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Yes, our 3 year old daughter Shayla is, for all practical purposes 'potty trained' at this point, however it's still a mixed bag to send her to the potty alone 100% of the time. She averages about 7 out of 10 to be successful, non-catastrophic type experiences. The other 3 are, well, up in the air as for how they will turn out.
Today, we had one of those '3 out of 10' type experiences. It wasn't a total mess, but bless her heart, it was headed in that direction. It's a common practice that if she goes to the john solo and we don't hear or see from her for more than about 6-7 minutes then we send in a search party and truthfully, you never really know what you're going to find. Today, after giving her a just amount of time on her solo adventure, I walk up to the bathroom door, gently knock, and peer in just in time to see her flushing and watching with scientific curiosity a total bowl full of wadded up white paper towels. She was using white paper towels because that morning we had run out of proper toilet paper and we had not yet gone to the store to get more. This was a first for her. She didn't know that you're not supposed to flush paper towels, but rather toss them in the waste baskett when finished. Daddy had not informed her of the bathroom protocol in reference to paper towels. She didn't know to fold them over and to tear them in half and then to use one of those halves to wipe with. So, in lieu of this missing piece of intelligence she used one paper towel per wipe, and wiped what looked to be about 10 to 12 times in the name of thoroughness. Luckily, as she was watching the water travel out of the bowl the current didn't really catch hold of the rather stiff mass, which was fortunate for me as paper towels do not rapidly degrade when they come into contact with water and this paper sludge would've solidly clogged the toilet. I then filled her in on paper napkin and paper towel use in the bathroom and she said "Okay", but I don't really know if that was "okay, I understand you", or "okay, I get that you're trying to explain something to me". This kind of stuff is really funny because there really isn't any sure-fire way (that I can see) to tell if a child gets what you're explaining, until of course, the same situation arises again and you can see first hand what they do the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etcetera--times around. Sometimes it takes a little while for it to sink into the cognitive processes of that little head, or for you to say it in just the right way---whichever comes first.
So now I have this mass of wet paper towels in the toilet that must be fished out as they certainly cannot be flushed. Also, little kids are like cats: they want to be right in the middle of whatever is going on, (and with kids especially) the messier the greater the attraction. So I am saying to Shayla all the while, "Now honey, you're going to have to step back. This area is nasty, nasty, nasty. Not that going to the bathroom is nasty because it's not, but the toilet is nasty, nasty, nasty". All the while I am sticking the toilet bowl cleaner wand in there and fishing out these paper towels and dumping them into the trash while holding her back from the rim with my other arm I am thinking, "now what is she learning from this? Even though I have explained why we have to do this I am not sure that it has registered and the LAST thing I want to see the next time I open the bathroom door to check on her after an extended potty stay is her fishing around in the toilet"! I have to laugh to myself, as the details of these experiences drive me nuts, but there's not a thing I can do about it, as the train has already left the station. I can only watch in my mind's eye and laugh hoping that her understanding is on the right track. I can't even at this point count the number of times that I have told her that we don't 'play in the potty' and she has to date been really good about not doing that, but here I am and what am I doing? .. Playing in the potty. :-) No honey, this is not a trend and I am no trend setter. ....Don't look at me like that. This is not fascinating, this is Yucky.
Catostrophe averted. Corrections made. Understanding clear and implemented.? I hope; we'll see. It's all parental fun, especially in hindsight.
Today, we had one of those '3 out of 10' type experiences. It wasn't a total mess, but bless her heart, it was headed in that direction. It's a common practice that if she goes to the john solo and we don't hear or see from her for more than about 6-7 minutes then we send in a search party and truthfully, you never really know what you're going to find. Today, after giving her a just amount of time on her solo adventure, I walk up to the bathroom door, gently knock, and peer in just in time to see her flushing and watching with scientific curiosity a total bowl full of wadded up white paper towels. She was using white paper towels because that morning we had run out of proper toilet paper and we had not yet gone to the store to get more. This was a first for her. She didn't know that you're not supposed to flush paper towels, but rather toss them in the waste baskett when finished. Daddy had not informed her of the bathroom protocol in reference to paper towels. She didn't know to fold them over and to tear them in half and then to use one of those halves to wipe with. So, in lieu of this missing piece of intelligence she used one paper towel per wipe, and wiped what looked to be about 10 to 12 times in the name of thoroughness. Luckily, as she was watching the water travel out of the bowl the current didn't really catch hold of the rather stiff mass, which was fortunate for me as paper towels do not rapidly degrade when they come into contact with water and this paper sludge would've solidly clogged the toilet. I then filled her in on paper napkin and paper towel use in the bathroom and she said "Okay", but I don't really know if that was "okay, I understand you", or "okay, I get that you're trying to explain something to me". This kind of stuff is really funny because there really isn't any sure-fire way (that I can see) to tell if a child gets what you're explaining, until of course, the same situation arises again and you can see first hand what they do the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etcetera--times around. Sometimes it takes a little while for it to sink into the cognitive processes of that little head, or for you to say it in just the right way---whichever comes first.
So now I have this mass of wet paper towels in the toilet that must be fished out as they certainly cannot be flushed. Also, little kids are like cats: they want to be right in the middle of whatever is going on, (and with kids especially) the messier the greater the attraction. So I am saying to Shayla all the while, "Now honey, you're going to have to step back. This area is nasty, nasty, nasty. Not that going to the bathroom is nasty because it's not, but the toilet is nasty, nasty, nasty". All the while I am sticking the toilet bowl cleaner wand in there and fishing out these paper towels and dumping them into the trash while holding her back from the rim with my other arm I am thinking, "now what is she learning from this? Even though I have explained why we have to do this I am not sure that it has registered and the LAST thing I want to see the next time I open the bathroom door to check on her after an extended potty stay is her fishing around in the toilet"! I have to laugh to myself, as the details of these experiences drive me nuts, but there's not a thing I can do about it, as the train has already left the station. I can only watch in my mind's eye and laugh hoping that her understanding is on the right track. I can't even at this point count the number of times that I have told her that we don't 'play in the potty' and she has to date been really good about not doing that, but here I am and what am I doing? .. Playing in the potty. :-) No honey, this is not a trend and I am no trend setter. ....Don't look at me like that. This is not fascinating, this is Yucky.
Catostrophe averted. Corrections made. Understanding clear and implemented.? I hope; we'll see. It's all parental fun, especially in hindsight.
Shayla and I went for a short bike ride this evening, and wound up at an Amy's Ice Cream location because it was close to the house. She's had a little mucus congestion that had started yesterday, so I knew ice cream would not be the best thing for that. My solution was to get her a tiny sorbet and an ice cream for me. Since she's only 3 I thought I could pull that off. Nope didn't work. Although she didn't know exactly what I was ordering, I thought if I stayed quiet about which was what that she'd think it was All Ice Cream. Negative.
I had bought a raspberry sorbet for her and a white chocolate macadamia ice cream for me. The one was bright red (attractive, right?), and the other a plain white--the ice cream. The first thing out of her mouth after pulling her freshly dipped sorbeted finger out of her mouth and giving a look to my side of the table was,
"I want the white one".
"Of course you do", I relented. The rest of the visit was a mutual devouring of both; it was fun.
It's true that as a parent you can only control so much. :-)
I had bought a raspberry sorbet for her and a white chocolate macadamia ice cream for me. The one was bright red (attractive, right?), and the other a plain white--the ice cream. The first thing out of her mouth after pulling her freshly dipped sorbeted finger out of her mouth and giving a look to my side of the table was,
"I want the white one".
"Of course you do", I relented. The rest of the visit was a mutual devouring of both; it was fun.
It's true that as a parent you can only control so much. :-)
Shayla has lately been taken with a determined sense of self and is trying out the acceptable/unacceptable bounds of her position. Today, in front of family was no exception. It's really not that fun trying to show her that she is not going to be allowed to thwart or undermine our authority. Blatant disregard for your parental authority is really no fun at all. Why, child must you make me teach you this? I'm sure there's more in it for me than meets the eye, but that doesn't mean that I am going to enjoy the process. Oh well, it comes with the territory. It's part of the ebb and flow of life, I guess.
It was a joyful day with two different 'families' of ours and I am now stuffed to the gills and wish I had a second stomach like our bovine relatives to off load some of the abundance, but that is not to happen. So now, I take my happily stuffed self home with the other members of my family and put my energetic little three year old to bed and then fall on the couch to watch a movie with my beloved.
It's been a Happy and Plentiful Easter. I hope you and yours have had the same.
God Bless and Happy Easter from those of us at The Daddyville press. Good Night.
It was a joyful day with two different 'families' of ours and I am now stuffed to the gills and wish I had a second stomach like our bovine relatives to off load some of the abundance, but that is not to happen. So now, I take my happily stuffed self home with the other members of my family and put my energetic little three year old to bed and then fall on the couch to watch a movie with my beloved.
It's been a Happy and Plentiful Easter. I hope you and yours have had the same.
God Bless and Happy Easter from those of us at The Daddyville press. Good Night.