Toilet trained...it's offical!

I have never really been able to say that Reuben was fully toilet trained. He would go to the toilet but I would have to remind him or just take him as he would get quite engaged in what he was doing and forget to go.

This would then lead to him running to the toilet at the last minute and having a little "dribble" or him completely wetting himself.

We have worked really hard with him to get him to use the toilet. We have had sticker charts in the toilet ( quite a task as we have 3 toilets in our house) and having a prize bag for rewards.

This worked really well until Reuben had a school holiday or was off school ill. He would then revert back and start having lots of accidents. Sometimes not even telling me he had wet himself.

Although having a wee on the toilet has been mostly successful, doing a poo has always been a problem. Especially when Reuben  is not at home.

Whilst at school, if Reuben needed  a poo, he would not use the school toilet and end up pooing his pants. This in turn caused embarrassment for him and if I am quite honest for me when I picked him up at the end of the day.

I was starting to feel like we would never get to being fully toilet trained and this left me feeling really quite upset. I felt it made Reuben stand out from all the other children his age even more than he does, made him different and that upset me. I felt like we were still in the baby/toddler stage with him when it came to toileting. And nothing seemed to completely work with him.

So to my utter shock and amazement, Reuben started going to the toilet by himself this summer!!!

Each day he would stop what he was doing, toddle off the the toilet, have a wee, pull his trousers up and go back to what ever activity he was doing. Even when we were out, he would tell me he needed a wee and get there in time with out any mishaps.

This carried on thought the 6 weeks holidays and it got to the point where Reuben would go to the toilet and I wouldn't know he had been until I saw him with his pants hanging out his trousers or the toilet seat up and no toilet flushed (can't ask for everything though can I?)

Reuben going to the toilet for a wee by himself also lead to him going to have a poo by himself, I just couldn't believe it. It was like a little switch had been turned on and he just "got it"

So, well done to Reuben for finally being toilet trained (and all done in the school holidays when  he is the most disrupted)