"I Will NOT Pee My Pants"

This one goes out to all the mothers of small children out there. It's actually more of a plea for confirmation of our efforts, along with perhaps an affirmation that we're not the only ones who are dealing or who have dealt with this.

Basically, my 5-year-old is in a phase now where potty "accidents" are back to being a regular occurrence. Simply put, it's frustrating, discouraging and on nights like this, when we've been through the ringer for [now] 4 consecutive nights on the same subject: NO MORE ACCIDENTS.

Here's the thing: Sydni's not not potty trained. She doesn't get confused or intimidated by the big bad toilet. Sydni is insanely intelligent and knows right from wrong. She understands the concepts of disappointment, guilt, deception [lying] and covering up something. She also understands the practice of consequences and will respond honestly when asked if she feels her consequences are fair or not [and most of the time, she feels they are warranted]. HOWEVER, even given aaaaall of those impressive traits that she does have, it's ironically one of those traits that cripples her when it comes to this whole... not peeing pants thing.

See, Sydni takes after both her dad and me in distinct ways, though it's usually clear which one she resembles. One thing she inherited by no fault of her own from both of us though, is a sense of intensity. While his and my natures of intensity are truly very, very different, they seem to have combined into one big, solid and nearly impenetrable wall of stubbornness when it comes to certain options with Sydni.

What do I mean by that? Well, here's what's been happening lately: Sydni's in the 4th or 5th week now of potty accidents, both at school and after school before either her dad or I pick her up. We've already been through the phase of frequent accidents when her dad's second child was born. That string of accidents eventually dwindled down to nothing, and now... almost 6 months later, we're in another round daily pants swapping.

*Sigh. Oh, Syd.

Sydni's issue is this: She will get so engaged with whatever it is she's doing, especially if it's a craft or art project [that's from me], or a sport or otherwise potentially-competitive anything [ugh, from both her parents], that unless she has someone to remind her to take a potty break, she won't do it. She knows what she's doing, but like I said, she's so intense that more often than not, she'd rather finish the task at hand than let anything step in between her and completion.

Get what I'm saying here? Does ANYONE out there have a similar issue with their 5/6 year olds?
If you have, then WHAT is your advice for me, for her dad and for all other parents who are dealing with this?

What we've done so far:

1. Implement an incentive program, in which she earned a dollar for each day she didn't have an accident. That worked out well while it lasted; I'd purposed that to be a one-time thing to boost some confidence and get her back into the habit of trying her best to take breaks, etc.
2. Take things away: This included toys, technology, even being able to sleep with 'her' dog Stella at night. It seems to have made a little traction this week, but clearly weren't breaking through entirely.

So tonight, I tried out one of the oldest book tricks I could muster: The age old art of writing sentences. Lots. of. sentences.

oh... syd... :|

Mama's out there, I'm really hoping you'll pray for me on this one.. for me, and for her dad when she's there. If nothing else, I hope perhaps this will encourage another parent or set of parents out there who are battling the same or similar issue with their minis. I'm hoping this is just another phase of adjustment, and that we'll be able to crack through her bright but stubborn little drive so that she'll realize taking a breather isn't just an essential part of potty usage, but in life, too.

Parenting, guys. It's a learning process and we're all in it together.

Stay tuned :).

xo | cmd