A week or so ago I noticed on Twitter that June was "Potty Training Awareness Month" so what better time to finish off my half-written post than at the very end of June. Oish. Even
though I may be the Susan Lucci of the “Mother of the Year” Award (pretty sure
this year will be my year…tee hee), I am sure when you read the title of this post you
probably pictured something like this:
Am I right??? Look how calm, relaxed and happy the two of them look. Can you not just imagine me and J2 or Riley like this when we were potty training? And the mom looks so pulled together...nice hair, clean clothes and probably showered! Well...read on my friends.
Some parents sail through this period without
batting an eye. Some parents struggle for a few weeks then don’t think about it
ever again. Some are ready to rip out their hair; break out into a cold sweat;
and the mere mention of potty training sends shivers up their spines. I fell
into that third category and found this period was THE most trying time IN MY
LIFE!!! I will even admit I looked more
like this…
For me this had nothing to do with having a child with autism and I think everything to do with having boys or to be more specific…MY boys. Surely it had nothing to do with my parenting skills after all I was already working towards my Degree in Parenting.
Like many first time parents, I thought J2 was THE most intelligent child ever…that is until we started potty training. Now I considered myself to be a somewhat intelligent person and I was pretty confident in my abilities even though I was a first time parent. Yup…that was my first mistake. Surely I didn’t need a book to figure this out. I mean how difficult could this really be??? Ya right. Mistakes two AND three...check and check. Hoping
I did not miss that window of opportunity and believing J2 to be extremely
bright (uh…number four) we started the process.
Without going into all the gory details for fear
that the authorities might be monitoring my blog…let’s just say with the added
pressure to have J2 “ready” (aka potty trained) for preschool, there were times
when both J2 and I were in tears…at the same time! Needless to say when it came
time to consider potty training Riley, I was so traumatized by my experiences
with J2 that I was prepared to keep R in diapers FOREVER!!!
My reason for writing this post?? Well initially I was hoping to pass along
“How to” or more realistically “What NOT to do” tips. The amount of
information out there is SO overwhelming. But let's face it...I have nothing... nada...zippo. Did you not read anything above!!! So
instead all I have for you is this; if you are a parent like I was, struggling
to potty train your child and stressed out to the max…YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Try
not to beat yourself up. It's nothing personal, you are not a loser alone! Diapers aren't so bad. Hey it cuts down on the laundry. Again...you are not alone! Why do you think they make Depends? I'll let you think about that for a minute. For the last time repeat after me…I am not alone!!! There. Feel any better? Hope so.
Over a dozen years have passed and I am happy to
report we all survived although at the time…it was touch and go whether or not
I would have to enter rehab. ;P
What are your experiences with Potty Training? Do you have any
