silentlobster

We had a different poop-reluctance issue with our 2 year old. She had been seeming to want privacy when pooping in her diaper (hiding behind curtain to do it), but did NOT want us to leave the bathroom when nervously trying to poop in the toilet/potty. I realized I could put the potty under the bath towel bar and showed her how to hold one over her head! It gave her privacy which reduced the pressure, but she could still have us on the same side of the bathroom door which reduced her nerves. She probably felt some control too.

I second the 123 Magic! Especially for those of us who can’t become perfect humans in time to avoid “losing it” sometimes 😉 . My kids like it — if they sense I am unhappy with their behaviour, they might say “Why didn’t you just count?”

A technique I use on evenings also, if I am looking at an hour or more alone with the kids: Activity cards, where each card represents a 15 min (or more) block. Ex: ‘Play with Mama’, ‘Play solo’, ‘Snack’, ‘Bath’. I give them my selection of a set of available cards (usually includes a good number of Play Solo so I can get housework done!), but then every 15 min they choose which one to do next. It helps me to not constantly be feeling either guilty that I’m not doing housework or guilty that I’m not playing with them. Plus the idea was to make the kid feel they had more control, and to learn to play alone without constantly wondering/waiting/asking when Mama was going to start playing again.