We have a blessing and a curse in our nursery: a small, child-sized toilet and child-level sink in a child-sized bathroom located within our classroom. The blessing is that we don't have to spend the entire two hours hunting down parents when children say they need to go to the bathroom. The curse is that we don't have to hunt down the parents when the children say they need to go to the bathroom.
Since we teach the two-year-olds who are turning three, about half of the kids are in the process of being potty-trained right now. The other half wish they were being potty trained right now.
It usually begins around snack time. One child says, "I need to go to the bathroom." So we open the door, turn on the light, and the child goes about his or her business. (Lucky for us they're all very modest and don't want any help.) Then it is as if every child in the room just drank a gallon of water and is now standing next to Niagra Falls. A chorus of "I need to go to the bathroom!" erupts and a line quickly forms, often with the kids trying to barge in on whoever is currently using the facilities.
The problem arises when we have non-potty trained kids who decide in nursery that now is the time to begin their potty training. And since we as nursery leaders don't know who is and who isn't potty-trained, we all take them at their word.
Take today, for instance. A little girl told me that she needed to go potty. So I opened the door, turned on the light, and asked if she needed help. She said no and pointed to the door. So I let myself out. I checked on her periodically and after about 5 minutes she was finished. She'd put her tights and shoes back on. To my shock there was a wet diaper sitting on the floor. She grinned up at me.
One of the other leaders left in search of the dad so we could get her a new diaper. Meanwhile she strutted around the nursery, enjoying the feeling of being diaper-free. And, to her credit, she did actually go in the toilet, too.
Her dad was chagrined when he came to get her. "Don't take your diaper off any more!" he chided her as he picked her up and carried her off. I, for one, think it may be time to get her some training pants!
I agree!
ReplyDeleteThat is cute! I think you are helping the younger kids learn to potty train themselves! Or at least want to be potty trained. We will just send Noah to nursery with you when it is time for him to learn :)
ReplyDeleteHa Ha. It really is a cruel trick to put people in nursery who don't have kids. Because your story would be pretty shocking, unless you had kids, and then it would just be normal daily life. ha ha. I am sure the kids love you, though.
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