Reply to Potty training strategies that do not involve bribery or rewards?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think you might be applying a theory (of intrinsic motivation and behavior) more strictly and universally than even the theorists themselves would.

Which is not to say that children "need" extrinsic motivation to learn to use the potty.

But it is to say that extrinsic motivation can be helpful in the right circumstances and if handled reasonably, particularly wrt potty training.  If you don't want to incorporate some extrinsic rewards, that's fine.  Just wait for your child to develop intrinsic desire to eliminate on the potty.  It could take awhile.  Then again, it might not.

I really see this as a silly and unnecessarily extreme direction to apply a theory of motivation to  parenting.  I don't think that getting an m&m treat for a potty poop will interfere with developing an intrinsic value for using a toilet instead of soiling one's clothes.[/quote]

+1. The zeal of the convert. And, let me ask to you to think in a more complicated way about motivation. We all are motivated by both internal and external motivation. DC was very excited about wearing underwear. By offering her the opportunity, does that count as bribing? Some may say yes, others no. I certainly thought it fell under the category of bribery--we said we would buy the underwear and let her wear it, IF she agreed to go to the potty. It was also a negotiation, an agreement, and an external factor.

You are trying to be purists artificially. If there is a reasonable "external" factor involved, why not include it as part of the training?[/quote]

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