PEARL 45

Toilet Training

Brace yourselves for this one, folks: Toilet training is fun! “What?” you

shriek. “All that hassle just getting kids onto the potty chair? Then when
we get them there, you’d think they’d go, right? Think again. They sit
there for a few seconds and then stand right up, declare, ‘All done!’ and
head off to the corner of the living room and do their dirty work there.
Then there’s all that mess to clean up. Fun? It’s about as much fun as
toxic waste!”
Okay, okay, we lied. What we meant to say was, “Toilet training can be
fun — for us and for our kids.” But first, the facts:

•           Some    children    are naturally   easy    to  toilet  train   and really

train   themselves. Some    children    are very    difficult   to  train.

•           Children    differ  developmentally.    Some    are ready   at  age two,

while   others  may not be  ready   until   four    and a   half.

•           It  is  essential   to  keep    the atmosphere  around  toilet  training

fun and exciting    —   even    gleeful.

•           Because we  have    a   vested  interest    in  our kids’   potty   habits, it

is  all too easy    to  become  negative    and frustrated. We  really  do

want    them    to  go  into    the potty.

Keeping these facts in mind, we can approach toilet training not like
it’s some kind of torture we all must submit to several times a day but
with an enthusiastic and happy attitude. If we consider it a chore, our kids
will follow suit.
Bear in mind, there is an anatomical difference between boys and girls.