This lovely little book about potty training has done a number on me. Just binging up the topic of potty training now that Magoo’s nearing 2 and a half makes me twitch a little. I delight in the fact that he’s not showing the signs of readiness. Rather than looking forward with excitement to that milestone, I find the signs of readiness alarming because I am not yet ready and do not want to deal with training him when he is.
I thought reviewing Karen Deerwester’s book of answers might be thing I needed to push me towards the next big step in Magoo’s development. Not so. She has a very calming and relaxed approach to potty training, describing how each parent should come up with a personal plan for each child to help them become successful, given their unique personality and temperament.
She tells parents to chill out, advice I definitely could have used when I first started with Laylee, convince I should train her the same way I was trained even though we are totally different in temperament. I created an emotional and physical battleground in our little condo that I shudder to remember, so insistent that I be “right” about what her body was doing.
Reading the calming and enthusiastic book actually stressed me out more because of all the questions she addresses. Laylee was never afraid of toilets! Oh no! Maybe Magoo will be. Laylee never pooped in potted plants or behind furniture. Ack! Maybe Magoo will. The advice in the book was good and covered a really wide range of potty training issues. I guess I just don’t want to need all that advice. I’m hoping Magoo will self-train before the age of 12. Here’s to pleasant dreams and happy fantasies!
Here’s what I learned from potty training each of my kids: they’re all different. I had to use totally different things to help each kid. My kids did not want stickers or reward charts. We tried candy with my oldest, but he would go in, pee just a tiny bit and then demand candy. Then he would repeat the process till he had consumed enough sweets to support Charlie’s Chocolate Factory…
I have five sons, and have tried many approaches to potty training. Pretty much, they all just potty trained when they were almost five. That is late to most people, but its how it has been here. With the first couple of boys I spent about three stressed filled years trying to get them to potty train, and now I just don’t do the drama. Usually the looming of Kindergarten and the threat that they can’t go to school if they aren’t potty trained is enough. My five year old even potty trained at four so he could do preschool. My four year old however, won’t have much to do with it, so I am a little bit worried about him making it to Kindergarten next year.