As new mom's, I think somewhere in all of our minds, we have this vision of our relationship with our children. Soft light, floaty clothes, big smiles and laughs. We romp and play with our children and hug and snuggle and have kisses and life is perfect. Then, we have days like today, when my son and I seemed destined to get on each others nerves!
We had a visit to Dad's house this week, which went well. My son was gone an extra day, but it seemed to work better, almost, so we'll see how things continue to go. Anyway, we started the morning off on a very bad note. My son broke the Nintendo Wii. I know he didn't do it on purpose, and I should have paid more attention to him when he kept saying, "Mommy, DVD! DVD!" Because he knows how to use the DVD player I just assumed, VERY WRONGLY, that he wanted a movie in. So I said, go ahead and put it in if that's what you want to do. I realized just seconds too late that his "DVD" was actually a Wii game disc, and that there was already one in there. The slight grinding noise that the console made didn't improve matters. So now, when I get around to it, I have $100.00 worth of repair to do. Whoo whoo!
I did my best to just let it go, because he is only 3 and didn't break it with any malicious intent. So I thought a change of venue would be good. Time to go upstairs! Unfortunately, upstairs wasn't much better. "Mommy, juice! Juice, please! Juice me please!" All of it said in this pitiful, whiny voice. Ok, juice, no problem. So I got out the juice we just picked up at the grocery store and asked him to pick. So he did. I poured him his cup of juice, he took one drink, and didn't want it anymore. He wanted the other one. He whined and cried and screamed, and even got one spank for not listening and all to no avail.
It was like this all day! Whatever he got, he wanted to opposite, even if he asked for it in the first place. Some days, mother and child just will not get along. I think I knew that somewhere in the back of my head, but it was never really driven home until today! So what do we do? How, as single parents, do we handle those days when our nerves seem exceptionally shorter than normal? Even recognizing that I was on a very short rope today, I took more time outs for myself that usual, but I just couldn't seem to get my attitude turned around. I have realized though one thing that does work really well for me just about all the time. When the going gets tough, the tough get tickled! I grab my son and hold him in my arms and make funny noises and faces and tickle him. Most of the time, this leaves the two of us so distracted from what was making us grumpy that it just passes right by.
How do you deal with days like these? I would love to hear from you!
Take care,
Laura
Friday, July 24, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
It's Potty Time
Hello all! I have decided to do my first review, and we'll be looking at potty books. We have taken a break from potty training at our house, as my son is very anti potty right now. However, we may be making some progress. I bought some of the cool alert Pull-Ups, hoping they would help my son recognize that he is peeing, because I don't think he knows he is right now. He still could care less about the fact that he's going to the bathroom, but he does want to wear "Mater" and "Queen". He loves the move Cars. I have been telling him that if he wants to wear Mater and Queen, he has to sit on the potty. No luck yet, as he will just tell me "No potty. All done potty." But I think he's getting antsy to wear them.
So, I have three books that I would like to share with you. I think they are all good, and they each have something a little different about them that may work better or differently than then others. The first book is called It's Potty Time from Smart Kids Publishing. They have a separate versions for boys and girls. It also features a button you can push that will play the sound of a potty flushing and a child giggling. It's a board book with very nice child friendly illustrations. I chose this book because one of the pictures shows a little boy standing in front of the toilet with his pants pulled down while he pees. I thought this would be helpful for my son, because he is a very visual learner. This book also focuses on the sensations of being clean and dry, versus dirty and wet in diaper. It has a success chart in the back where you can use a washable or dry erase marker to check off the steps of going potty. Using the potty, flushing the toilet and washing your hands. You can see the book by clicking on the following link.
http://books.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=it%27s+potty+time+for+boys+potty+training+made&box=It%27s%20po&pos=0
The second book is Once Upon a Potty by Alona Frankel. This book also comes in separate versions for boys and girls. I chose this book for my son not only because I have heard very good things about it, but again for a visual component. In the boy version, the illustration is anatomically correct and I thought this would help my son connect the idea of going to the bathroom with his penis. I am not a big fan of the words used in this book. The author chose to use "WeeWee" and "PooPoo", and I prefer Pee and Poop. However, in all of the books, it is recommended that you substitute the words you use if you don't like the ones the author is using. The other possible downside to this book is that the potty they use in the illustrations looks more like an old time chamber pot than a typical modern day potty chair. This could potentially be confusing to some children. However, I think it may be a cultural thing, as the author lives in Israel. All in all though it is a very good book. It can also be purchased with an accompanying miniature potty chair and doll, so that you children can teach the doll how to use the potty while reading the book. You can view the book at the following link.
http://books.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=once+upon+a+potty&box=once%20upon&pos=2
The last book is called You Can Go to the Potty by William Sears, M.D., Martha Sears, R.N., and Christie Watts Kelly. This book is by far my favorite. The beginning of the book contains Notes for Parents and Caregivers, and covers lots of good information about the potty training process and how your child's development goes along with the process. They even talk about some things that I had never heard of, such as a child being afraid of flushing their pee or poop because they see it as a part of themselves disappearing. Throughout the book there are little sidebars called Answers for the Very Curious that answer various questions about what pee and poop are, where they come from, why boys and girls have different body parts, etc. This book is also very well illustrated. The back of the book contains more references for parents, other books, websites, etc. that may be helpful. The authors of this book are also proponents of Attachment Parenting. I had never heard of this school of parenting before, but I feel that for the most part it makes sense. However, if you don't agree with this style of parenting, this book may not be for you. You can view the book by clicking on the following link.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/You-Can-Go-to-the-Potty/William-Sears/e/9780316788885/?itm=1
All of these books are great, and I have been reading all of them to my son, when he's in the mood to talk about the potty. I hope that this information can be of some help to those of you trying to navigate this treacherous potty waters.
Lastly, there is another website, sponsored by Pull-Ups, called the Potty Project. They are following 6 families, 3 boys and 3 girls, and their journey through the potty training process. You can see their struggles, successes and techniques at http://www.pull-upspottyproject.com/?WT.mc_id=PUPPG2
I wish all of you potty training moms much luck and success!!
Laura K.
So, I have three books that I would like to share with you. I think they are all good, and they each have something a little different about them that may work better or differently than then others. The first book is called It's Potty Time from Smart Kids Publishing. They have a separate versions for boys and girls. It also features a button you can push that will play the sound of a potty flushing and a child giggling. It's a board book with very nice child friendly illustrations. I chose this book because one of the pictures shows a little boy standing in front of the toilet with his pants pulled down while he pees. I thought this would be helpful for my son, because he is a very visual learner. This book also focuses on the sensations of being clean and dry, versus dirty and wet in diaper. It has a success chart in the back where you can use a washable or dry erase marker to check off the steps of going potty. Using the potty, flushing the toilet and washing your hands. You can see the book by clicking on the following link.
http://books.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=it%27s+potty+time+for+boys+potty+training+made&box=It%27s%20po&pos=0
The second book is Once Upon a Potty by Alona Frankel. This book also comes in separate versions for boys and girls. I chose this book for my son not only because I have heard very good things about it, but again for a visual component. In the boy version, the illustration is anatomically correct and I thought this would help my son connect the idea of going to the bathroom with his penis. I am not a big fan of the words used in this book. The author chose to use "WeeWee" and "PooPoo", and I prefer Pee and Poop. However, in all of the books, it is recommended that you substitute the words you use if you don't like the ones the author is using. The other possible downside to this book is that the potty they use in the illustrations looks more like an old time chamber pot than a typical modern day potty chair. This could potentially be confusing to some children. However, I think it may be a cultural thing, as the author lives in Israel. All in all though it is a very good book. It can also be purchased with an accompanying miniature potty chair and doll, so that you children can teach the doll how to use the potty while reading the book. You can view the book at the following link.
http://books.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=once+upon+a+potty&box=once%20upon&pos=2
The last book is called You Can Go to the Potty by William Sears, M.D., Martha Sears, R.N., and Christie Watts Kelly. This book is by far my favorite. The beginning of the book contains Notes for Parents and Caregivers, and covers lots of good information about the potty training process and how your child's development goes along with the process. They even talk about some things that I had never heard of, such as a child being afraid of flushing their pee or poop because they see it as a part of themselves disappearing. Throughout the book there are little sidebars called Answers for the Very Curious that answer various questions about what pee and poop are, where they come from, why boys and girls have different body parts, etc. This book is also very well illustrated. The back of the book contains more references for parents, other books, websites, etc. that may be helpful. The authors of this book are also proponents of Attachment Parenting. I had never heard of this school of parenting before, but I feel that for the most part it makes sense. However, if you don't agree with this style of parenting, this book may not be for you. You can view the book by clicking on the following link.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/You-Can-Go-to-the-Potty/William-Sears/e/9780316788885/?itm=1
All of these books are great, and I have been reading all of them to my son, when he's in the mood to talk about the potty. I hope that this information can be of some help to those of you trying to navigate this treacherous potty waters.
Lastly, there is another website, sponsored by Pull-Ups, called the Potty Project. They are following 6 families, 3 boys and 3 girls, and their journey through the potty training process. You can see their struggles, successes and techniques at http://www.pull-upspottyproject.com/?WT.mc_id=PUPPG2
I wish all of you potty training moms much luck and success!!
Laura K.
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