Potty Training - To Train or not to Train?
I have always found the notion of toilet training a toddler to
be a bit much. I didn't feel right about pushing my girls to do
something I felt would eventually come naturally. At three years
old, both my girls were potty trained ... not because I read
books and raced them to the porcelain each time I suspected they
should go. They knew what the potty was for. They knew when they
had to go. They'd figure it out on their own! Well, by golly,
they did!
Sure, we went a little stupid each time they were successful
users of the throne and they got rewards and accolades just like
the kids who were put through a regimen of potty training
tactics fit for Patton's soldiers. But we never made it a big
issue in our house and, consequently, it never became an issue.
I've known parents who felt they had to potty train their babies
at two or even younger to enroll them in preschool. We, instead,
found a great preschool that accepted kids in diapers. Their
philosophy was that the children who were still in diapers would
naturally learn to go on the potty by watching the other kids
go. I suppose it worked. I never really gave it much thought.
Potty eureka just sort of happened around here on its own.
I've heard that little girls are easier to potty train than
little boys. Any readers out there care to comment? We'd love to
hear from you, especially if you've trained both a boy and a
girl. As for bed wetting after four or five years of age, some
kids just can't help wetting the bed at night. It seems these
precious ones are not emotionally unstable, torn apart by low
self-esteem or any other old-wives-tale rationale. They simply
do not have the capacity to hold their urine and they are deeper
sleepers than most. If you have a child who cannot stay dry at
night, there is a remedy. Please talk to your child