Oh Crap! Potty Training

birth. Lately, I’ve seen more and more kids literally asking for a
diaper to poop in, as opposed to using the potty. Ten years ago, this
was nearly unheard of, but now it’s becoming increasingly common.
Let’s go further and examine the psychology of withholding (not
pooping) and its opposite, which is letting go (pooping). As far back
as mythology, withholding versus letting go is a very common theme.
Even today, that theme drives a lot of movie plots. So if pooping is
the Grand Pooh-Bah of letting go, why would a child withhold?
I think this is a very interesting question and worth examining.
We, as a society, are on edge. Our politics are damn near a reality
show. Our reality shows feed popular culture and promote wildly bad
behavior. Facebook has become a very real addiction. Online news,
the ability to Like and Share, blogs . . . all these things combine to
make for a fast-paced world. We as moms, in particular, are subject to
an onslaught of not only frightening news (kidnappings, etc.) but also
parenting media drama, like the infamous Time magazine and the
breast-feeding cover. All this media just serves to confuse us and
wound our intuition. It also makes us feel anxious, which our
children pick up on.
But media isn’t the only factor. Children are now a market, more
so than ever before. That is another big difference I see in comparing
a generation ago and now. Birthday parties are big events, and kids
get invited to a lot of them. I met a mom who couldn’t find a good
weekend to start potty training her two-year-old; six weekends in a
row were packed with back-to-back birthday parties. That’s too much.
Many, many parents have written me to ask if their child can go to
swim class or toddler gym or music class on the second day of potty
training. Working potty training into your toddler’s schedule is doing