How many fathers out there? A little story...

13 years ago

I know us guys are in the minority here, and I'm thinking that of us, those with children are an even rarer breed?

As I've mentioned in passing before I've been frustrated that my daughter who turned three this month has shown absolutely no interest in potty training. As two working parents, we know we should be trying harder but you know, there's a lot to get done on weekends.

Yesterday we went to an orientation at a really nice camp that my son will be going to this summer. It was the first time my wife saw the facility and once she saw it she started feeling badly that our daughter wouldn't be going there, too. So I asked if there are openings in her age group, but had to come back with the sad news that only potty trained kids can go to camp.

Five minutes later my daughter announced that she had to go potty. And she did. Since then, she's had exactly one slight accident which she promptly reported and finished up on the potty. Every time she goes potty she says, "I'm a big girl, I can go to camp!" She woke me up early this morning, was DRY, and asked to go potty! 8:15 and she's already gone three times.

Whether she stays on track with her training or not, my daughter has given me the best Fathers' Day gift ever: Something to make me reflect on how proud I am of these children with which I've been blessed.

Happy Fathers' Day, "all" you dads out there.

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Comments (21)

dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
13 years ago
Actually, going to the potty is not a natural thing. We evolved millions of years without going to the potty. Only very recently that we came up with this idea for the benifit of the plumbers. :-)

Happy Father's Day.

dcarch

--------------------------------------
In a classroom, little Mary needs to go to the bathroom.

"Mrs. Smith, I need to go to the bathroom now!"
"OK Mary, but first I need you to recite the alphabets."
"I will try. a b c d e f g h I j k l m n o q r s t u v w x y z"
"Not too bad. Almost. But where is the "P"?"
"I am very sorry Mrs. Smith, the pee is now running down my legs."
jimster
13 years ago
One of my sons became potty trained on a camping trip. He couldn't miss out on the fun of peeing on the ground outdoors.

Hey, quite a thread you got started, Dad!

Jim
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dedtired
13 years ago
Happy Fathers Day to all you Dads and Granddads and to all you Moms who had to be dads, too.

FOAS, that is a great story and an even greater picture. You are a beautiful family. Amazing how the right motivation can lead to success.
obxgina
13 years ago
Awesome story! Thank you for sharing that will all of us! Happy Father's Day to you and to all the dad's and granddads out there!

Gina
mitchdesj
13 years ago
fnastump, your smile says it all on the picture, you are blessed !!
cute story !!

happy father's day to all the dads of the forum.
sally2_gw
13 years ago
Happy Fathers Day, all you dads out there! FOAS, my grandson is 3 and has shown little interest in potty trianing, too. Maybe I should find a camp for him, too.

Sally
chase_gw
13 years ago
FOAS what a great story and what a beautiful picture. Yes you are blessed.

Happy Fathers Day, to you FOAS, and to all our Dads on the forum.
jessyf
13 years ago
FOAS, what a perfect way to start a Father's Day thread. Congrats on the transition! (that being said, I remember hating the 'transitional' stage...accidents....heh heh good luck!)

Happy Father's Day to all who are fathers on the forum!
caliloo
13 years ago
Love the story FOAS and your family is beautiful! And Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads.... I hope you family spoils you rotten!

Alexa
woodie
13 years ago
Love your story and your family picture! Our g/d was 'trained' the same way, LOL. Her mom was quite relaxed about it because (first of all) it was her third kid and (second of all) she knew how important it was to Olivia to go to pre-school. So she just let nature take its course and it happened just before school started without any pushing or stress :)

Happy Father's Day to you and to all the Dads and Grandfathers and Great Grandfathers on our cooking forum.
metaxa
13 years ago
Its amazing what kids can come up with, isn't it?

My Dad story that immediately came to mind is about a Rube Goldberg science display for school.
Other than some help with frustration levels while setting angles and such the little Dude did it himself, truly.

It involved 7 different stages, ending up with an egg cooking in a thin metal pan. Grade 6 or 7 age.

One of the stages was a balloon popping on a needle that was embedded in a cork.

I guess the needle came undone with use because Will knelt down on the floor to re-set his rig and jammed the full length of a large sewing needle into his knee.

The very next morning was a school field trip to a wilderness camp, three days of kayaking, sailing, horse riding, etc.

He was not going to miss that. So, instead of going directly to Emerg, we went to our family Dr. and told him of our dilemma, he called around, convinced the ortho to accept Will at end of day.

Will had surgery at 6 pm to dig the needle out, was in post op by 7:30, woke up at 8 and by sheer force of will made himself do the walk unassisted, drink oj, eat toast and keep it down by around midnight. He tried about three times before the nurse took pity and allowed him to leave.

Home by 12:30, up at 4 am to get to the school and bus off to his camp.

Never taken a pill before, had big honking pain pills that he learned to swallow just like that.
Had two incisions in his knee (pretty small but...) because the needle broke inside.
Had maybe three hours sleep
Had a knee wrapped and swaddled
Was in some discomfort, I'm sure.

But, got top marks on his Rube project, had a blast at camp and, to this day, impressed me with his toughness.

Sorry, this got long, but my kids are special, right?

Happy Father's Day to anyone who celebrates.
compumom
13 years ago
Congratulations and Happy Father's Day! It's a great story!

Some may call it bribery, but I call it incentive! Our 3 y.o.DGS wasn't all that interested either. The big boy pants didn't interest him, but we knew that he was ready. One day the teacher told my daughter to lose the pull ups and boom! Not one accident since!
lindac
13 years ago
Beautiful kids....and handsome and happy dad too!

Kids didn't pee in their clothes for 3 years in bygone days...they don't like to be dirty and stinky any more than a kitten does or a puppy. We have enabled them with the doggoned super absorbent, keep wetness away from the skin, plastic coated pants.
Happy Father's Day to you and all the other dads hanging around.
Linda C
magothyrivergirl
13 years ago
Happy Father's Day to all the great Dads!

FOAS - amazing what a little bribery aka positive reinforcing does! Wonderful picture! (You've just learned alot about your little girl ~HeeHee~) Is she going to camp now?
annie1992
13 years ago
Happy Father's Day, FOAS and all the other fathers. I'm missing my own father a little today...

As for potty training, Amanda trained herself at 16 months, dry at night and not an accident. She was prissy and didn't like to be wet and would bring me a dry diaper so I could change her immediately.

Ashley? She could care less, and when she was nearly 3 my mother asked her when she was going to use the potty. Her response? "Never, never, never, never, never." She finally did, because the babysitting bribed her with M&Ms.

Annie
dirtgirl07
13 years ago
FOAS, that picture of you and your kids says it all! What a great photo. Thanks for sharing the story - it gives a good chuckle too. Happy Father's day to you and all the dads out there.

Beth
ann_t
13 years ago
Happy Father's Day.

Great photo FOAS.

Ann
mustangs81
13 years ago
FOAS, What a great picture of you and the kids. Thanks for sharing your DDs motivation.

My 3 year old DGD thinks she is a princess. I had to tell her that princesses didn't pee in their gowns so I would have to take it back to the store. That did the trick.
annie1992
13 years ago
FOAS, I forgot to mention, that's a great picture of you and your kids. I love it when people get in the water with their kids, or on the playground, and actually play with their children. Believe it or not, it doesn't happen all the time.

I also like the fact that your kids are clearly not afraid of the water.

Annie
jojoco
13 years ago
FOAS,
You look like you're having a blast with your kids. That is what it is all about.
Happy Fathers day.

Jo
lakeguy35
13 years ago
Happy Fathers Day!

Cool pic FOAS! Glad to hear the PT is done for the most part.

Single and no kids here but I do have a couple of Nephews that I claim as my boys/buds....they kicked my butt at the lake today! I'm feeling muscles that I've haven't in a long time. LOL!

David

How many fathers out there? A little story...

Comments (21)

dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m

jimster

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