and stood up. Agnes gave her a bath, and when she still asked for some chocolate, Agnes had to tell her that it’s only if she pee pees in the potty. We both feel awful.