I am bracing myself as the countdown to the official start of potty training hits five days. I'm dreading it. And as I see the other moms from our playgroup scooping up their children and running to their cars, where they have potties stored in the backseat for playground emergencies, I dread it even more. I've been reading books that outline how to potty train your child in one day and others that take a laid-back approach with strategies to stretch out over a year. I've talked to other parents about how they're doing it or what has worked best to get their kid into Thomas the Train undies (for good). And still, no matter how much I prep, I dread.
Perhaps what has me worried are the obstacles, like forgetting to put the potty in the back of the car or the small child's inevitable stubborness about something -- flushing, pooping, pulling on the underwear, going at all. Clearly, there will be something, right? The questions have already made my week a bit anxious, filling my head with "Will I spend the rest of my life in the basement laundry room of my building washing kiddie underwear?" and "How much carpet cleaner do I need?" and "Please, God, can you make this child think it is fun to sit on the potty?" and most serious of all, "What kinds of stickers, cheapy toys, bites of candy, anything will work magic on this kid?"
I have to say, it helps to know I'm not alone in my ramped up feelings about the transition to toilets and in wondering if bribes really work at all. I'm not sure what Dadcentric has offered up to his daughter in his (so far, unsuccessful) quest to get her to overcome her own obstacle of pooping on the potty, but he's assured us that she'll own the world once she does the deed. I just wonder if his daughter and my son are laughing evilly in the other room while we blog about our potty training frustrations, knowing full well how and when they will drop the kids off at the little plastic potty. I fear they'll pull out a crayon-scribbled list of the booty we've bribed them with, ready to collect and very satisfied at all they'll acquire just for making us wait for the big splash.
