Photo by Brian
Everyone seems to have their own, often strongly-held opinion when it comes to potty training.
Whether it's infant training, learning your child's cues, or which season is best to train in--you can find research and how-to's that will keep you busy for a long time.
I felt completely overwhelmed by the idea of potty training.
Maybe it's because I had two babies at the same time (Jonathan and Elijah are only seven months apart).
Maybe it's because the whole subject made me out of control.
But for whatever reason, my attempts to train Jonathan at the age of two were not working out. He was very against it, and I was very frustrated.
Many times I wondered, "Is there another way to do this?"
There is--because I did it successfully. Jonathan and Elijah were both trained, at the same time.
It only took a day and a half before they had the process completely down--without any accidents.
But there is another side to the story--they were three and a half and three-years-old at the time.
You may think this doesn't sound ideal, and it might not be the right path for you.
At the time I felt a lot of peer pressure, and dealt with guilty I'm-not-a-good-mom type feelings. But looking back, I am so glad we waited and potty trained when we were all ready.
My parenting philosophy focuses on opening doors for my children, but not pushing them through. I've found patience on my part, in this and many other areas, works better than force.
So if early potty training is working well for you and your child--perfect.
But if not, know there is an alternative. They won't be wearing diapers to college (I comforted myself with that thought many times).
There are many qualities that make a bad mother--but when you potty train is not one of them.
Please share your potty training story with us--let's give ideas for those mamas dealing with this issue.
