Rehab Monday

 
Well, I'm back for another week of Bad Mommy Rehab...here to tell you of a recent success in my role as mom.

Potty training.  It can be a daunting topic.  As with nearly all aspects of parenting these days, there are two thousand and one books out there about how to train your child to control their bodily waste.  Well, one thing I learned in the early days of being a mom is that I don't do so well with topical "how-to" parenting books.  They tend to be written in a "this is the only right way to guarantee the proper outcome for all children" kind of way.  Talk about inviting a sense of guilt and failure!  Geesh!  So, I am so very proud to report on how I went about potty training Hannah...without consulting a single book or website on the topic.

Not only did I refrain from reading pressure filled potty training literature in recent months, I was also intentional not to play the comparison game.  Of course, some of Hannah's friends were trained by 18 months, and my neighbor friend was emphatic about the fail-proof approach that worked with her daughter the week of her second birthday.  Typically, those kind of stories would make me feel pressure to "measure up" with my child.  But not in this instance.

With regards to potty training, I chose (with the encouragement of my husband) to trust my gut...to trust that I knew myself, my circumstances, and my daughter better than anyone.  I decided to choose our own timing and our own approach.  I mean, as long as she isn't wearing diapers to Kindergarten, we're okay, right?  Well, what do you know?  I'd say she is now fully potty trained, not to mention, so proud of herself.  And it happened incredibly quickly and naturally (and well before Kindergarten)!  There was no butting of stubborn wills, no fretting or stressing on my part, and virtually no potty accidents once we went for it.  It has been such a rewarding experience and an unexpected gift from God...affirming that my mommy intuition can be trusted.

So, here's to trusting my mommy gut and to one less child in diapers.  Cheers!