Potty Talk

All things potty are popular topics around the Horvath household these days. Being a girl, I never really pondered what it was going to take to potty train a little boy. Well girls (I am thinking specifically of Silas and Jackson's mommys here) just get ready. Because I know that you girls like things to be clean, and let me tell you, potty training a little boy is not!

So Seth used to be a "sitter", and that is when things were relatively uneventful. As long as he was properly positioned, the pee stayed down in the toilet and things were all good. Well, then his Daddy introduced him to the world of standing up, which granted, had to eventually happen. I mean, I am pretty sure that there aren't any grown men who exclusively sit...but, it is a much cleaner and uneventful scenario. Because when boys stand up instead of sitting down, this whole thing of aiming comes into play. And let me tell you, we do not have an aimer on our hands.

Seth doesn't stand still well...ever. Anywhere. And this includes in front of the potty. So we are constantly fighting against him doing his little dance, turning around to look at other things, trying to put his finger in the pee stream, or just laughing hysterically and slouching into a pile on the floor (not kidding) while he is peeing.  So most of the time, I am literally partially holding him upright AND helping him aim.   Let me tell you some of the fun times I have experienced over the last couple of weeks:

1.) We were at Costco, and Seth LOVES to use every public restroom we are near.  It is like pulling teeth to get him to stop what he is doing at home to go potty, but out in public, he is on the look out for "the sign"
Well, maybe not THAT sign, but a sign that he easily recognizes as the potty.
I had Caleb and a cart full of stuff, so we all went into the large handicap stall. I get him all into position, and then I suddenly (and belatedly) realized that the toilet was too tall.  So I quickly start aiming higher, but from the angle he was at, it was either going to hit the toilet directly in front of him or go so high that it was hitting the wall and everything around it.  He was pretty excited about what was going on, while I was mortified as pee was going EVERYWHERE and I couldn't do anything about it.  I mean, have you ever tried to get a 3 year old to stop going mid-pee?  Not happening.  Luckily, there was no one else in the bathroom at the time to hear the ruckus.  I then had to attempt to clean up the pee with toilet paper...it was just a truly disgusting situation all around.

2.)  The front room in our house is Steve's room.  It is where he teaches guitar lessons and where he keeps all his gear...guitars, amps, pedals, etc.  Both of the boys LOVE to climb on all his stuff.  Caleb loves to stand on top of the amps and turn all the knobs, and Seth loves to stand on the guitar cases and look out the front window.  Well, Seth was whimsically gazing out the front window, lost in 3-year old thoughts, when suddenly, he got that feeling he had to go - and did.  So he peed all over Steve's guitar case, which Steve actually handled really well.   Now when Seth comes in the front room, he looks at the case and states loudly, "No pee-pee on Daddy's guitar case!"

3.) I picked Seth up from pre-school yesterday and there was a note in his backpack from his teacher Mrs. Carrero. It reads,

"Courtney - Hello! I am happy to report that Seth stayed dry today and was independent at the potty."

Interjection: I am not sure what "independent at the potty" means, but it sounds sort of scary in Seth's case. Continue on...

"However, his aim is an area we may need to work on. I wasn't very helpful with my efforts...maybe Steve could show him/teach him how to improve on that? Thanks, Kelly."

His aim is an area we "may" need to work on???? That was a really nice way of saying he doesn't aim at all. In fact, he won't even put his hands down there. I thought it was pretty funny that she thought we might just be slacking off in that area and NOT showing him how to do it for some crazy reason. Like, we enjoy having pee all over our bathroom and every public restroom we frequent.

And my last comment on this subject - a movie recommendation. Steve's Mom gave us a DVD that she had used with her other grandsons in California, and it really is a great movie to show little boys who are learning about the potty.

Caleb loves it, too. And I am really hoping that by the time it is Caleb's turn to potty train, Seth will be such an expert that he will take over the duties and teach his little brother. Hey, I can dream, right?