Image by Wu’s Photo Land |
Hi, my name is Erin. I’m a humbled homemaker…and I’ve failed at potty training my child.
No, really–I have…or least that’s how I’ve felt over the past few years.
You see, my 4-year-old little girl still has frequent pee pee accidents.
For us, potty training has been a…battle. First of all, I think we started too early. Oh, she showed some signs of readiness, but we started right around the time she turned two–because “everyone else was doing it.”
(Didn’t my mama tell me not to jump off a bridge just because all my friends were as well?)
Image by Michael Bentle |
At the time, I was in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy with my second daughter. We made some progress during those short months before her birth.
But once she came…Little Girl regressed–big time. In fact, it was as if we had never started.
Oh, we tried to keep at it. My husband and I tried it all (or so we thought): stickers, chocolate, the 3-Day Method (although I don’t think I was as consistent or vigilant with it as this method requires), begging, bribing….You name it!
Image by abbybatchelder |
And nothing seemed to work. You see, Little Girl is a fireball. Her will is iron-clad. (I’m praying that God will mold that will into His will for her life…and her fiery personality will burn bright for the Lord one day!)
Basically, she knew this was one area that she has absolute control over. And there wasn’t anything Mommy and Daddy could do to make her go.
To top things off, Little Girl is highly sensitive to gluten, eggs and dairy. These foods wreak havoc on her digestive system. Now, I thought something was wrong…but her former pediatrician assured me that undigested food and chronic diarrhea can be “normal.”
The constant accidents on the floor were grueling. My husband and I said we should buy stock in carpet cleaner.
Image by abbybatchelder |
But when we discovered her food issues (with a new pediatrician) soon after she turned 3, the poop accidents stopped.
But Little Girl turned 4 two weeks ago…and she still has frequent urine accidents. We have an appointment with an urologist in a few weeks–just to rule out any obstructions in her system that may be affecting this.
So if I’ve had such a hard time potty training my daughter, why in the world did I host this series? Well, you may have noticed that nearly all of the series was guest posts.
Image by din! |
I named my blog The Humbled Homemaker because I’ve been truly humbleD in so many ways.
Potty training is no exception.
And I wanted to learn. I wanted us to learn together–as a community. Because I’m not an expert. I’m not perfect. And so many times–whether intentionally or not–I think we bloggers come across as know-it-alls.
Image by AD-Passion |
I’m here to tell you: I’m about as imperfect as it gets. Really.
And I’ve felt alone in this potty training journey. Could it be that I’m the only mother who’s had such a difficult time? Could there be others like me? Other children like mine–who refuse or just don’t “get” it until much later than the rest?
Yes! I’m here to tell you, yes! If you’ve had trouble potty training your children, you’re not alone.
Image by SashaW |
It’s time we mothers put aside all pretensions and pride and tell it like it is: Motherhood is humbling, but it’s through things like potty training that God sanctifies us and makes us realize that even in the “dirty” work, we must daily rely on Him alone.
Have you ever felt like a failure as a mother? Are there any other potty training “failures” out there?
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Pioneer Girl
I don’t have any children of my own, but I helped (aka: did all the work) potty train my niece, who I lived with at the time. It was…. interesting. We started too young, for the same reason as you, and ended up packing all the potty items (toilet, panties, chart, everything!) away for a good 6 months or more. When we pulled them back out and tried again, we were working under a time pressure. She was 3 and about to start preschool, but she was required to be potty trained to attend. It was a disaster right up until she went to school. She had less and less pee accidents, BUT she would always hide and poop in her panties. And I mean ALWAYS! Once she started preschool, though, I don’t know, something just clicked and she started going as if she knew how to all along.
Good luck on your potty training journey!! I promise it will be WAY worth it when it’s all said and done!!
Erin
Thanks so much for the encouragement! Our little girl will be in pre-k this fall, so I hope that will help! I bet you will be super prepared once you do have children!
Saira
With my oldest we started around 3, but with selling a house, moving, a hurricane, moving in with my parents (due to the hurricane), and finally moving into our own apartment again, he was just finally trained at 4. I thought I was an awful mother. My second, who turns 4 in a few weeks, isn’t interested in potty training in. the. slightest. bit. He got his long promised brownie for going poopoo on the poty (later realized how horrible that sounds) but he only went because he suddenly had to go while in the bath and was screaming to get out as fast as he could. I quickly put the little seat on the potty and placed him on it. He started to protest but it was too late. I made the biggest deal I could about how big he was and we made a new batch of brownies just for the occasion. Did it help? Absolutely not. So… maybe we’ll have him trained by 5. Hope you have a smoother trasition than we do. The plus side? His brother who is only 14 months younger than he is will probably train at the same time he does 🙂
Erin
Wow! This makes me feel better! We took her to the urologist on Tuesday. She said she basically just isn’t ready…and to not make a big deal about it but to put her on a strict, every-2-hr schedule! Hope both of ours potty train–for good–soon!! 🙂
Emily
Thanks for this post! It was as if I had written it myself! I hope it will just click soon with our child. Thanks for helping me feel like I’m not alone:)
Erin
You’re not alone! Hope it clicks soon!