Now that that intro is over, let me slip into a writing style that’s a little more comfortable. I call it Dry Humor Sans Bullshit.
Much better.
But, you’ve still got this. Potty training will come, you’re not gonna send your spawn off to College in diapers.
When I started potty training, I didn’t even ask myself the golden question everyone should ask themselves, “is my child ready to be potty trained?” I got intimidated by the posts I was seeing, like you, and was only focused on what my kid should be doing at x years/months old.
If you’ve never done so, look at your next poop. How do you explain that food baby to a child?
Remember that quote I mentioned at the beginning of this quote? If you’ve never seen the movie, this was a moment where the character, Billy, comes to the rescue of his friend who has just pissed himself.
Now wasn’t that heartwarming?
Yeah, but what’s your point?
My point is that when accidents happen it can be really hard to modify your reaction (because reactions are kind of this automatic thing embedded into us as humans, weird, I know). So if you can put something simple like that quote or this scene in your head, it might make things a little easier.
Come to your child’s rescue. This potty training stuff is pretty hard and oftentimes when we get short with our kids we forget that what what we’re asking them to do is pretty huge. This lesson comes in handy for me all across the board as I ask myself how I would handle someone telling me what to do:
Calm down? You calm down!
Don’t do that. Um, excuse me? I’ll do as I please, thanks.
Push this out of your orifice. Omg, what!?
The most valuable advice I read when perusing article after article was to not yell, discipline, or show dissatisfaction in your tot when they have an accident. This advice will be very hard to follow and I failed at it more than a few times.
Let’s try something. The next time your child has an accident, I want you to freeze your reaction face and find a mirror. Look at yourself and think about the impact of that expression.
Shame, shame, shame!
I’m just kidding. I’m your number one cheerleader on this! Back to the point of not plummeting into that misery chasm.
“Don’t worry, be happy.” Yup, another quote. Stop worrying and be so goddamned happy you can’t stand yourself. Make a huge deal every time your son or daughter tries to go potty, throw a freaking party when they do go potty. After the potty it’s the bathroom party, wha-wha?
Happy Pooping!