One of my kids was not easy to toilet-train. But, then again, I didn't press the issue. I never wanted toileting to become about me forcing her to control her body before she was ready... and a very wise mother once told me not to sweat it, since there was almost no chance that she'd be going to Kindergarten in diapers!! And she was right, in fact.
But now I have a new angst over toileting issues. Apart from the fact that one of my girls will probably pass out if she has to use a squat toilet in China (the other one is HOPING to find one- LOL!- they truly are "chalk and cheese"), I am trying to prepare myself for the toileting issues that an almost-3-year-old who has been wearing split pants most of his life might have.
A friend of mine who adopted a toddler told me that he was deathly afraid of a Western toilet. Someone suggested that she let him "squat" on top of it, and this is how he went to the potty for weeks before he was happy with the situation. It makes perfect sense, really. To someone who has never used a Western toilet, they must be quite strange and a little scary (in the same way that a "bidet" is to me!!). Think of it... a big white porcelain bowl that sucks things away... you can almost hear the kid thinking "...and you want me to SIT AND DO WHAT on that!?!"
Advice from any and all experts in this area would be very welcomed!!
7 comments:
I'm sure a toilet is quite an intimidating scene! Good luck, no advice here, but I'm sure you'll get some good words of wisdom from others.
Wow, you're bringing back memories! I was terrified of the flush, especially loud, public toilets, until I was pretty old - kindergarten, at least. I remember leaving the bathroom and getting some distance and my mom flushing. I'm sure it was a joy for her. Escalators were another trauma. That went on for an embarrassingly looooong time. I guess I was a fearful kid.
I think it makes perfect sense for him to squat standing on top of the toilet seat, then letting him stand on dry land and let him flush (if he wants to). One of my favorite memories from traveling in Sumatra was seeing sandy footprints on top of a western toilet seat - it certainly made sense to whoever was there before me.
DH's 15 year old has already informed us that she refuses to use a squat toilet - could be an interesting 2 weeks!
Our son from Russia was terrified of the toilet also. They used little chamber pots in the orphanage.
After a total scream fest and me going out and buying a cute little Russian chamber pot (that didn't work either. I thought I had scarred him for life.) I was glad I had packed some pull ups JIK. He regressed a little for a while, but that actually helped with bonding.
I found this post interesting as my boy is still not 100% trained and I am insist that he is before we travel.
Our twins were trained in China at 10months using the 'squat' position.
Well, they were too tiny and weak to stand (could not even hold their own head up), but if we hovered them in the reverse chair position (legs bent over our forearms, with them facing away from us over the bowl) then they would pee and poo in the crapper on command.
Easy as pie at 15lbs. At 25 lbs, my back said no way, and we had to put them on the toilet. They freaked and regressed for months, and didn't use potty or toilet. They were back in diapers and we were no further ahead.
So much work for nothing.
Post a Comment