Is it that time already????

There is something dooming over the Cartside household. It's been coming for a long time but somehow I thought that ignoring it may be a rather clever idea and work just fine for us. However, as usual, it's not mummy or daddy who make the decisions here, draw up the rules and control the timing. No. It's a 2 year old with unbound energy levels who never sits still and who just happens to have a bucketloads of ideas of her own.

Cubling doesn't like to be left by herself in a room. Nothing new there, she never did, and so she'll follow me everywhere, convenient or not. This has always included the toilet, with half hearted efforts on my side to explain that really, there was no need to accompany me because I was well able to do a pipi and a poopoo all by myself, being a big girl. Recently though, it's been rather amusing: As soon as the flush is administered, I get my gold star: "good boy mummy!". There are no boys at the childminder, so she must have picked the phrase up from her auntie, who currently happens to be potty training Cubling's 2 1/2 year old cousin.

Being compliant, I asked her if she would like to do her pipi and her poopoo in her potty. The answer was a definite "no" and "nenene".

Well, that was 3 weeks ago.

For the last week or so, there was much huffing and puffing about sore Popo (bum), Popo sauber (clean bum!) and nappy off, accompanied by much whining. There is only so much whining I can take after a long day at work, and there was heaps of it. Now, I really and truly do not want to start potty training, nappies are great, and seeing the number of accidents and amount of washing in Cubling's cousin's house, there is nothing enticing about the idea. Did I say who rules the Cartside home?

So last night I relented. Nappy off. Cubling sits on potty. For 2 seconds. Up. Down. Up. Down. Carries potty to next room. Puts potty on head (yuck!), proudly declaring it to be a "hat". Takes it upstairs, then downstairs. Momentarily her attention is diverted to another toy, there is a splash of wee, Cubling doesn't like it at all, cries, mummy gets potty, Cubling sits. For 2 seconds. Up. Down. Up. Down. Carries potty to next room. Puts potty on head (yuck!), proudly declaring it to be a "hat". Takes it upstairs, then downstairs. Momentarily, her attention is diverted to another toy. She squats (not on the potty) ...

Need I say more?
She helpfully mumbled something about "doggy!" "doggy poo doing!", slightly forgetting that she's not actually a dog. Although the similarities were striking. Of the sausage, not her.

This is followed by explaining that it would be better to squat on potty (after cleaning that is) and sure enough, she does, for 2 seconds, gets up, looks at it, and cheers "yay!!!", runs off. Not a drop in the potty.

The repeat was on tonight (without the accidents thank goodness for that).

I really and truly don't want to potty train yet. My plan was to wait until she was sure to be able to do it and then go for it in a week or so, short and sweet. But now that she can take off her clothes, and her nappy, and doesn't want her nappy on, what say have I in the matter?

photo by: kyz.