As a mother of two (2) two-year-olds, we are in the “thick of it” at our house. Add two big kids and a puppy, and we are talking about poop ALL THE TIME. Even though it is my New Year’s resolution to be more patient and remember to look at things from another point of view, I often forget. That is why it was such a gift to be able to work with someone else’s child in class today.
I was stationed in the Dramatic Play area my first day at co-op and I didn’t really have many customers. My little girl came over to do some shopping and have a baby tea party. And I think my little guy only came by one time. I had a few other sweet girls climbing to the top of the playhouse for a brief minute and that was it.
The excitement came further into the *open* play hour. One of the little girls was “downstairs” in the house and looked at me really funny. I knew she’d had an accident. What I didn’t know is that she was wearing her big girl underwear or how I was going to find what I would need to help her. I took her hand and told her it was OK. She followed me happily.
While asking where the clean supplies were, we discovered that she had a grown-up there that morning in class. This kiddo also had an adult there that was now disappointed in herself that she had forgotten to bring some extra clothes. With a little investigating though, we found some clean pants, socks, and underwear (pink monkeys!) in the closet. Disaster, drama, and disappointment averted. I handed the girl back to her grownup and went back to Dramatic Play.
Shortly after, another “perceptive parent” noticed that there was actually a little puddle in the playhouse. As I grabbed a towel and started cleaning, I had to steer a little boy away from the mess. The moment I took his hand though, I realized that he, too, had had a little accident. So the original sharp-eyed mama got to work cleaning the playhouse puddle and I took our sweet little guy to the bathroom.
Luckily, this guy was in a pull-up. I put him up on the QACP kiddo-bathroom changing table and got to work. I removed his shoes first and what big feet he had for a tiny tyke! Then I got to the pants and the dirty pull-up. He did such a good job following directions, doing exactly as I asked of him.
Once we had the new pull-up and his pants and shoes back on, we went over to the sink. We washed hands, blew his runny nose, and held hands on the way back to class. Teacher Linda was *in-tune* to the two situations and apologized that I had to change another child’s diaper. But it’s really no big deal. As I mentioned, we have a lot of poop at my house and it’s just part of the job.
I did exactly what I would hope another caregiver would do for my children in the same situation. What I didn’t realize was what a bond I was forging with those kiddos! As a new parent to the co-op class group, I am still learning some children’s names and hardly even recognize half of the adults at this stage in the class.
But, now I noticed a wonderful warmth from this boy and this girl for the rest of the day. Sweet smiles and a closeness that I truly hope continues. Thank you for letting me be a part of your group and for reminding me to take the time to help them, all of them. They are only little once!
This link is full of fun and easy potty training tips that I found for others to check out plus watch for a blog on encouraging fellow parents to not to be too frustrated with their little one’s potty training journey. This chapter in our parenting can drive even the most patient grownup to lose their cool about toileting situations. Stay tuned, QACP 🙂
Queen Anne Co-op Preschool 