“How come he’s not potty-trained at his age?”
“How come your son is still in diapers?”
“It’s about time he started using the toilet!”
I’ve heard thousands of comments like these over the past few years.
Yes, yes! I did say YEARS!
You see, my son has officially been potty-trained during the day for a week now. At the ripe old age of three years and seven months. I’ve been hearing those darn comments ever since he was a year and a half old... so if we do a quick calculation... for two years!
Can someone please explain to me how what my son wears under his pants is anyone’s business but his own or his parents’?!
It’s not like we haven’t tried!
Explain to me why we’re putting this much pressure on a little kid?
Do you care about my bank account?
Do you care about how many diapers I throw away?
Do you think it’s healthy to stress out a child this age just so he can become more independent?
My son got his first underwear so early that he never even wore them because by the time we got to that stage, they were already too small... The Paw Patrol potty has been sitting in the bathroom for so long that it’s had time to gather dust.
His grandmother has made such a big deal out of it that I haven’t even told her yet that FINALLY her grandson is now potty-trained. And you know what? I won’t call her to break the news, considering that this question has now become almost as common as the usual “How are you?” Just how much can it change your life to know that he’s finally made the toilet a part of his everyday routine?
Finally, the flu made its way into our lives during the second week of the holiday break. My son was so “out of it” (because there’s clearly no other word to describe his condition) that he didn’t pee in his diaper all night. In the morning, when he woke up with a 40° fever, he peed in his diaper while sitting on the couch. The diaper overflowed, and we had pee EVERYWHERE on the couch. It was at that exact moment that I looked into my big boy’s little glassy eyes and said, “Sweetheart, your pees are way too big for your diaper. Now you’re going to have to use the toilet because Mommy doesn’t want to buy another couch, do you understand?” And that was the end of daytime diapers!
Yeah, I’m really scared he’ll have an accident when it’s not time! You know! In the car seat on the way to daycare, while we’re grocery shopping, or just while he’s watching his show on the couch. I have to ask him, “Do you need to go?” at least 30 times a day. At that point, if he needs to go, he’ll get up and go. Period.
So, I won’t be thanking the people who tried to pressure my little guy to grow up faster. I won’t thank the people who bought him underwear too early, as if they were the ones who were going to get him potty-trained with their “SUPER UNDERWEAR BUY.” I won’t thank the people who’ve asked me, “Is he potty-trained yet?” 173,538,264 times over the years.
The one and only person I’ve thanked and congratulated is my son, after every time he pees or poops in the toilet. Because now he’s super proud of himself and looks forward to his Canadian Tire coins after every little victory. Because he’s proud to say that next time, HE’S the one who’s going to pay the lady at the register!
So, please, give us a break with your damn social pressure. As if there were a specific age, written in the bible of “How a Child Works.” Let them be kids and develop at THEIR own pace, not yours.
The next time someone asks me a question about my son’s potty training, I’ll start by asking about the potty training of the person who asked the question!!!