Dora, The Potty Training Goddess

One of Greenleigh’s best friends at daycare was potty trained before she turned 2.  It was all her father could talk about.  Every time I would see him, he would ask, “So how is Greenleigh doing with potty training?”.  Of course, he didn’t really want to know the answer, he only wanted to tell me that his daughter was almost completely potty trained and not yet 2 years old.  I, on the other hand, had no intention of potty training Greenleigh until she was closer to 3 years old.  I wasn’t in a rush to get my child out of diapers, even though it almost physically hurt every time I had to open my wallet to purchase one of those big cases of diapers.

Not wanting to potty train was more a matter of convenience than anything else.  We drive to visit family every year at Christmas time and my husband is, um, not the most patient driver.  It’s a 13 hour drive with 2 adults, 2 kids, and 2 pets in what you can imagine is a fairly crowded sedan.  He would much prefer that we not stop at all, but will agree to stop for gas because, well, we have to.  There is no way I’m going to be able to talk him into stopping every time a toddler may or may not need to go potty.  Add to that the convincing it’s going to take for her to go potty in a gross gas station bathroom, and I would rather just pass on the experience altogether.  Plus, everyone I have spoken to has told me that they had success potty training at first, but their child later regressed, and they went back to diapers for a while.  I decided I would be smart and not  start potty training until she was older, skipping the regression altogether.  So the plan was set, wait until January.

Silly me for thinking I’m in control of this operation.  ‘Cause I’m so not.  When will I learn?

In June, Greenleigh started asking to go to the “baf-room”.  How could I say no?  Besides being adorable, it took all the guess-work out of explaining to her how you “know” when you need to go to the bathroom.  I had no idea how I was going to put that sensation into toddler terms.  Problem solved.  We ended up getting an Elmo potty seat and making it as fun as potty training can possibly be.  I even made up a song and dance that we would do when she successfully went potty.  Before you ask – No, I’m not going to do the potty song and dance for you.

At first it was a great success.  I thought to myself, “Wow, my toddler is potty training herself!  I am sooooo lucky!”.  Even the voice in my head was arrogant, wondering why every other parent had problems with this apparently very easy task.  I was ready to move her to underwear…until…the dreaded regression.  Yep, it happened.  Regression happened and I wasn’t even trying to potty train her.

But after a month or two of regression, potty training is suddenly cool again.  Why, you ask?  One word – Dora or “Doooaaaahhh” as she says it.  If you don’t have young kids, you may need more information – Dora the Explorer, a famous Nickelodeon cartoon superstar.  When I first bought pull ups for Greenleigh, I figured she had no idea who that character was on the front of them, because we never watch Dora in our house.  We are far too busy with Elmo and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, how could we ever find time for Dora?  Then we got a Dora potty seat and that was the coolest thing Greenleigh had ever seen, because it’s pink.  And some how she learned that the character on the front of those pull ups is named Dora.  She asks for her by name.  And now I couldn’t get Greenleigh into a regular diaper if I tried because regular diapers aren’t pink with Dora on the front of them.  Clearly, Dora is a potty training figure-head, and one that my daughter has latched on to.  Damn marketing techniques.

Now when she goes running towards the bathroom she isn’t saying “potty” she is saying “Dora, Dora, Dora!”  I struggle between loving this new character’s assistance in the potty training process and being a little afraid of this new attachment.