His Own Big Bed

Some time ago, perhaps 6 months, Calvin and I got this book from the library. He was excited by the idea of having a big bed of his own. So we used it as incentive for potty training. Every time he refused to sit on the potty, we reminded him of what he could get if he was potty trained. Oh, the possibilities!

"You can get out of bed in the morning and play instead of waiting for Mommy or Daddy to take you out of your crib!"  (Which really means, "You can get out of bed in the morning and play instead of waking Mommy and Daddy up with your incessant yelling!")

But despite that and other incentives, including toy cars and trains, it just didn't click with him until this month when we added Starbursts, banned diapers, and stuck the kid in some underwear. Sometimes you just have to make it happen, especially when your child is a staunch defender of the status quo.

Then this month a friend of a friend happened to be selling a toddler bed we thought might be right up Calvin's alley. Last night we introduced Calvin to his very own big bed and a new toybox to go with it.

I think he likes it.