And finally after so many of my failed attempts, Ash today
used the lavatory to poo! I have been trying since like when he was less than a
year old—he is 2 yrs and 9 months now. Of course not on a daily basis because,
on the one day that I try to make use the potty (that cost me INR 750), or the
traditional method, he would cry and make such a big hullaballoo that it would
make me fear that he would develop a fear around poo-ing or would refuse to poo
the next day and thereby leading to other complications (ask a paediatric
surgeon's wife).
The first time around, I got several reminders from senior
citizens on making it a habit to put the kid in between the feet and wait till
they poo. How on earth would they know to do exactly that, when we put them is
still a wonder. May be they are correct, I would really not know--it's not a
been-there-done-that scenario for me here... Neither did my parents know. I am
wondering how they taught us! Anyway, the point is I missed the bus. And yeah,
a few more wonder stories (fairy tales) that I have heard were to train the
kids in such a way that at the count of three, they pee or poo. In worst cases,
I have even heard that they get so accustomed to the cause and effect that only
when you count, anything at all happens. Now that can get really bad!
And then, after a few days, Ash learnt to pee when asked to
pee and call out when he wants to. So, a major part of the potty training was
resolved. I was once discussing with my friends and determined that potty aka
toilet training involves two aspects--the habit of poo-ing and making them
learn to use the toilet, and that is for peeing as well as poo-ing.
Me being around only on the weekends, makes the matter
worse, because consistency is important with toilet training. Most of the
weekends go past in spending time with him or taking Ash out for walks. Past
all this, when on some enlightened days, I would think it is high time I gave
this a try. And so, I pull out the potty from the attic and after strenuous
pleading, I would make him sit on it, saying that I would tell him the 'Arnie
the monkey story'. Ash being the skinny types, guess, lack of flesh at the
bottom makes it difficult to sit on the potty and he keeps adjusting his seat
and is never at ease. In the two or three attempts that I have made with the
potty, he has landed up only listening to the story and never poo-ed.
The last time I attempted was when he voluntarily told me
beforehand that he wanted to poo (of course not using the potty but the usual
way of standing with a loincloth tied around his waist), I made him sit on the
toilet (Indian style) because he was accustomed to the toilet (during the
cleansing process). And what happened? Starting from this point and for various
other reasons, he had cried for about close to 20 minutes and also enraged me.
And this was two weeks ago, sometime on the Diwali Eve.
Today morning, the care taker who takes care of Ash told me
that she tried to make him sit on the toilet but finally ended up in a failed
attempt. When she said this, what was surprising was that he did not cry. And
involuntarily, I gave her a reply saying, let's try this on a daily basis and
see where it takes us—may be repeated attempts would let us win over him. And
today, I got this great news! Honestly, it is such a great achievement! And no
news about Ashwath has excited me so much after he saying 'anna'. :-)
