raising kids

I've been thinking about how serious these young new parents seem to be about raising their children. I mean, it is a serious business, but they seem to make some mountains out of molehills. Take potty training for instance. Have you noticed that parents are not potty training these kids until they are old enough to be changing their own diapers? Was our generation warped by using the toilet from an early age? I think not.

Here is how I did it and my kids seem fairly normal. At about 15 months for Rebecca and 20 months for Rob, I just took off their diapers and let them run around the house with nothing on their bottom. It didn't take long for them to figure out that the previous contents of their diapers were coming from them! It was also a lot easier to catch them urinating or pooping and run the kid to the potty. It only took a week and it was over. Of course, I made a to do over "big girl" panties or "big boy" pants. Then at night before I went to sleep, I would pick up the sleeping child, go to the potty, put them on it, and say "GO!". I ran the water in the sink for adding stimulus. They would "go", and back to bed they went. Worked for me. I asked Rebecca the other day if I said "GO", if she would have the urge to go pee. She looked at me thoughtfully, and said "Maybe."

When it came to taking away a bottle or pacifier I was a total failure. it probably didn't help that I took a bottle myself until I was four. And, for the record, my teeth are perfect. Why, I don't know, but dentists are always amazed. Maybe it was all that milk. Anyway, back to the scandalous tale. Rob and Rebecca both took bottles until after they were two. And Rebecca and the pacifier. That is a whole "nother story. She loved her pacifiers. There was the "worker"- the one that worked, I guess, and the white one (self explanatory) I've forgotten the other names, but there were others that were not very popular with Bec. She could say the word pacifier perfectly at one year because the Mother's Day Out personnel were always searching for it for Rebecca. She could talk at age one and I would ask a question , pop the pacifier out ( a literal pop) and then stick it back in after the answer. This went on until she was almost three. I had always called a pacifier a "fooler". Rebecca called it an Ooh Fooh. Or I should say she called it an ooh fooh at home and a facifier everywhere else. At night sometimes I would hear her calling out "oooooh fooooooooo" I would go into her room, and usually find the worker under the bed or stuck to her hair because it had gotten so sticky. Jon's mother summed up my sentiments on the subject perfectly. She said, "Let her husband worry about it." That shut people up. One time Rebecca stayed with some good friend's children and the babysitter while we all went out for the evening. When we got home Rebecca was sobbing hysterically. It transpired that the babysitter thought she was way too old for a pacifier and refused to let her have it! I let the babysitter have it though.

Rob's love was cars from a very early age. He loved books about cars, playing with cars, pretending to work on cars (getting underneath chairs with a screwdriver). One day Dana and I stopped at the Goodwill box and picked up a big old metal pedal car. Rob LOVED it. He would wash the car all the time. Sadly, my mother got rid of it. Later Rob loved real cars. He also had a history of bad luck with cars. His first car had a tree fall on it before he ever drove the car. Then he wrecked one. Then Rob wrecked another one. Then a deer ran in front of him for another wreck. Then his girlfriend wrecked his car. We call him Wreck 'em up Rob. It was frustrating especially after the insurance was cancelled for all of us. But thank God, he was never hurt. He still loves cars. But now other things and people are more important like his wife, his dog Basco, his home, garden, computers, job, hiking, camping, and living in Seattle.

By the way, Rebecca at age 28 does not still have a pacifier. I did buy her a candy pacifier one time as a joke though. She seemed to really enjoy it.