Are You A Potty-Training Patsy?

Potty training... ugh!  Ever since that first, "Mommy! Potty!" I have had my eye on the prize-- a diaper free existence. Too bad no matter how hard I keep my eye on the prize, it all hinges on the whim of a two-year-old.  A two-year-old with a raging case of the boy who cried, POO POOS, MOMMY! And yes, that means what you are thinking, just like the boy who cried WOLF! for all the wrong reasons, my toddler cries POO POOS! for all the wrong reasons...

                                                
I dream of the day I only use diapers as redneck coasters.


When my kid yells anything that has to do with going to the potty, I jump up, grab him and run to the nearest potty. Doesn't every parent desperate to get out of diapers?? Too bad, my son has figured out that he can control me, and his ability to choose whether or not he wants to do something simply by saying those three magic words, Poo poos, mommy...

Yes, he calls everything that comes out, poo poos. I learned this the hard way when he said the three magic words that got us up and running to the potty, because unfortunately once he was de-diapered and ready for the potty, he jumped in the bathtub and immediately peed, all while laughing and saying, Look! Poo poos, mommy!  Of course, I try to correct him, but in his stubborn toddler ways, he still calls it what he wants.

Sorry, I digress...

Back to the magic words.

It's now been two months since that first successful trip to the potty, and while I wish I could say there have been many more successful trips, there have not. What has been successful, is Ollie learning that if he says he needs to go potty, regardless of wether or not he really has too, we will let him stop doing what ever he doesn't want to do immediately.  What's worse, we have no choice in the matter.  If the kid says, potty, there is no room for discussion. There is no, "Are you sure you need to go potty?" I know, I have asked and got a, Yep. Potty!  And no big surprise, I get nothing but a happy boy streaking through the house.

I recently spoke with a few been-there-done-that parents about this, and all agreed, if I want to potty train the kid I need to make it my number one focus. As in, spend two weeks making it my job by constantly staying on top of it. Which includes, letting Ollie run around the house free balling and peeing everywhere until he understands the sensation, and then where to go once he feels it coming on.

You all, SUCK! SUCK! SUCK! SUCK!  (Please feel free to replace all preceding "Ss" with "Fs" to make it read truer.

I have no desire to let this kid poop and pee all over the house... any more than he already does!  I also have no desire to spend the next year or so jumping every time my kid yells, POO POOS, Mommy. Especially when it is just to get out of going to sleep or any other activity he has no desire doing. I spoke with his Parent's Day Out teacher and she said this crying potty-wolf was completly normal... All kids do it. Somehow, I do feel so much better knowing I'm not the only parent chasing a streaker.

So, clearly I am stuck between a free balling potty free for all, and a year of running to the potty for no reason. Not really sure what to do...  What are you doing?


April is an award-winning writer and blogger. Her work has been published in over ten countries and four languages. From books to newspapers, to print/online magazines and everything in between, you can find her work. For more on April, Visit AprilMcCormick.com