*I have been reading lots of posts by people who are traveling long distances with toddlers for Thanksgiving, and every goddamned one of them sings the praises of the portable DVD player. This is filling me with holiday bitterness, because AD WILL NOT WATCH TV. Or DVDs. She is just not into it, man. HOW? WHY? Was she switched at birth like on that godawful episode of Private Practice? What can I do about this? I am not looking for an ego-stroke on her level of enlightenment, here. I am SERIOUS. I need the free babysitting. I better not have spawned some kind of...media elitist. She's probably a Republican, too. Oh pipe down, Republicans. I ain't mad atcha.
*Speaking of Republicans, BR recently did some finagling to his withholdings and blahblah so that he's receiving something like $10 or $20 more per paycheck after taxes. Proud as a peacock, he texted me the new amount, since he was in the cube farm at work. I texted back: WE R RICH. MAY HAVE 2 BCOME FISCAL CONSERVATIVES.
*As long as we are passive-aggressively bragging, AD has taken to telling us when she is peeing by grabbing her diaper and saying "PEE! PEE!". Or, if she is having "Nakey-Snakey" time (SHUT IT), she will come get us and point to where she's peed on the floor ("PEE! PEE!, etc.). So, um, what, if anything, do I need to do here? We bought one of those little potties and perched it merrily in the bathroom, but...that's about it. Let me be clear that I don't give a rat's ass about potty training at this early age. I sort of...wasn't ready for this bullshit yet, okay? My plan re: potty training was to wait until AD moved to the Twos room at daycare, where they take them to the potty on a regular basis, and then just...continue to do nothing until the situation resolved itself in my favor.
*AD's daycare had these little leaf cut-outs displayed near the door this morning, and what you were supposed to do was write something you were thankful for and then tape it up on the wall. So, I got out the Sharpie and wrote about how we were thankful for our health and our dogs and Starbucks Peppermint Mochas and whatnot. But when I went over to hang my leaf, I saw that everyone else had written THEIR CHILD'S NAME. GODDAMN IT! I am always blowing this shit. Of course, all I could do was add a tiny little "AD" to the corner like a lame-o, since the front desk lady had already seen me come up there to hang it. Sigh.
*Happy Thanksgiving! I plan to partake in my annual tradition of watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and of course the best Thanksgiving movie of all time, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Also, Iamthankfulforeveryonewhoreadsthis (/Hallmark Moment).
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Re: Potty training. I pretty much did what you said. I got a potty, asked her to sit on it, got a sticker chart and she got a sticker everytime she sat with her pants down (that was a big moment), whether or not she actually WENT, and then I kind of...um, let the peer pressure at daycare take care of the rest. But none of this really happened till she was 2 1/2.
Be thankful AD doesn't watch TV. She might later. Sophie watches now, but no more than one hour per day (MAX!)
If she's ready for potty training I say go for it. It's kinda weird to see all these three and four year olds still in diapers. Early potty training could be a sign of her geniusness! And think of all the money you'll save, you fiscal conservatives you ; )
I think it would have been a serious, serious struggle for my father not to disown me had I turned out a) republican or b) religious. Luckily for him, neither of those things happened.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
On the potty training, I am all about just laying off and letting them do it on their own.
We don't have nakey-snakey time at our house, but rather a time when Cait runs around naked, then turns around and shakes her butt at you and yells "STINKY BUTT!!" then runs away laughing hysterically.
And yes, the protable DVD playa saved our lives when we went on vacation. So I don't know....
***or portable. I'm not sure what protable is....could be a kick ass brand name
Get your ProTable DVD player here!!!
Mimi pretty much ignored the TV until she was 18 months old. For a couple of months after that she really only liked stuff with music, but now she is a full-fledged Dora the Explorer addict. There is hope for AD yet.
O really wasn't interested in TV either until he saw Finding Nemo and IT ALL WENT TO HELL. I have no clue on the potty training - we had the same 2 room plan and they pushed it too hard at school and he started boycotting the potty all together. I guess just take her to the potty after she tells you she peed? oh hell I don't know what I'm talking about
Ahhh, I am SO dabbing my eyes right now after reading that last paragraph ;)
Matthew did not "watch" TV much either until one day he just did. He would always ignore like he had something WAY more important to do and than we noticed he was interested and watching so perhaps that is where your kiddo is? We also offer a few shows that would definitely catch his attention (Bob the Builder for instance to further foster is crazed 2 yr obession will all things construction.) GAWD, I have way to much to offer on that topic...
I would continue to not worry about the potty until you are ready to be worried about it. When she is ready you will know it. She start spending gobs of time talking about the potty and also spending time in the bathroom. Hmm, that is helpful, right?
I love the leaf story - SO something I would do and also "FISCAL CONSERVATIVES" bah hahaha...
Another pointless comment brought to you by me! Happy Thanksgiving!
i cannot express how delighted i am when you post things like how you wrote you were thankful for starbucks and then realized you were supposed to write AD's name. i would be completely terrified of becoming a parent if i didn't know there were other people who behaved the way i KNOW i will.
i also love love love that you put her name all tiny in the corner. LOVE IT.
annnnnnd... my nephew has nakie time, too -- well, HAD, since he's six now and nakies needs to wear his batman tighties otherwise auntie steph feels like a lech.
happy thanksgiving!
SD has been doing the same thing, saying tee-tee and poo-poo. The other day she came and told me poo-poo then went and squated, with a book no less, did her business then came back grabbing her diaper and said poo-poo again. I think we are going to try the potty thing, but I don't even know what to do!
I feel your DVD and travel pain. My son is 4.5 and has hated the car since the day he was born. Wouldn't sleep even in it when he was an infant (unlike everyone else's babies). Unfortunately, our in-laws live 3 hours away and we visit all the time. I thought "well a DVD will take care of that problem!" Uh no, instead, turns out watching DVDs in the car makes my son get car sick. Sucks.
As for potty training, I mainly relied on the peer pressure at day care. When my son was 2.5, I took a long week-end, had him run around outside naked, and he was pretty much done in about a day. He was ready and all of his friends were doing it. When he's 15 I'm going to hate that, but at 2.5 it was awesome. So, basically I have no advice there and am just gassing on in your comments section. Sorry.
In my limited experience, I would say that potty training has little to do with the kid and A LOT to do with the parent/caregiver. As long as she's willing to sit on the potty, the rest is up to you. You have to be willing to sit her on there at least once an hour, sit with her while she's there and get more excited than you ever thought you could over getting little drops of pee in a plastic container. You have to be willing to keep this up until she gets it. I vote for waiting until she's in the 2's class!
That leaf thing is too funny. I think the other parents should be ashamed that they weren't a little more creative!
Some people worry about their kids being gay, others worry about them being Republicans. I think you can divide all of mankind into those two categories. =)
My 2 cents on the potty training issue is that you have the right idea- do nothing and wait for the situation to resolve itself in your favor.
Happy Thanksgiving!
My dad thought I was going to turn out to be republican at one point. He was greif stricken for weeks.
Also, "Nakey, Snakey"? Hahahhaaahh so cute!
-Where is your hand?
-Between two pillows.
-THOSE AREN'T PILLOWS!!!!!!!!!
Happy Thanksgiving, Tessie!
How old is this child? Oh shut UP, I read, I just...I looked at "about me!" You have no ages listed! I don't even know how old you are, except YOUNG. I went back a little bit in your archives and all I've got is in July you moved her from infant to Toddler so whatever, she's like 18 months? ANYHOO, 18 month olds who are in day care don't learn to watch t.v. because all the kid's shows are on during the day and your kid is busy doing mind-stimulating activities instead of staring at Dora the Explorer. Tivo some kid's shows for chrissakes and get her going so you can start using the portable DVD player in the car. Oh and fuck the potty training. She's too young. She's just smart. kthxbye
I hope it was obvious that I am just giving the Republicans shit. I know and love many Republicans. You can't swing a dead hippie without hitting a Republican here.
Jane-Heh. Yeah, she's not even 18 months, so I was sort of leaning toward fuck the potty training myself. Well played on the "she's just smart" part.
I would have failed at the leaf test, too.
Don't know how it is with girls (but will need to, soon)... with my boy, there was no point in potty training until at LEAST 2.5 yrs old. Of course I started around 18 months. Don't waste your time.
"can't swing a dead hippie..." HAAAAA! So true.
Hey - the Peppermint Mochas sprint to my mind immediately as well. But I did laugh out loud -- oh, wait -- I LOL when I read that! (Look at me, catching on.)
Also, telling the Republicans to pipe down? AWESOME. I am thankful for you, my dear!
Oh, the leaf story cracked me up!
Potty training is all relative to the child and their ability to either *want* to tolerate the training, or their ability to be bribed with toys and stickers. :)
Signed,
Your Childless Friend
Ha - we are alike! We watch Planes, Trains every Thanksgiving, and Christmas Vacation every day-after-Thanksgiving.
Enjoy!
Your potty training plan was exactly what I did with my oldest one. It worked for me. I then let the others pretty much train themselves, hence the diapers until age three. But somewhere in the past we've established that I am lazy and in fact it is a GOOD thing.
And I'd be SO with you on the leaf thing, EXCEPT I would have wandered on over to the wall PRIOR to writing anything on my leaf. Thus avoiding being the only mom who forgot she was thankful for her child. ;)
Have you tried the Baby Einstein DVDs--I know, I know, they suck ass. But they're different than cartoons so maybe she would like them (Melia likes the one that is basically just 30 minutes of animal footage). And they still have to be better than the Teletubbies and Blue's Clues crap I have to watch.
My daughter doesn't like TV either. Except for teletubbies, and even then she doesn't stay glued to the set for more than 10 minutes.
And, I am jealous that potty time has started to rear it's little head! Fun! Or not, I don't know, I've never done it. But kind of interesting, right?
I so wish Zoe didn't like TV. Whenever she sees it, she turns into a total stoner: staring, drooling, occasionally looking for a snack. Trust me, if it wasn't so scary, I would so love the free babysitting.
As far as potty training goes- My niece started saying "poo" at 13 months. So they started potty training with much fanfare and posturing. Today at 23 months, they are still potty training with all that entails--the endless trips to the bathroom, fights over wiping, and back and forth from underwear to diapers (I can't tell you the number of packages of diapers they've given me because SHE'S REALLY DONE THIS TIME.)
As for us, we're totally going with the whole peer pressure/school scenario. Also, we want to wait until Zoe is showing a lot more signs of being ready for independent toileting. I refuse to be the one to pick her up, take down her pants, bribe her to pee/poo, wipe her, clean it up, dress her again and do that over and over and over again. I'm at least waiting for her to be able to take down her own pants!
Reading your blog is like having a long distance friend. I love it. Your hysterical. Your take on things makes it sound as if you are now on child number 10. You're relaxed and not one of those anal, must be perfect "mommy nazis". Your daughter is very, very lucky (not to mention how lucky your husband is too). Have a great Thanksgiving.
jean
Oh come on, who isn't thankful for Starbucks Peppermint Mochas? If you ask me, those other moms went for the cheap and obvious answer, and you actually went for it. Also: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - awesome!
Potty training: We've let LD go it on her own (no pun intended). Diva started her potty seat at 18 months or so, but we're just now getting onto all-out housebreaking. We've never pushed, and I think that works best.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is the best movie EVAH! My dad is soooooo Chevy Chase. Especially the ladder scene where he can't decide which way to grip the ladder and staple guns himslef to the overhang. And this is how yours truly learned home improvement. Anyway, I'm raising my Wally World glass of eggnog to you and your this T-Day!
As someone who now believes she introduced the potty chair too early and is rueing the day, I vote for letting the situation resolve naturally! Now we just have to make two or five or ten or however many trips to the potty a day, wherein maybe -MAYBE- one trip will result in an actual deposit. It blows.
Watching Christmas Vacation is our tradition too. Except we cut it short this year to play with my dad's new Wii. Watching him punch the air in the boxing game was worth slightly breaking tradition.
"Go on in the kitchen and get you somethin' to eat!" Ohhh man. I LOVE Nat. Lampoon's Xmas Vacation. Love. With all my bitter little heart.
As for the toddler TV? FORCE THAT SHIT. I FORCED it on my kid and all she will watch in Barney. As soon as she showed interest in ANY show (i.e. Barney) I just played it over and over until she got the point. She wanted nothing to do with it for a long time. It took a few months. It is worth it. Even though Barney is annoying, he is nowhere NEAR as annoying as a whiny toddler.
can't really help you. I felt fairly confident in all areas of parenting except potty training. it pretty much kicked my butt.
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