Patience and Potty Training
I am not a patient person. Never was and
will never be. So imagine how useful
this was when I took on potty training this week. I thought I was prepared since I had the
following supplies:
* Two potty chairs – one musical
* Underwear decorated with favorite characters
* Potty Bear video
* Stickers for trying
* M & Ms to reinforce dryness
* Large stash of presents – for successes
* A plethora of knowledge from friends
I repeat, I thought I was prepared.
Nothing could have prepared me for Andrew’s reaction to the
process. First, was his very real but
unexplainable fear of the potty chair.
OK, we’ll decorate it! (An idea
from Jim). Second, was his incredible
ability to hold it! Next, was the amount
of trips to the bathroom and time spent reading, giving encouraging words and
hugs it would take. And last was the
crying – from both of us. He was so full
of emotion to be successful and not disappoint.
And I felt like I was putting him through something tortuous. He
would look at me with tears in his eyes and say, “I can’t do it!” Ugh!
Heartbreak!
But we pressed on! There were Cheerios and outside
demonstrations! We danced and we
sang! Jim sang, “La di da di, we like
to potty” and “I just called... to say... let’s go potty!” I did my interpretation of the potty dance
and chanted ridiculous cheers. I’m sure
Andrew thought we were nuts!
I
wondered how many other new things we would find ourselves faced with and how
we would all react. In the end, patience
paid off. (Okay, maybe it was the stash
of trains.) It was a proud moment for us both when Andrew declared, “I’m a big
boy now!”
The week was a good lesson for me as a
parent. There is going to be a lot of
new challenges for the boys and me. Looks like I will be shopping at the patience
shop more frequently!
