On Monday and Tuesday of last week, Caleb wet his pants at school. We chalked it up to me being sick and his routine being "off." Then, there was Wednesday.
I typically get Caleb to daycare about 15 minutes before his teacher gets there. For the earlybirds, there are 3 staffed rooms - one for babies, one for toddlers and one for "big kids." When I got there last Wednesday and took Caleb to the toddler room, I was told that since he had turned 2 1/2, he was being moved to the big kid room. No problem, I thought - we're used to change. Well, the big kids are BIG. Caleb is the youngest in the room and some of the other kids are 4 and 5 years old. They are going to kindergarten next year, for crying out loud! I tried to get over that and dropped him off and made a mad dash for work. I was hoping that me being back at work and us being back in our routine would put an end to the wet pants. Nope. Caleb has wet his pants at least once - sometimes twice - every single weekday since last Monday. Usually, it happens in the mornings. I talked to his teacher about it last week and we decided that he was just getting used to the change of the new morning drop-off and still getting back in the swing after me being quarantined for 2 days.
Today - I learned the real story! I was determined to get him there early enough this morning so that I could take him to the bathroom before I left for work. We managed to do that and when I took him into the dropoff room, I told the teacher that he had just been to the bathroom so he should be okay. She then told me that she wasn't sure why he was having accidents. After all, she told him that if he needed to go, he could just go - she even showed him where the bathroom was. WHAT?!?! He's two and a half. He cannot go to the bathroom by himself. First, he still struggles to get his pants and underpants down, much less up. This is true even when they are elastic waist pants, which he wears 90% of the time. Second, he's not tall enough to successfully potty standing up. About half the time, he ends up wetting on himself instead of in the toilet. He needs help. He needs someone to help him with his clothes and help him either sit on the potty or get a stepstool to stand up. I'm sure the look on my face told the whole story. I told her that he didn't ever go to the potty by himself and that he would need help. She seemed a little taken aback by that, but I was so shocked I didn't know what more I could do. I left there completely flabbergasted - after telling Caleb goodbye and asking him to please keep his pants dry at school. I bounced this off of a couple of teachers at school and they all assured me that I wasn't asking too much and I wasn't babying Caleb by helping him go to the bathroom.
On my way to pick him up this afternoon, I kept thinking, "Please let him be in the same clothes I dropped him off in!" Again...nope. He had an accident in the classroom today. Mrs. Natalie seemed to think it was because he didn't want to give up his rhythm sticks - somebody else might get them while he was gone to the bathroom. I'm not sure. I don't know why he's having so many accidents. I know some of it is natural and to be expected. I've read all about potty training regression. I'm not freaking out...I'm just frustrated.
Mrs. Natalie assured me that she would talk to the morning dropoff lady and would make certain that Caleb is not expected to go to the bathroom by himself anymore. She also promised me that she would make sure that Caleb knows that too. We've agreed to give him a little more time and to be a little firmer with him than we have been when he has accidents. We agreed that going back to pull-ups isn't the right answer by any means. We're all just hoping this is over soon! The staff is tired of cleaning up accidents and I'm tired of washing soiled clothes every night.
Has anyone else been through this?
1 comment:
Absolutely - a 2.5 year old still needs help in the bathroom. Keep in mind (and remind his teacher if need be) that most boys don't even potty train until after 3 years of age ... SO she can either assist him in the bathroom OR change a diaper - which do you think she would prefer??!! For the record, we had a similar issue when Gabe started Kids Day Out this year. I couldn't figure out for the life of me why 3 straight days I picked him up and he was in different clothes when he never has accidents at home. But, in the end the teachers were offering a different level of assistance than mom was ... I think we are getting there AND Gabe is starting to get much more independent about trying to get his pants down on his own. However, I still keep a very close eye on him!
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