20 Apr, 2009
Mama, I like pants AND diapers!
Posted by: blissfule In: Perth ()
Nikki fully understands every aspect of toileting. When I excuse myself from the room to use the toilet, she often says either 'OK, go quickly, Mama,' or my favourite, 'good work keeping your pants dry, Mama.'
She can go for a week, even for weeks, with nary an inkling of wetness in her pants. She keeps her pants dry every time when we are outside the house.
You may well ask - why are we revisiting this topic?

Because keeping her pants dry when we are at home is simply not a priority to my little girl. Once she goes for a week of being dry, she goes right back to wetting her pants when we are at home. Not just once, but three or four times per day.
So I asked her, "Do you want to wear diapers?" Nikki answered matter-of-factly, "yes." Such simplicity in the face of my frustration and disappointment. I decided to go with it. So, diapers it is.
She will not poo in the diaper (or pants for that matter - she is fully toilet trained for bowel movements), so when she needs to poo she informs me and I take off her diaper, she gets her step-stool, uses the toilet, and calls for me to come wipe her (since her arms aren't long enough to do an effective job of reaching). After she's wiped she washes her hands. It's all exactly as she has been trained.
Except that she prefers to wear a diaper to pee in when she is at home.
Unless she requests pants. Which sometimes she does.
I just go with what she's feeling at the moment. Whenever she's making a switch from pants to diaper or diaper to pants, I ask her to use the toilet. Usually there is a great flood of pee!
~~~~~~~~~
For those of you wondering, yes, I do have a theory as to why my very bright daughter does not feel compelled to keep her pants dry at home.
I think she could have
The Einstein Syndrome, which is characterised by the following:
1. Outstanding and precocious analytical and/or musical abilities
2. Outstanding memory
3. Strong will
4. Highly selective interests, leading to unusual achievements in some areas and disinterest and ineptness in others
5. Delayed Toilet Training
6. Precocious ability to read and/or use numbers and/or use computers
7. Close relatives in occupations requiring outstanding analytical and/or musical abilities
8. Unusual concentration and absorption in what they are doing.
Of course, I think all my children are above-average. Whatever is going on in that cute curly head, I am at peace with the fact that it doesn't always involve dry pants... yet.
Related posts:
Potty Regression and Recovery - 17 March 2009
Potty Training Really Is Possible - 2 November 2008
Potty Prowess - 28 September 2008
Potty Training Thoughts - 23 September 2008
If You Want to Keep Your Pants Dry... - 20 September 2008
Potty Training - Round One - 26 July 2008

blissfule Reply:
April 21st, 2009 at 09:26
My dad was the one who put me on to Thomas Sowell’s theory when we realised that Nikki had a speech delay. I’ve been back and forth about it – especially since it seemed like Nikki toilet trained on time. However, I’m becoming more and more convinced. This morning Nikki brought four books upstairs, then started subtracting with them. She laid them out in a row. Then she pushed one away and said, “I take one away, now I have, 1, 2, 3!” She continued this until she took away all four. Then she said, “Now there isn’t any left.” Michael and I were still eating breakfast – I certainly hadn’t been drilling her on basic mathematics!
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