Potty training my daughter: A truly daunting task

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August 19, 2009

Anonymous The North Jefferson News Wed Aug 19, 2009, 11:17 AM CDT

Commentary By Danielle Pelkey

The North Jefferson News

Oh, the joys of being a mom.

That’s right, there are plenty of joys and privileges that come with that prized title of “Mom.”

One of the least favorite parts of being the mom is that you get the massive job of potty training.

My daughter, Raygan, is two and it is past time to get this baby potty trained.

I worked at a daycare for five years, so I am no stranger to the potty process. But there is something about training your sweet, little girl that changes everything.

We have been trying the method of using Pull-Ups. If you don’t know, these are expensive diapers that have elastic to pull up and down. I’m not a huge fan of the process but this is the choice of her teachers, so I’m going to follow their every wish in making this dream come true.

When I didn’t think that the Pull-Up method was doing anything more than flushing 50 cents a diaper down the drain, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

A few weeks ago I sat Raygan down and told her that big girls use the big potty and it was time for her to be a big girl. I even bribed her with a Mickey Mouse sippy cup if she would do it right.

Then I did the unthinkable, I left her running naked through the house for a while with the training potty in the living room. I thought that she would magically know when she was about to potty and make her way to it.

That was not the case. She was playing just a happily as you please and then got up and went in my bedroom. About two minutes later she came out walking bow-legged and told me “Uh oh!” Now, this is the universal language for, “I just tee-teed in your bedroom floor, Mom; hope you don’t get too upset.”

I ran to the bedroom to find exactly what you would expect. My hopes of having the quickest and easiest potty training session in the world were dashed away. I cleaned up the mess and decided that we were done training for the day.

A few days later I decided to try my method again, but this time I left “big girl panties” on her. These had little “Dora the Explorer” characters all over them and I told her not to get Dora wet.

At one point I saw her sitting on the potty, but I was feeding her sister and didn’t have time to really pay attention to her. She kept telling me that she had pottied and I kept telling her that she was crazy.

Then the most wonderful thing happened. She brought the potty over to me and low and behold, she had pottied in the potty.

We all did a little happy dance and I gladly went into the kitchen to fetch the prize sippy cup. There was singing and dancing and happiness all around. Not wanting to push my luck, I put her Pull-Up back on.

A few hours later, it was time to see if she had truly had a change of heart and decided to become a grown up pottier. I put the potty out and waited, and waited and waited. All the while, I reminded her that the potty was right there.

But about an hour later she left a present for me in the living room carpet, not in the potty. Being the witty child that she is, she ran over and sat on the potty afterwards and yelled “Yeah Raygan, you tee-tee in the potty.”

Oh well, maybe by the time she’s 20 she will master the art of the potty. Until then, I think I will stick to the Pull Up method.

I’m pretty sure my carpets will thank me.

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