Yay! Potty Training!

I am somewhat out of my blue funk but still a wee bit stressed about the possibility of leaving sometime soon. It is seeming more inevitable as Miss T. is on course to start at preschool in the fall. It would only be probably 3 days per week but I am not currently in a position to either cut my hours or work nights. As a married woman myself I have duties at home that precede working in the evenings. It is really too bad because Miss T. is turning into a lovely and loving child. I really love working with older toddlers and preschoolers. The shear cuteness is addicting!

In her latest habit she waits until I am seated with her at mealtimes and ask "So, how are you doing?" Her inflection absolutely imitates the way I talk to her and it cracks me up! I do think children need to eat with adults and learn to properly socialize at the dinner table at home just the same way you'd want them to at a restaurant. I start with the basics, "We do not throw our food," "We do not run around while others are eating," and progress to appropriate table talk.

Anyway, on to the potty training! Miss T. has been developmentally reading for a little while now but due to medications she had been on that had rather unpleasant side effects we had to postpone training. Training however I feel is a bit more heavy handed sounding than what I actually do. I go straight to underpants with the triple thickness (no pull-ups please!) and have her sit on the toilet fitted with a toddler sized seat once per hour. She gets a sticker at each sitting to put on a decorated piece of paper I put up in the bathroom. Once she is actually going on the toilet the stickers will get cut back to each successful toileting but for now "trying" counts.

She has not toileted yet but today is out first day so we will see what the rest of the week brings. She is excited about earning stickers though. We also have lined plastic underpants for indoor use when puddles would be more mess to deal with but as it is summer I am attempting to be outside a lot for the next few days. Since she has always worn disposable diapers my first order of business is to get her to connect being wet with the feeling before being wet.

Both disposable diapers and pull-ups generally keep kids so dry they are unable to detect they have gone and therefore are unlikely to make the connection. The only use I have found for pull-ups is in cases in which I am out and about with a little one in the learning phase to prevent unnecessary embarrassment in the likely event of an accident and at night. I generally let night time training happen on its own. I have them sit one last time before bed but wear either a diaper or pull-up at night until they are waking up dry for at least one week. I believe it happens on its own when they are developmentally ready. For many kids the comfort of soft, dry underpants is preferable to them and is its own motivator in the process.