Potty Training Lessons

Potty training a child is NOT for the faint of heart. In my life, I have trained a dog but all things considered, that process was quick and nearly painless. We may have had a few accidents here and there, but overall our dog Betty was trained within a few weeks. One big difference is that you can contain a dog in a crate when you do not want her to pee on the new rug that you just got at West Elm. Try that with a child and people get all righteous on you (just kidding, of course.)

At eighteen months, we are just beginning the process of potty training Elly. Since she has expressed some interest in using the toilet herself, far be it from us to discourage her! We got one of those little potties for her. Occasionally, she will go over to it and mutter "pee-pee, pee-pee, pee-pee." We put her on it and she will do her thing, surprising herself a little by what is "magically" occurring. We clap and cheer in excitement while keeping a keen eye that none of her toys get deposited into this loo. Betty generally likes to be part of the action during these moments. She often looks at me as if to say "I have no idea why you haven't done this sooner. If I had my way, I'd make her go outside."

A few weeks ago we were taught a lesson in exactly how much Elly observes and makes notes of the world around her. We were having dinner at the home of one of Greg's colleagues. Our hostess, Mary, had taken Elly for a walk around the house. Mary returned to us in the dining room chuckling about how precocious Elly was. When we asked why she thought so, she told us that when they visited the bathroom, Elly promptly positioned herself in front of the toilet, pretending to pee like a man. (Hands in position and all!) Fortunately, these are colleagues that we know well, so we all got a good chuckle out of it. I took Elly back to the bathroom and sat her on the loo. She peed and then she burst into a round of applause, pleased with her "magical" accomplishment. When we rejoined the other guests, she initiated an encore round of applause. Everyone chuckled and indulged her. Who knows? Maybe the trick to quick training is having a studio audience.

Note to self - We may need to pee sitting down for a while. If not, this is certainly going to be a very messy endeavor. It also got me thinking about how a two-mom family might handle the reverse problem. Here is a case where versatility is on our side.