DS has been asking to go to school lately. I think he's getting it from the Berenstain Bears. He's been asking for homework and stuff. Anyway. So. He's been nearly toilet trained for 2 years. Yes, honestly two years, he had successful diaper-free periods before he turned one.
So I told him "I heard you have to be toilet trained before you start school."
Then his dad, completely seperately, told him the two things he needs to work on before he can start school are diapers and articulation.
The next day he asked for underwear, and, thinking nothing of it, we dressed him in underwear. He did really well, we were out all day, at a playgroup, and then a museum. Dry untill 5pm, and then it was a tiny itsy bitsy accident followed by the rest of it making it into the toilet. So I put fresh pants on him, and, the museum closed, we went home. He fell asleep on the way, which was WAAY to freakin' early, so I woke him up when we got home (like 10 minutes).
He appeared to be really, genuinely sick, so we started bedtime early. I though maybe he had an ear infection. Eventually he sobbed out a story about having a bug in his ear. But that happened to ME, not him, and it was a long time ago (though he's heard it many times, 6000 of my closest friends still tease me about the screaming, and it must have made an impression on him at the time.) Ok, I checked his ear, no bug.
But the "scared" part was evidently true, so I let him sleep with me over night, and it became clear that he's so deeply desirous of going to school next September that he stressed himself to the gills (complete with physicalizing) over toilet training. Thanks to a couple of off-hand comments neither of us thought twice about. Today, I insisted on diapers, explained that he's actually well enough toilet trained for half-day kindergarden, and after an inital argument, we had a lovely, stress-free day.
He is NOT going next sept.
& This is the *second* time we've traumatized him over toilet training.
I give up. On parenting. I'm a total looser. (no, I don't mean that. just... ARG)
What do you do with a kid who wants to go to school that much at 2? Preshool? Or would that make it worse? He's randomly learned his alphabet this week, and he has most of the K content, maybe all of it... Preschool wouldn't be what he's thinking it is.
-Mich
