Friday, April 29, 2011

Public Restrooms

We started potty training the kids in early February.  I had a referral from a friend for a three day potty training method.  Basically, on day one, the kids threw away all of their diapers and we weren’t going to turn back!  It was a disastrous few weeks as I felt like I was doing laundry all the time.  Now that we are almost three months into it, I can look back and see the leaps of progress that we have made.

After about a month of potty training, I felt comfortable taking them to the library for a short outing.  Brooks and Adlyn enjoy going to story time so I felt like this would be a perfect test to see how they would do with their potty training in public places.  About half way through story time, Adlyn needed to go.  So, I rounded up both kids and we went into the family restroom.  I thought this would be a good choice since it was spacious and felt more like a bathroom than a bathroom stall.  I put Adlyn on the toilet, and big mistake, Brooks flushed it.  This wasn’t just a normal flushing toilet, it was a super flushing toilet that was as loud as a freight train.  If a toy were to drop into this toiled, there would be no getting it back.  Adlyn started bawling, not crying, as she leapt off the seat.  Brooks was as scared as Adlyn was.  I think I actually laughed because it was funny, and all I could do was think that I have completely ruined their bathroom experience for life.  I traumatized them on their first outing!  Needless to say, Adlyn didn’t go potty. 

I took them into the ladies restroom located in the hallway.  Adlyn came in with me but refused to sit on the toilet surrounded by partitions.  She was not going to have anything to do with these toilets.

Adlyn continued to hold it in through the rest of story time.  Next, we needed to drop off something at a building next to the library, so we walked over to the Court House.  Once we got inside, I knew Adlyn had to go, so I thought I’d try to have her go in this building.  Maybe a new building and a new bathroom would help put her at ease.  I walked her towards the bathroom, and this time, she refused to go in the door.  I couldn’t even drag her in, she was putting up full resistance at the door.

Great, now I have a kid who really has to go, but refuses to use a public bathroom.  We go outside to start our one block walk to the car, and then we would go home.  About half way down the block Adlyn stops.  She can’t hold it any longer.  She walks the rest of the way to the car with wet pants.  We didn’t make it in time.

I was hoping this was a one-time incident, but it wasn’t.  Last weekend, now two months after this initial event, she still refuses to go to a public restroom.  I tried to take her in with me last weekend at a gas station, and she won’t even enter the door.  But, if you ask her if she’d like to go potty on the rocks, on the grass, or in a ditch, she doesn’t have any issues.  She will go potty outside without a fight!

Our little girl fears public restrooms.  I’ve had a fear of snakes for 20+ years.  I am hoping Adlyn can at least overcome her fear, as I can’t!

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