Tales From The Ball Pit
Friday, September 28, 2012 at 11:06AM Ball pits are cesspools, right?
Well, I never bought into this notion, I mean, I have fond memories of being at Smållland as a kid, swimming through vast quantities of germs while submerging my tiny self into a vat of primary coloured plastic balls. Hooray! Funtimes!
I always thought, hey, what's a bit of snot and the odd droplet of drool. No biggie. Really.
Until yesterday. When my child proved to me just how disgusting ball pits are.
Have you ever tired to sop up a wet mess in the midst of thousands of wee plastic balls? Let's just say that despite my best efforts, I'm quite sure that one or two thousand balls got away from me, and are now covered in urine. And as nonchalantly as I tired to go about the clean up, I'm pretty sure that my child's soggy pants were my telltale heart. Hey, mothers at playgroup! Check out my kid! I win at parenting!!
So, all of this to say that potty training had being going great, until a few weeks ago, when suddenly urination in the appropriate vessel was not so much a thing any more.
This might have something to do with the fact that we my child started play school, we moved five hundred times in the space of 6 weeks, and her whole world was turned upside down. There were massive battles of will, refusals to sit in the appropriate spot and do appropriate things, but we got over it. And it was all cool, until my kid developed a phobia of flushing.
In our new place, the toilets sound like they're about to suck the entire atmosphere down the plumbing when business time is over. Jet fueled toilets! And when you're two, the prospect of disappearing down the pipes is a very real and terrifying possibility. Hence the latest bathroom strike. And the soggy pants. And the dirty dirty dirty ball pit.
Anyway, I'm thinking that maybe the solution is the Rolls Royce of potties? Like this one? Or maybe traveling toilets that come with me, where ever we go? Do you think this one is small enough to fit in my diaper bag? That would certainly do to avoid the pee-pee-on-mama-in-the-taxi-because-traffic-is-just-too-insane situation we've been dealing with lately. Ohhhhh…..a mini urinal? Omg, now I totally want a future maybe baby boy. So cute.
Okay. This is ridiculous. But seriously. Potty strike ideas?
Because I disclose everything, including the state of my child's bathroom habits, you should probably know that this was a sponsored post on behalf of Babe-equip. Hey, did you know they ship overseas? Which is awesome for first-time neurotic expat parents like meeeeeee. As always, the content, ideas, and opinions expressed herein, are entirely my own.
Reader Comments (4)
Oh, you had me really worried there for a minute. (I once arrived at the library to new notes telling parents to please only change diapers in the bathroom, after some child (gasp) found poop in a book.) But, just pee, eh, we peed at the zoo a few weeks ago. But it was in the middle of the barn. And they are doing away with paper towels, so I couldn't find anything to swab it up with. And by the time I looked for help it had vanished, tracked everywhere.
Don't you wish kids came with a disappear me right now button?
Seriously, potty training is a bear. Big changes throw us all off. It'll settle out. For my now three year old, she's great unless she's overtired. But, flushing. Don't even get me started on the terrible self flushing ones. Awful. Even at home, with our gentle flushing toilets, my girls just don't flush. I remind them to, but they forget.
Hi Erica, you might try turning the water supply valve on the wall clockwise in quarter increments to lower the water pressure. Seems like other people had this problem here: https://advice.thisoldhouse.com/showthread.php?t=336. I am no expert, but it is possibly worth a try!
Cheers
Ohhh man so familiar. We had around a month (? more?) of regression/strike/whatevs and now, fingers crossed, seem to be back on track. Maybe. Ha. Anyway, we didn't really do anything, just waited and (mostly) silently gnashed teeth. Bon courage!
Oh kate....so glad someone shares my frustration with flushing, and embarrassment at public pee-pee moments. Having kids sure gives me so much more appreciation for what I put my parents through.