Before Kids I never understood why parents of young children were so obsessed with toileting. I often observed the excruciating detail with which they would discuss their babies’ bowel movements. Of course, all this changed when Big Sis was born and DSO and I found ourselves happily discussing nappies (and their contents) in great detail and at great length. What we didn’t realise was that it doesn’t end once they are no longer babies!
With a couple of kids in the preschooler and toddler age group the toilet becomes the heart of the household! Forget the kitchen, it’s the bathroom where we gather as a family these days!
Little Bro is particularly interested in the mechanics of the little room and likes to identify what is happening and play any small part he’s allowed - handing you the toilet paper for example. Since he will be toilet training in the not too distant future every parent knows that you must greet this ‘interest’ with cheerfulness and detailed explanation!
Big Sis is at a different stage. She’s been toilet trained for ages but requires encouragement to ‘develop good toileting habits’, as they say. I’m not sure exactly what they mean by this - but I figure trying to get her to wash her hands and go before we leave the house are a good start.
Little Bro likes to be part of these exchanges as well, so often there we are, all three of us gathered around the toilet discussing whether we’ll use the ‘little person inlay’ or Big Sis will brave the ‘grown up bowl’ and whether we are expecting number 1 or number 2. Little Bro will assist by bringing in a step which allows him a better view over the bowl and we can all fight over who flushes. Little Bro often surrenders the step to Big Sis so she can reach the sink and wash her hands.
There’s no privacy for me either as invariably both kids will come and have a bit of a chat about proceedings as soon as I enter the bathroom. There are lots of questions, ranging from the specific to the general. An explanation of where the poo goes once it’s flushed is often requested, as is a detailed discussion of what happens if the baby in my tummy wants to go to the toilet. I do admit to feeling some envy of DSO at these times - I imagine him luxuriating in the privacy of a corporate bathroom! All marble and clean white hand towels!
Given this background I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised the other morning when Big Sis went to work with a pen and some paper, delivering a piece to DSO, myself, Little Bro and Dog.
“They are tickets!”, she proudly announced.
“Are you doing a show?”, I innocently enquired.
“No”, she replied, “they are tickets to my poo!”, and headed off to drag some chairs into the bathroom.
June 28th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
See this is what you get when you let a small child play with a Donald Trump doll - a marketing genius before the age of four. Big Sis, can I employ you to help me with my business?
June 28th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
I hadn’t thought of it along those lines - Big Sis selling snow to the Eskimos!
June 28th, 2007 at 11:28 pm
This story gave me a good chuckle, cause it’s true. Thank you,
Your daughter is a genious by the way.
June 29th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Isn’t it spooky that the Google ads are so tailored to content that the two ads appearing adjacent to this post are:
a) Toilet training Boys; and
b) Toilet train your child.
Do you think it will read this comment and produce an advertisement for tailored Google advertisements?
June 29th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Mmmm. I always worry about the tags I add to my entries in case I get bought up in unexpected and unsavoury google searches! I bet some entries would get some ‘interesting’ adsense advertisements!
July 2nd, 2007 at 8:49 am
HA HA HA! Seeing as the number 1 reason people get to my blog is by doing a search for “poop,” I can totally relate!!
July 2nd, 2007 at 11:42 am
Oh lord, that’s priceless! Too cute and too funny
July 2nd, 2007 at 11:53 am
LOL! I totally know what you mean. It’s those quiet restroom moments that I treasure most on my layovers!
July 2nd, 2007 at 6:45 pm
[…] The topic today (like everyday) is functions of the bowel. Down with the kids presents the importance of the subject matter in You Could Sell Tickets… […]
July 3rd, 2007 at 9:20 am
Cute! We’re in the middle of potty training my son, and I’ve been learning that little boys do start certain body part jokes very early on. My son isn’t even all that verbal and he’s figured out out to make the occasional joke.
July 3rd, 2007 at 1:35 pm
That is so FUNNY! I remember those days.
My kids are 6 and 9. Now it to get it flushed!
July 4th, 2007 at 9:43 am
I almost cried with joy when I read your blog on tickets to poo.
I thought I was a bad parent. Big baby brother, aged 21 months, follows like he never does if I am headed to the loo. I thought this was inappropriate and downright rude. At the mere sight of me headed to the loo, he chases after me with gusto, shouting loudly, “poo”, “poo”, “poo”. It does not stop there. There is no privacy, as you say. He insists upon standing between my legs so he can get a better view. He also likes to see “before” and “after”. I have to show him a clean bowl and then a not so clean bowl. To add insult to injury, he actually does a very convincing grunt in support. He can grunt with the best of them to no result. He sat on the potty yesterday and grunted appropriately but … nothing. He can reach flush and little baby sister, aged 5 months, can’t stand yet, so there is no competition. The trouble is that he tries to flush all his toys too. This has lead to many stand offs as I cannot in all good consciousness return attempted flushed items without adequate sterilization (considering they go in with it!).
Every time I head to change little baby sister’s nappy, big baby brother accompanies, shouting “poo”, “poo”, “ poo”. I was wondering if he would notice she has different equipment. Not yet as he is so focused on what is in the nappy rather than anatomy.
Too funny. Here I am thinking I am a bad parent but in actual fact, I am potty training by leading by example. A bit too close for comfort.
July 4th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
I’m with you Belinda! All those toddler manuals gloss over the “interest in bodily function phase” but don’t hint at exactly how intense it can get!