Colleen decided it was time to start potty training Julia. Juju has expressed an interest, but lacked the focus to follow through.
That’s not entirely fair; Julia is two years old. A two year old lacks certain requisite personal qualities to succeed: an attention span, fine motor skills, and the realization that not everyone smells of piss.
I digress.
Initial forays were met with frustration, the liberal use of toilet paper, jaundiced socks, and little more. This time was different.
Colleen pressed the Potty Watch into service. For the uninitiated the Potty Watch is an egg timer that you strap to your toddler. Its purpose is to remind the trainee that it is time to void, regardless of whether one needs to or not. It is the pattern of behavior that we are concerned with here, not actual urges. The theory yields results, tangible results. The lesson comes at a price.
The Potty Watch emits a grating, woefully off key selection from the toddler canon. Somehow, against all reasonable logic and odds, it works. I continue to be amazed at the progress she makes with (and without) the watch. Her sense of pride and ownership are palpable. Julia completes the job at hand, looks into the abyss, and exclaims:
I magic.