This morning, somewhere between wakefulness and dreams I snapped into the world of reality thanks to the noise of rustling under the bathroom sink. I heard a cabinet door open and shut. “Could one of my kids be up already?” I thought. What are they getting under the bathroom sink? Who is it?
Rewind a few days…
We have been working pretty hard with my daughter Kenly to keep her pullup dry. We’ve been using the “bribe” technique. You know the one that says if you do this then we’ll do that. Our deal was, if you keep your pullup dry then we will give you a polly pocket doll. We even kept the polly pocket in her line of sight to increase her motivation.
Can you believe it, the past four days my daughter has kept her pullup dry. She has scurried into the kitchen for some breakfast with a dry pullup. You wonder how we know. Well, the pullups have a nifty little flower print on the front that magically disappears upon getting wet. In the mornings we either get a visual confirmation or we pick her up and see if she weighs 25 pounds heavier than when she went to bed.
We were estatic, for four days she has been arriving to breakfast with a dry pullup. If you have never had kids than you can’t fully understand how elated we were. This would mean our daughter has officially left the potty training stage and we have just save somewhere around $50 bucks a month on pullups. This is exciting.
Back to today…
Upon hearing the rustling under the cabinet in the bathroom, I sat up on my bed to see what was going on. To my delight Kenly came out of the bathroom and would you believe it, she had a dry pullup. However, what my daughter doesn’t know is that Dad is no idiot. (Okay, I take that back. Dad is an idiot…she just doesn’t know that yet.) You see when a pullup comes out of the packaging it is as flat as a pancake. It is also real stiff. As I scooped my daughter up this morning I couldn’t help but notice just how flat and stiff her butt was. Interesting.
So I indiscretely informed Michelle that I don’t think this is the same pullup she went to bed in. Michelle checked the trash and confirmed my suspicion. BUSTED! There were three wet pullups in the trash. Kenly was done.
We asked her why these pullups were in the trash…no answer. We asked if she kept her pullup dry all night…at first she looks away…her body slumps…her lip sticks out…crocodile tears begin to well up.
It’s never fun getting busted. Sure you’re thinking it was just a pullup. But it’s more than that. For four days she would bounce into our room and tell us that she kept her pullup dry. We would high five and hug. I would tell her how proud I was. We would give her a polly pocket reward.
She was proud. We were proud. She was lying.
So I did what Dads are supposed to do. I picked her up amidst her sadness and sat her on my lap on the couch. She cried, I almost did. I gave her the “talk.” But in the end she said “sorry” and I reminder her how much we love her, dry or not. Her face changed. She stood taller. She smiled. I love that smile. I love my Kenly.
Three polly pocket dolls are now waiting for a dry pullup.
Browse Timeline
Comments (7)
Rebekah added these kind words on Oct 26 06 at 6:12 pmhey put some clothes on those polly pockets….and another thing- just wait until they think the “erasable blue pens” really do work on progress reports and report cards!
Sue added these kind words on Oct 29 06 at 8:39 amUnderstanding that lying is not a good thing, you have to give her credit for being a smart little girl.
Gram and Papa added these kind words on Oct 29 06 at 10:58 pmSurely there must be some mistake here. Are you sure that water did not leak from the sink onto the pullups in the trash can. How can you expect gram and papa to believe that little Kenly would be that deceiftul. Oh wait, several stories about a guy named Jeff, one named Brian and oh yes a girl named Kristen come to mind.
Danny added these kind words on Jun 06 07 at 5:52 amGive her a break she isn’t even 7 yet and she is asleep when she wets. Wait till she is seven before you get on her case about bed wetting.
Good luck
I hope soon she won’t use diapers at night either for yours and her sake.
Jenny added these kind words on Jun 07 07 at 1:40 amI agree with Danny. It’s really sad that you were bribing her to “stay dry” at night. Don’t you realize that wetting in her sleep is NOT something she can voluntarily control yet? Her bladder is still developing. Many kids’ bladders and muscles are not strong enough to “hold it” all night until they are 7 or older. Asking her to stay dry over night is like asking her to chew bubble gum and snap her fingers in her sleep.
Give her a break. I think this story is kind of funny and you should see what your daughter did as a lesson, to YOU. She was trying to tell you that it’s impossible for HER to control if she pees in her sleep. So she faked you out for four days…It also goes to show how bribes with young children almost ALWAYS backfire.
Instead of bribes, try being a supportive parent and understand that bed wedding is something her body will stop doing, just as soon as her bladder matures. Don’t hurt her confidence by telling her she’s “naughty” for doing something she can’t help or control. And don’t bribe her, which again implies that her night wetting is intentional and wrong. It’s NOT, and she needs your support in that.
50 bucks a month for night time diapers? That doesn’t seem right. I think the bigger packages of pull-ups come with at least 30…and sell for 13 bucks. That’s one pull up a night for 30 days = 1 package = $13. Not a whole lot to pay for dry sheets and pajamas, huh? Also, if you’re really so concerned about cost…don’t buy the name brand. Wal-Mart’s “White Cloud” pull-ups absorb just as well, if not better, and cost about $4-$5 less per package. And think about the cost of doing laundry everyday (wet sheets and pajamas) or not having to do excess laundry everyday thanks to pull-ups. In the long run, I think you’ll see that the $13/month (or less!) Pull-Ups purchase is the better deal, for everyone concerned.
Kristen Holt added these kind words on Jun 29 07 at 5:18 pmMan Kenly is one innovative little thing. I would have never thought of that at that age! Though it was so wrong, you kinda have secretly be impressed that she thought of it. Love the picture of her. She is so dang cute. Its so hard to discipline cute kids…
Recent Comments