Year 1, Day 262

Jackson walked in the door the other day, and took off his jacket. He unzipped the darn thing right before my eyes, and even put it on the kitchen table for safe keeping. I didn't even know he was aware of the zipper, much less, how to use it. If he can do this, what else is he hiding from me?! Maybe he can actually put on his own shoes and socks (Lord knows, he can take them off every SINGLE time he is strapped in a car seat). And, maybe he could change his own darn diaper . . . or better yet, use the potty.

But I haven't brought up the "potty" yet, because I've seen firsthand, as a preschool teacher, the horrid ramifications of starting "too early." With so many opinions about toilet training, and so many hours of "couch time" in later life that is directly related to rushed or latent toilet training, it's a a scary part of child development to throw yourself into unarmed. I virtually know nothing about potty training. When I was a preschool teacher, and some of our kids were not potty trained, I don't recall having a successful plan or even a plan at all. Looking back, I was completely nonchalant and would have been fuming if I was the parent of one of those diaper wearing children. With my lack of expertise in the subject, most parents took the challenge into their own hands. Families would come in and say "this is THE potty training weekend" - which meant that they would let their child run around nude all weekend and urge them to run to the toilet when needed. I assume they had carpets cleaned shortly thereafter, because it sounds like a big ol' mess.

Other parents were 100% devoted to the reward system - give them a marble in the jar for every time they use the potty. Once the jar was filled, they got a prize. That worked sometimes, but it also became ridiculous to keep track of when you had 22 jars to fill and limited marbles (not to mention the choking hazard of having marbles and 2 year olds.)

Still, other parents just stocked up on "pull ups" and went that route. That method of potty training usually took years.

So, I will remain unphased by the diapering and just be on the lookout for cues that he is ready. However, given my recent lack of observation skills related to what he can and can not do, I don't have a lot of confidence in myself!