When my wife started asking me several weeks ago what I want for Christmas, I gave her a blank stare. I really hadn’t thought about it and couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head. As the weeks have crept by, and my wife has continued to ask the same question, I have struggled to come up with an answer. Last night, it hit me and now I know exactly what I want for Christmas. What do I want for Christmas you ask. Well, all I really want is for my daughter to be potty trained. That is it. Really. I am being honest here.
My wife and I have been struggling with potty training for months now, in fact I wrote a blog about it back in July. As much as I hate to admit it, we haven’t made much progress. I know what you are thinking: you started too early, she isn’t ready yet, or she will do it when she is ready. I agree that we probably started the potty training a little early. In our defense, we didn’t start the process – the daycare center did. Now, I am not passing the buck here. Daycare started the process, as they did with every child in her class, and they have done a great job. My daughter keeps her diaper dry when she is at daycare, even poops on the potty when she is there. Something about being at home though, makes her think all the potty training rules are out the window. They don’t seem to apply.
Now my wife and I have tried everything we can think of. We have gotten her princess underwear and explained that she gets to wear it when she goes to the bathroom on the potty. We take her to the bathroom every 30 minutes, we have tried pull-ups we ask her if she has to go, we have tried reverse psychology and told her we don’t want her to go on the potty, that she isn’t big enough yet. Nothing seems to work.
Occasionally, she will get our hopes up by telling us she has to go; sometimes she just does it by herself, only notifying us that she need help getting her diaper back on. It is almost as though she is just teasing us.
I have to admit, thinking about our “potty training drama” does not get me in the holiday spirit. So Santa, if you are listening, the only thing I want for Christmas is for my daughter to be potty trained. Do you think you can help me with that?