Intentional Toileting

This is the big summer for S. He is now potty training.

I'm taking a different approach this time. I'm beginning by reading him books about going potty on the toilet, talking about body parts when he's in the bath (he already realizes that girls don't "have one") and mentioning when changing his diaper that it's cleaner to go in the toilet. I'm just trying to make it part of his vocabulary, to infuse it into our life before he's expected to give it a shot. His interest is slowly growing. His potty chair is in the bathroom but he says "it's broken" because the batteries need to be replaced before it will play music. All in good time. Just building the anticipation for him.

For the record, I am horrible at this. J wasn't deemed trained until he was almost 5 and B didn't stop having accidents until his fourth summer. I am nervous to say the least. (What if he doesn't get it before we start school again in August?)

I do this in the summer for a few reasons: Because during the school year I just can't take the time to stop every 20 minutes to take him. Because if it's necessary to go without pants for a while then doing this at colder times of year won't really work. Because this year we don't have any (more) big road trips planned. Because I am more relaxed.

In addition to this, I want to spend some intentional time with him in some learning activities. Letters, numbers, colors, shapes. Stuff he can develop in his head while his other end is developing its own... stuff. That's holistic education at its finest right there.