A Potty Training Story


Potty training- those words can strike fear into the hearts of many. But, alas, it must be done somehow, someway.
August 23, 2005- I entered the house at 8:30 am. There were 2 trainers, 2 trainees and a baby present. We could handle this. Famous last words. The 2 children were sitting in the T.V. room- both were on a little potty, naked, with a cup of juice. They were being entertained by a video- “Once Upon A Potty.” They had been sitting there for about an hour with no excitement. Pretty easy so far for them- sit, watch a show, get to be naked- fun stuff for kids!
I put in a new show for them, and they continued to sit. They were getting a bit restless, so we decided to take them outside for a little while. We took the potty chairs with us, of course, and put some underwear on the children. We stepped onto the back porch, and immediately liquid poured out of one set of training pants. The other child lasted another minute or two- all the way to the swing set, in fact. Sorry little potty chairs- you will have to wait a bit longer to be useful here. The wet underwear came off, and the children were allowed to play in the yard, wearing only shirts. They were having a delightful time running around…. when it happened. What exactly was “it”? “It” was messy and smelly and ugly- “it” was POOP. I saw the child standing still, and he was smiling as he did the dirty deed. I yelled and ran into the house for some baby wipes. Perhaps I should have taken him with me, but I really did not want poop all over me. While I was running for the house, he and his sister were running through the yard laughing.
I re-entered the backyard armed with a box of wipes and help. Quickly scanning the totally fenced in yard, we realized that the children were gone. We called their names, thinking they must be hiding. Then suddenly we heard the laughter of children….coming from the neighbor’s yard. We glimpsed the open back gate and ran for it! The escapees were happily playing on the slide. We each grabbed a child by the hand and started walking, lecturing as we went. Anyone looking out of the neighbor’s window would have seen 2 women with 2 bare-bottomed children, quickly exiting the scene. We neglected to check the slide for signs of poop, but the pooping culprit was covered in it. Back in our own yard, we discovered more poop here and there in the grass. I went around with a plastic bag and baby wipes retrieving the mess so that no one would step in it.
We made an executive decision that outside time was over. The potties and the children were brought back inside to the T.V. room, and another video was inserted into the player. The juice cups were refilled, and we again had to wait. This time I had a difficult time keeping Mr. Pooper on the potty. He kept jumping off and running around. Then I discovered the floor in front of his potty to be quite damp- obviously I missed something. I went to get some carpet cleaner, and when I came back he was hiding behind a chair- laughing, of course. I went to pick him up and he started peeing on the floor. I managed to get him on the potty before he finished, and he looked down in amazement as the rest of his pee went into the potty.
By this time, little sister was getting tired of sitting. She got off the potty, walked though the living room, and left a big puddle on the wood floor. Thankfully it was now time for lunch. We put diapers on the children and took them to the kitchen. Now we just had to tell mom and dad about the success we had achieved. I looked down at the baby smiling happily in her high chair and breathed a sigh of relief- she would be in diapers for quite awhile yet. As for big brother and sister- well, I’m sure there is a Plan B.