Potty Training and The Urban Myth

My German Shepherd was house broken by the age of three months so at the ripe old age of two, I'm not really sure what the hold up is with my toddler. Maya, who will be three in November, has been stuck in the halfway potty trained faze now for about a month. By that I mean she will pee in the potty but #2 will only be done standing by the hutch behind the dining room table.

You can tell a story like mine to a room full of parents and guaranteed you'll get as many different methods for potty training success as there are people in the room. "Try the pull ups! Give her a reward! Read her Everybody Poops!" they'll say. Sadly my copy of Everybody Poops was actually torn to shreds by a mob of toddlers one day in the toy room. Nothing personal- Everybody Poops was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I can't tell you how much joy it brought me, finding page fragments for the next two months all over the house with various pooping animal butts on it. Very inspirational. True story.

Anyway, after four kids I've heard my share of suggestions but to date my all time favorite is the potty training urban myth... you know, the one that says if you put your kid in underwear and let them pee all over themselves, they won't like being wet and will start to use the potty. Yeah. That one.

Usually the person who suggests that you use this method is another parent very close to you who harbors the power of influence, someone you should trust. Usually your sister or mother in law to be exact (insert me narrowing my eyes suspiciously. Hmmmm.).

I'm not saying they're lying exactly. I mean, I guess there could be a chance that their child wore soggy under pants once and immediately converted to the toilet using masses instead of peeing all over the house for three days straight until finally pooping on the sofa. All I'm saying is, this might be a hazing ceremony into some prestigious under ground parenting club and you should consider the odds before proceeding. I'm just saying.

Actually, I think I might suggest it to my sister in law when the time comes. I kind of feel like I've earned it you know? Like its a right of passage.

So everyone, besides the potty training literature, I've got all the stuff I need to further the toilet negotiation between me and my last born and I'm ready to ride this thing out. I warn you, it could be awhile. Just this morning Carlos asked Maya "So where do we do poo-poo Maya?" And she looked him dead in the eye and said "The bathtub!" (not a joke, she really said that). I'll be keeping you posted on the progress I'm sure. For now I will leave you with this video about how your child should wear her potty seat properly. Take notes.