Ever since we started potty training with Braden when he was about 2 1/2, I have gained a new appreciation for the fact that I have two boys. I’ve often wondered when at a park or somewhere without a potty, what do little girls do? With my boys, I can simply tell them to find an out-of-the-way tree and do what they have to do.
I was reminded of the convenience of having boys today when I made a “quick stop” at a nursery on the way home from the park, and in the middle of a discussion I was having with the man working there about the azalea bush I was about to buy, Braden said, “Mommy, I have to go potty,” and started to do his little dance. I asked the man if they had a potty, and he told me to just take Braden back to the trees and “let him do the boy thing.”
Don’t get me wrong. I certainly wouldn’t have complained if I had had a little girl. I’m sure I would have figured it out, but I really do find myself at times like this thinking, “Let’s hear it for the boys.”
Well, I can tell you what WE did as kids growing up out in the country (and I’ll try to teach my daughter) - crassly called “pop a squat” (I laugh everytime thinking of having to do this during the Chicago Marathon - we lost all dignity!). Unfortunately this doesn’t work in public like the azalea bushes do! I plan to keep carrying the little potty seat in my car trunk whenever we’re away from home for long and I don’t think there will be potties nearby - not the most fun solution, but it works! My 2.5 year old girl is fully trained now (has been for a few months) and I’m hoping to start letting my 1 year old boy try out the potty this summer and maybe even go diaper-free when we’re playing outside - way less mess to do training that way