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August 05, 2007

Half way through...

I so wanted to potty train Ashu when she was 21 months old before we left for Zurich. That did nt happen of course. Then I began some half hearted attempts in Zurich but they got us nowhere. Then the trip to the US happened and she started school, so I did nt want to burden her with one more thing. Ok ok, I did nt want to be burdened. I have heard from friends that its easy peesy to potty train kids in India but somehow did nt quite believe it. I mean what magic is there in India? Its the same effort everywhere and if the kid is ready, then its easier anywhere, right? Wrong! Because my stubborn kid is trained already. In flat 5 days. I don't even know how that happened but I said no more diapers and asked her to tell me if she wanted to use the bathroom and she did. There were only a few susu accidents at first and also she did nt want to do potty in the toilet. She asked me for a diaper when she wanted to do the big job. I thought its going to be tough to break her. But a lot of encouragement and compliments did the work and voila! Its bye bye diapers during the day. I'm still making her wear in the night, got to figure out how to train her for the night. Shes such a sleepy head that waking her up in the middle of the night and taking her to the bathroom is out of the question for now. Baby steps Boo, baby steps! :)

So here are the reasons it has been easy to train her here:

She is 28 months old and ready.

She is able to wait at least for a minute to use the toilet. She has bladder control. High time, anyway!

The bathrooms here are so convenient compared to the dry bathrooms abroad with a drain only in the tub. The "squat anywhere you want" type of bathrooms here are the best!

With this warm weather, she can take a shower after every bathroom break if she wants and I don't have to worry about her getting a cold. Also she can roam around in minimal clothing.

My mom and the maid, obviously! I would nt have the strength to do this if not for them.

The peer pressure. I don't know a 2 year old in India who is not potty trained. Ashu is a black sheep among them!

I ll be here at least for 3 more weeks and hopefully there would nt be any huge change for Ashu, so she can have a routine.

So there. The day I thought would never come before her 3rd birthday has come. My daughter is potty trained. (by day!) Do yo know how bad it is for the environment to use disposable diapers? ;)

16 comments:

Sukhaloka said...

Congrats! That's such a huge milestone for you and Ashu!

Really, really thrilled to hear this. :)

~nm said...

Good going!

But tell you what? I think its the average age of 2 yrs and 3-4 months when the kids get potty trained unless they are very smart.

I lived in India and I was able to potty train my son at the same age as Ashu. And I had to use diapers for night pee-pee accidents for another 9 months.

So she's doing just super fine!! And so are you! :D

Just Like That said...

I think its having people around that make the difference. Its not just you keeping track of whether its time for the next susu yet.From the grannies to the cousins everybody pitches in!

I touch my Mom's feet in this regard! She managed to potty train Sonny boy when he was a baby itself. And yeah, you're right- every kid in my Mom's family was potty trained before 1.

Artnavy said...

fantastic

and she looks so earnestly pious in some of the snaps in the earlier post

u in chennai on aug 16??

Sunita Venkatachalam said...

Fantastic, Congrats !!

Something to Say said...

good job boo and good job Ashu. Looks like I'm the only mommy of a 2 yr old - who is not toilet trained.... O God!!

Anusha said...

very cool! congrats, Ashu :) and you too Boo!

mnamma said...

Congrats to you and Ashu for achieving this huge milestone!I heaved a sigh of relief when my girls got to this stage. They were potty trained night/day completely at 3. I think 3 years is the age that children gain complete bladder control and can sleep through the night without any potty accidents. Of course, each child has his/her own pace. Once you get back to Swiss coninue with the training routine so that she does not revert back.

Hema said...

congrats ! to both of you .my little one 21 months . i now have found the best reason to convince my hus for my next india trip...Thanks boo.

Anonymous said...

Good going! congrats to the mom and daughter.
BTW, the post on surprising your father was excellent. I could feel the moment while reading:) They should be one proud parent.

the mad momma said...

:D congratulations. you are right. its the pressure in india. and also the fact that we dont use diapers. so the moment kids begin to grow aware, the feeling of susu running down their legs is not pleasant, they begin to make an effort. at least that is what happened with me. the brat learned really quick simply because he wasnt in a diaper and there were no carpeted floors to worry about.

Anonymous said...

hey! one week I abscond from the blog world and you make a surprise trip to India? :-) how nice!

congrats both of you!

Boo, please to save this blog till Ashu can read and understand its contents..I'd love to see the look on her face when she reads her mom's readers congratulating her on being potty trained :-D priceless!

ashok said...

good! now that gives me some hope on my kid :)

Anonymous said...

:) Congratulations to you both!
I have heard and read quite a lot about potty training ...
This blog gave me the confidence, that it is easy!

Reminds me that upto an age of 8 or something I used to tell my mom, when I was going to use the bathroom ... Just information, nothing else! :)

she was possibly not proud of it, didnt know how to stop it, may be, I wasnt aware ... Anyway ...
One day, as soon as I told her, she rushed to the pooja room, brought the vibuthi, put it in my forehead piously and said "Let god bless you with a good &*$%!" I was totally astounded by that, and that did the magic. She has been magical with my brother's kids in potty training.

I roll down and laugh even now, when I think about it! I simply didnt forget it, and it didnt hurt me either! :)

Anonymous said...

what happnd? urnt riting any posts? busy? i keep checking everyday just to see if ur blog is updated. pls do post one soon. and i love the humility with which u take all the complements. u r my role model

Unknown said...

tip from experienced parent.. train on hardwood or tile.. dont train on carpet!

:)

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