Watch out for the Juice

One of the most tightly held secrets of parenting is the excruciating length that potty training takes. I don't know why, but I was under the distinct impression that potty training was a few months at the most. And for the parents out there who had toddlers go from zero to potty trained in a day or a week, I'm horribly jealous. In my experience, most potty training experiences last more on the order of a year or more. That's an ENTIRE YEAR of spending numerous hours sitting on the floor of the bathroom encouraging your child to poo or pee, and even more time spent staring into toilet bowls.

     It's amazing. I really can't believe how in the dark I was about all of it. Even with a girl who expressed interest in the potty around a year and a half. I was convinced that I'd have a precocious 2 year old who was completely potty trained. Unfortunately that was not the case.  We had ups and downs, and by the time she was 26 months, I decided to try the intensive potty training day that some had suggested.

     For those considering this attempt, I will give you a word of warning. Watch out for the juice. The way I approached it, we hunkered down at the house with cartoons and juice boxes with a plan to stay home and sit on the potty every 15 minutes. I let her drink as much juice as she wanted - this was a big deal as she normally gets a juice - water mixture that is about 30% juice to 70% water. So having unlimited access to the real stuff was a big treat.

     Unfortunately it was also a big shock to her system. She was not used to having that much concentrated sugar, so by 11am all of those juice boxes had given her the runs. So much for our potty training day...