The joys of potty training
Categories: Toddlers, Development
Our household is actively involved with potty training right now, a milestone that I had vaguely hoped would be maybe a 24-hour preoccupation but has regrettably turned out to be a ongoing effort. I suppose some kids gaily toss their diapers aside, shout NE'ER MORE!, and that's that -- not a drop spilled after the great change has been made, a well-worn, self-motivated path instantly created between child and potty chair.
We, however, are firmly mired in the Land of Endless Reminders: do you have to go potty? Do you have to go potty? Do you have to go potty? I feel like a demented parrot, hovering in front of my child and squawking the same phrase over and over all day long, but we've learned that reminders are not only useful, they're downright necessary.
In many ways it's actually more challenging to have a small child who's not in diapers. Leaving the house requires more strategizing than before, and once you're out and about -- well, there's no longer a safe haven of Huggies between your child's rear end and the shopping cart, you know? Plus, new issues are at hand: he prefers to pee standing up while I prefer not having to use an entire roll of Bounty Select-a-Size paper towels after each bathroom visit; potty reward stickers are now affixed to approximately eight thousand surfaces of my house, including, as I discovered the other morning, the bottom of my 6-month-old's left foot.
Despite the difficulties, though, it's an exciting time. Sure, it's a little moist, there are occasional setbacks, and frankly there's a lot more nakedness than I had expected, but we are on our way to leaving diapers behind (one kid down, one to go!). As my son loudly informed the bemused Fred Meyer clerk this week, "I've got THOMAS underwear on because I'm a REALLY REALLY BIG BOY and I go POOP in the POTTY!" He then went on to disclose some disturbing information about hot dogs, but thankfully we were well on our way out the door at that point.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Michele 7-30-2008 @ 9:26AM
HahahahahaHA!! That was the PERFECT ending to your story!!
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Jamie 7-30-2008 @ 9:48AM
Oh my God, this post takes me back.
I set a timer to go off every 10 minutes (so I could chirpingly march my daughter off to the potty to "just try") and also had a potty seat in the back of our car (which I made her use in the LIBRARY PARKING LOT).
No wonder she resisted--that poor kid.
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Micha 7-30-2008 @ 10:46AM
Haha, just be glad that your kid does want to go to the potty with you....our sweet little blonde girl prefers to go to the potty with people who visit us (and yes, we not only have family visit!!).
And she can get really excited, most times when I take her to the potty in the mornings I will hear her say "oh, look mommy, poopy is coming out" - and believe me, she knows when you are just pretending to look. ;-)
And yes, there is a LOT of nakedness involved. But that's fine with me, it's summer and I live in Europe ;-)))
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kim 7-30-2008 @ 11:06AM
I just shot frosted mini wheat shrapnel into my nasal cavity thanks to the closing of your post. you rock. You ROCK HARD.
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C 7-30-2008 @ 12:12PM
And yet another post ends with a hot dog! :) Love it!
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jenntarver 7-30-2008 @ 12:27PM
HAHAH! I remember those days with my now 6 year old stepson.
We went to the movies one afternoon and he had to go potty. So we went into the ladies restroom and as I'm standing in the stall with him, he says in a typical LOUD two year old voice "I need to poo poo. But not like Daddy. His poo poo SHOOO WEEE!!!" You could hear people snickering and trying not to laugh. Just as it was dying down, he says, "LOOK AT MY POO POO!! IT'S BIG JUST LIKE DADDY'S!! LOOKS LIKE BROWN SNAKE!!!" Then you hear roars of laughter. ::: sigh :::
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Sabrina 7-30-2008 @ 1:47PM
Yeah, I took my 3.5 year old daughter who has been potty trained for almost a year into the restroom at a local restaurant. Someone in another stall was passing gas, and she says to me, loudly through the door of course "Mommy, was that you?" I say "No." She says "Who was that? They need to say excuse me!" The poor lady was laughing so hard in her stall. I'm glad she had a sense of humor because the last thing my daughter said as we were leaving the restroom was "Mommy, it's really stinky in here!"
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Anne L. 7-30-2008 @ 2:14PM
HAA! Man, I was chuckling at the share with the F.M. clerk, but that last bit cracked me right the hell up. I just took my girl for her second set of shots today, and after the post-appointment drama and crankiness, this was just what I needed. Thanks!
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ablndmomnt 7-30-2008 @ 6:59PM
Loved the ending! Thanks for reminding me that parenting can actually be funny, if not fun!!
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Uly 7-31-2008 @ 5:59AM
"As my son loudly informed the bemused Fred Meyer clerk this week, "I've got THOMAS underwear on because I'm a REALLY REALLY BIG BOY and I go POOP in the POTTY!""
Could be worse. Potty training and dresses don't mix, because when little girls say that line, the very next thing they do is UP with the dress.
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Kristen 7-31-2008 @ 12:24PM
Oh Linda. My love knows no bounds when it comes to you. That was Awesome. Perfect ending to the post.
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beach 7-31-2008 @ 6:49PM
hhhhmmm where are all the hot dog haters......maybe scared into submission....love it!!
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JJCCB 8-01-2008 @ 12:23AM
Linda! How dare you mention hot dogs! My mind is eternally scarred at the thought of such a thing.
Seriously though, thanks for the laugh. That was the perfect ending.
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Samantha Jo Campen 8-01-2008 @ 3:10PM
Oh no you di-int! SNAP :-)
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