The Parenting Mistake I Wish I Never Made
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If I’m being honest, I’ve made dozens of parenting mistakes. Some have been easier to bounce back than others. I’ve make mistakes like yelling when I’m mad or not thinking something through before I say it. However, there is just one parenting mistake I wish I never made and wish I could redo! Here’s the back story…
The Parenting Mistake I Wish I Never Made
My then 2.5-year-old son showed signs of wanting to be potty trained. He was SO easy to potty train! I don’t remember him really have any issues. Fast forward now and he’s 5 and he is still wearing pull-ups to bed. WHY? I got comfortable! Instead of using pull-ups as a stepping stool in case of an accident, I let him wear them every night!
Now he’s 5 and still wears them. And not because he needs to, but because I got complacent and never really transitioned him to underwear at night. Most of the time he’s dry, but when and if he does we the bed, it’s a huge mess. If I would have transitioned him into underwear at night sooner, he’d probably feel a lot more comfortable NOT wearing a pull-up and we’d have a lot less accidents.
So—with that being said. That is the one parenting mistake I wish I never made. However, along the way, I did gain some valuable insight to potty training and how it works!
- Wait until your kid is ready! So many parents try to potty train their kids before they are ready. If you want your kid to get potty trained and stay potty trained, then wait until they are ready.
- Rewards work wonders: Rewards are an awesome part of potty training. However, be selective of your rewards. Some parents are ready to take out a mortgage on their child’s behalf as long as they’ll pee and poop on the potty.
- Don’t expect perfection: There always “those” parents who will brag that their kid never had an accident. Your kid is 3, don’t freak out on him if he has an accident. You need to extend a lot of grace whenever potty training is involved.
- It takes a while for kids to learn how to wipe their own butts: Trust me, I get it. Wiping a kid’s butt sucks, I struggle to wipe my own! Just kidding. But seriously, it will take a few years for your kid to be super awesome at butt wiping, you just have to learn to deal with it.
- Kids do weird things with their poop and pee: Seriously, I’ve had kids put their pull-ups under their beds. I’ve had my kids pee on the floor. Kids are interesting creatures and during the potty training process, you will start to wonder if potty training kills brain cells.
- Ditch those pull-ups when you can: Pullups aren’t meant to be something your freshmen in college packs with them to take back to their dorm room. Trust me on this one, unless your child NEEDS to wear it, get rid of the pull-ups as soon as your kid is showing signs of being able to go an extended period of time without peeing themselves.
- Don’t freak out when your kids gets up to pee: Some people expect their kids to last 12 hours without peeing. I CAN’T LAST 4 HOURS WITHOUT PEEING. Let’s be realistic with our kids. If they get up to pee, don’t freak out on them.
I can’t say potty training was like my most favorite parenting task, but I’ve potty trained three boys and we’re all alive. Now, in a few years I’ll be potty training our girl and please give me some advice on that one because I’m already freaking out!
I agree with your list. Parents never realise in regular conversation with kids they are probably making many mistakes.