The Toils of Toilet Training

My daughter has just started to use the toilet. Yes, as she is now 4... she is a late bloomer. It's been quite the drama (for me) trying to get her interested. I tried my best to not let know just how much I wanted it to happen as she's not the kind of child that would do it for me.

But something happened a few days ago that just switched in her. She has been dry (aside from our #2s - she's not quite there yet) for 3 days. Yahoo!

So, I made this incentive box many moons ago (it's been so long, I can't even remember). It's just a photo box. It has her name on the front and 15 buttons velcro'd all the way around the box. I have opposite side of the velcro on top. Each time she uses the toilet, she moves a button to the top (she also gets one for each dry day she has). When she fills the top, she gets to choose a small prize from inside and move the buttons back to the sides. It's working. She loves the buttons (I'm sure she gets that from me) and it's easy for her to see how many more before she gets a reward.

I know some people use stickers... but I liked this idea because I could reuse it over and over. She also knows exactly what she's working toward. The items inside range in price from $1-$3 but she seems happy with them. I'm also making sure there is a decent selection for her to choose from and so that she has others that she can look forward to.

I'm not sure if she's going to just stop doing it once she gets bored of it (this is her personality) - but I'm hopeful that we have finally moved on from diapers. Keeping my fingers crossed!