Game of "Thrones": A Young Prince Who Detests Potty Time

Here ye Here ye, I will be the first to admit that potty training is F***ING hard and I wouldn't even be that mad if my two unruly direwolves (ok...dogs) took the liberty of training Rylan to do his business on our tree out front. Unfortunately, society looks down on a feral child raised by wolves, and at some point in his life he does have to use a toilet (weddings, funerals, school days ending in Y), so we are pulling out all the stops with encouraging the little lord to ascend his porcelain throne.
This is not an isolated incident--I have on good authority that I was a bit of a wee beast to potty train as a child (who me?). My competitive spirit took over when a little girl 6 months younger than myself successfully used the potty and I was green with envy. Low and behold, a toilet trained star was born! Having a strong-willed toddler of my own (laws of the universe), I realized early on that every kiddo is different and that it's a grave injustice forcing them to take something on before they are ready (remember all those time-sensitive milestones that we have burned into our eyelids by the experts? Yea, those are pretty much crap). My little dude can recite every last Bubble Guppy in alphabetical order according to tail color, but has maintained a steadfast aversion to using his Paw Patrol potty seat for anything other than a floatation device in the bathtub.
We've tried reading books on the toilet every hour on the hour, wearing big boy underpants, fruit loop targets, letting him watch us go (we hear insurance covers therapy nowadays...), running around naked, training schedules, books about potty time, you name it. I've been vigilant to not let myself get frustrated--eventually everyone gets potty trained, right? And these are supposed to be the most fun times of our lives--I don't want it clouded by unnecessary worry. Kids do everything in their own time. The rate in which your child is potty trained is not a reflection of your parenting, good or bad.
With that being said, we wanted to make it as fun as possible for him! When we picked him up from school yesterday, we told him that we were going to the store to pick out special potty prizes for him. The look of excitement on his face when we pulled up to the Target dollar bins section was priceless! Since it's almost Valentine's Day, they had boxes with 16 little dinosaurs to be attached to Valentines for classmates which can now be 16 prizes for the basket! We found tiny superhero figurines, bouncy balls, Doc McStuffins bath stickums, cute stickers that I cut into strips, stamps and mini ink pads, light up bracelets, lollies, slinkies and more! We also found a motivational sign that says, "TODAY IS THE DAY!"

It's important to keep in mind that we only get this one lifetime with our kiddos. As parents, it's not our job to push our kids mercilessly into the harshness of the world, but to help them navigate different methods until they find the ones that work for them. Have fun with it! Giving a child the confidence and support to explore trial and error, fail a few times and then get back on the horse and try again is the best gift we can give them (although Target dollar bin trinkets are a close second). Nothing beats the look of pride on their faces when they finally master something that they've been working on for a long time! Parenting is not a race--you do not get special brownie points in mommy heaven for potty training your kid at 2 years old or getting them to eat all their veggies at every meal. A happy, healthy, loved child is our greatest contribution to this world because they will become happy, healthy, loving adults.
I hope everyone had a magical holiday weekend with your loved ones! Serendipity Mom has some amazing things in store for the New Year, including a sneak peek into the new graphics launch on my Etsy.com page, Serendipity Mom 2! Stay tuned for the next blog highlighting some of the most sought after designs for 2017!