Good Riddance, Not-so-helpful Potty Training Book

It's another yucky, rainy day outside, cold and damp. I am grateful for the rain we are getting in spite of my kids' obvious boredom and the fact that their short attention spans are going to drive me crazy for the next week. (I say that with humor) in case someone reading this doesn't know me well enough to get my sarcasm or my humor.

Recently, I've begun the journey of potty training my boy. It's been pretty hectic these days with just that alone. It's just me doing it because my husband works long hours, by the time he comes home we have dinner and put the kids to bed and that's pretty much it. The kids go to bed by 7:30, so we get down time to ourselves at least, but the whole potty training thing has been insane, and I don't have anyone here helping me with it most of the time. If ever.

Don't misunderstand that last part. This isn't a rant or a vent. It's a simple fact. It's a part of my life that's been keeping me super busy and on my feet with a can of Lysol and a clean rag. Following a toddler around all day and sitting them on the potty isn't as easy as it sounds. It's very time consuming when you do this all yourself.

I bought (regrettably) this book called Potty Training Sucks! I thought it would be humorous, great. The book itself sucks more than the potty training, to be totally honest. For one thing, it's extremely contradictory, and in turn only renders it totally unhelpful and pointless to read.

The author drones on and on about hugs and kisses and praise not being enough to help your kid figure out using the potty is good. But turns around, in the same chapter, and starts bashing the parents who give their kid an M&M for using the potty and then says "hug them instead...." What a load of crap this book is!

Needless to say it went straight into the garbage. I wouldn't even give this book away to the Goodwill because why should another parent like me have to suffer while reading over such a stupid dialog of misinformation and bias?

The M&Ms and suckers have been working just fine, thank you very much.

If you let your kid be a kid, like, you know, be active enough, you shouldn't be too worried about them getting obese by eating a dum dum sucker. Or a skittle. I really hate that book.

So far I let the kid run around in sweatpants without a diaper. I tell him to go potty every 15-20 minutes, give or take. It's "working" but as far as him understanding to hold it before he gets to the potty is a whole other ball game entirely, and that I believe is the challenge here. Getting the kids to figure this part out can change the entire process of potty training. Once he gets this I think it should be smooth sailing (at least as smooth as it can get for the time being) rather than having accidents all day long, mommy cleaning up all the "accidents," plus taking care of the 1 year old crying child while potty training the other. Yes, parenthood is insanity.

But it's a good insanity, and it is one I would do all over again and again, because I love kids. I am definitely crazy! But I am a Virgo so it's kind of my department anyway ;)