I have always found the notion of potty training a young child to be too much. I didn’t feel right pressuring my daughters to do something that I felt would eventually come naturally. By age three, both of my daughters were potty-trained…not because I read books and rushed them to the china whenever I suspected they should. They knew what the chamber pot was for. They knew when they had to go. They would figure it out on their own! Well, by God, they did!

Sure, we got a little stupid every time they were successful throne users and garnered rewards and accolades just like the kids who were put through a regimen of potty training tactics suitable for Patton’s soldiers. But we never made it a big deal in our house and consequently it never became a problem.

I have met parents who felt they had to potty train their babies at age two or even earlier to enroll them in preschool. We, on the other hand, found a great preschool that accepted children in diapers. His philosophy was that children who were still in diapers would naturally learn to go to the bathroom by watching other children do it. I guess it worked. I never really thought about it much. Potty eureka just happened around here on its own.
I’ve heard that little girls are easier to potty train than little boys. Any readers out there want to comment? We’d love to hear from you, especially if you’ve trained both a boy and a girl.

As for bedwetting after the age of four or five, some kids just can’t help but wet the bed at night. It seems these precious ones aren’t emotionally unstable, wracked by low self-esteem, or any other old wives’ tale logic. They simply do not have the ability to hold urine and are deeper sleepers than most. If you have a child who can’t stay dry at night, there is a remedy. Talk to your child’s pediatrician.

Copyright – 2000-2005 – Rexanne Mancini