“NO, MOMMY!” My preschooler had dug in his heels and was refusing to budge. “I can’t go in there!”
We’d just pulled off the turnpike into a gas station/convenience store because I desperately had to pee. And the “there” into which I was trying unsuccessfully to coax (okay, drag) my son was the Women’s Room. Though, shifting from foot to foot, with thighs clenched tight is hardly what you’d call negotiating from a position of strength.
“Maaaah-meeee –” my boy protested, exasperated.
“What is it?!?” I demanded, trying to tug him forward and vowing that I’d be more diligent about doing my daily Kegel exercises from now on.
“I can’t go in there,” he protested, eyeing me as if I were quite possibly the densest adult he’d encountered in all of his four-plus world-weary years. “I’M. A. BOY!”
Argh!!! Just when you think you’d cleared every possible hurdle in the particular parenting endurance test known as Potty Training, you run smack into yet another wholly unforeseen obstacle: the preschooler’s stark understanding of gender identity as it pertains to the loo. Which is to say, boys go in the Boys Room — not in the Girls Room.
To read more, please click here and follow me over to HealthBistro at Lifescript where I’m guest blogging today and the second Friday of every month about my late-in-life parenting adventures.
And what about you? Has your kid ever refused to accompany you into the gender-appropriate bathroom? Please leave a comment after the post and tell me all about it.
And while you’re at Lifescript, take a look around. You’ll find tons of great health info for women there.
photo credit: DSGpro
Dragging one child into the incorrect bathroom was not my problem. My challenge was trying to nurse an infant sitting on a PUBLIC toilet and keeping the 2 year old from touching anything. My infant required a quiet calm place for her frequent meals, and the constant FLUSH from around me made it almost impossible. I loved my babies, love them now that they are teenagers, but I will never miss the stressful early days trying to go out and about!
Patti, thanks so much for reading and commenting. I too remember the infant in the public bathroom days — doing a diaper change in a gas station restroom without a changing table definitely requires two adults to pull off! Fortunately, I didn’t also have to keep an eye on an inquisitive toddler. I appreciate your stopping by. I’ll have a new post on Friday.