It’s All in the Aim - A Potty Training Success Story

I was proud of my son who’d gotten the hang of potty training at 18 months.  By 22 months, he was a pro!  We were even leaving the house in our undies, taking the extra time to stop in the public bathrooms (or the secluded tree at the park) so he could go when he had to.  Now he’s two years old, and one day I couldn’t believe what I was seeing when I turned the corner into the kitchen and saw my little boy standing there, naked from the waist-down, with slightly bent knees, precisely peeing into the Mega Blok toy he held out in front of him.

   I laughed and told him he shouldn’t do that, that we only pee in the potty…but secretly, I was proud.  Until the next day, that is, when I caught him aiming for his beach pail he’d purposely placed on the floor.  This time, I had to act stern and guide him to the potty.  Over the course of the next week, probably no thanks to my initial reaction, I caught him aiming for all sorts of toys with a look of pride on his face.  Funny as it was to me the first couple of times, it was starting to grow old.  I had a serious talk with him, as serious as a talk can be at 24 months, and in just a few days, he was focused on the potty again.  Almost three now, he still occasionally pulls down his pants and smile…waiting for a reaction.