Month: July 2010

Day Of Reckoning

We knew this was coming. But that doesn’t make it any easier. We delayed as long as we could, knowing the difficult road that was ahead. Now, we can’t put it off any longer. It’s time to potty train Thing 3.

Most every transition has been tough with him. Like all three year olds, he is a creature of habit and routine. But Thing 3 takes routine to the extreme. His daily routines sometimes border on the bizarre. Every detail is important, from which episode of Diego to watch, which color cereal bowl he uses, who opens the car door, and on and on. It’s a delicate act that we have all but perfected.

Until a new milestone occurs that throws a wrench into his carefully scripted world. Moving from a crib to a bed was a big deal. New shoes? Watch out. New classroom at daycare? Forget about it.

And so, we have dreaded potty training. We’ve been casually introducing him but he’ll have none of it. Now with just one month to go before he moves up to preschool, where being potty trained is a requirement, we are forcing the issue.

Yesterday was 12 hours of potty training bootcamp. We threw away the diapers (or so he thinks) and I watched him like a hawk all day, and offered him bribes of candy to sit on the potty. I had to clean pee off the carpet more than once but cold turkey is the only way to go with him. It was marginally successful.

Today we sent him to daycare in underwear and with four extra changes of clothes. He came home wearing underwear but with a pull-up underneath. For him, that’s actually progress.? It’s going to be a long, long week.

Kids and Technology

It goes without saying that kids these days are way ahead when it comes to using technology. With all the toys and devices they see a a very early age, it isn’t a matter of learning to use them, it just comes natural to them.

At two years old, Thing 3 was using the computer himself, finding and opening the programs he liked using the mouse after watching me do it a few times. Now he breaks through the child protection lock on the office door, climbs up to the desk, and opens the MS Paint program and makes a drawing.

Thing 1 and 2 have been playing games and checking sports scores on my iPhone for years. They know how to take pictures and scroll through the albums.? I have found a picture of Thing 2’s butt on more than one occasion.

It took a month of serious practicing for me to finally beat Thing 1’s high score on Fall Down. They both routinely beat me at most Wii games and at 5 and 6 years old have figured out how to do things on the Wii I can’t follow. The ease with which they surpassed me was unnerving, considering I pride myself on being a bit of an expert having spent much of my youth playing Atari. Not to mention I happen to program computer software for a living.

This morning we were unsure if we needed to pack lunch for Thing 1’s field trip. While I debated making lunch just in case, he said: “Why don’t you just email the teachers and find out?”

And when he asks me a question I can’t answer, which is often, he says: “We can Google it.”

I suppose it’s the same as when I was a kid and my parents needed me to program the VCR.? So now I am the modern day equivalent of a VCR blinking 12:00.