when they need it. Right now, they’re in limbo; we know they aren’t
really big kids, but they aren’t babies either. To this day, Pascal asks
for “baby love” (actually, he calls it Mama Love, but it means the
same). It lasts about thirty seconds, and then he’s on to bigger and
better “big boy” things. Still, it gives us that infusion of love and
snuggles we both crave.
So you’ve set a date, ideally giving yourself a two-week head start.
You’ve put the potty chair away for now. You’ve cleared your social
calendar for a week. And you’ve planted the idea, super casual-like,
that you are tossing diapers out.
Now . . . are you done, done? With diapers, I mean?
This is an added section of the book since the first edition because it
didn’t used to be such a huge problem, largely because we didn’t used
to have such huge online communities. What’s the problem? Self-
doubt. On the surface, it doesn’t appear to be a problem, but in
reality, it’s the worst kind. It chips away at this process and makes it
nearly impossible to potty train. I can always tell when parental self-
doubt is the niggling issue underneath a child who “just doesn’t seem
to be getting it.” There are all manner of problems that can arise
when you are teaching your child this new skill, but “just not getting
it” shouldn’t be one of them. If dogs have the capacity to house train
in under a week, surely human children can do this as well. If you
find yourself saying—or maybe you’ve already attempted potty
training and have said—“He’s just not getting it,” chances are self-
doubt is your problem.