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Monday, May 15, 2006

Best pee-buddy of all, a 2yr old?

Ok, that sounds really weird. Let me explain.

I have a son, he's about 2 year old and is showing some interest in the toilet and in potty training. I think it's difficult for boys, especially those who stay home with their mothers since they generally only see people urinating in a sitting position.

Perhaps I'm overly sensitive to issues of toilet training for boys but I decided I needed to show him how men are supposed to do it.

This weekend I had a couple of opportunities to take him with me to public bathrooms. Each time we took a large stall. The first time he watches me stand over the toilet bowl and..and..Nothing. Shy Bladder strikes.

He's watching me, absolutely fascinated as to what we're waiting for and what is going to happen next. Staring wild-eyed in a way only a 2 year old can, no hint of embarrassment for my predicament.

I'm thinking to myself, he's 2 years old. I'm suffering Shy Bladder in front of my 2 year old. After what seems an eternity but is probably only 10-12 seconds I decide that we should sing a song he knows. We sing and within a few seconds I'm able to go.

Later episodes were similar except that I didn't have to resort to the singing, I was just willing to wait a few seconds more knowing that I would be able to go at some time as soon as I'd relaxed enough.

The moral of the story? I'm not sure there is one but one of the reasons I decided to try to beat my Shy Bladder was exactly this - I wanted to be normal around my Son and be a good role model to him. It seems that Shy Bladder can run in families and I didn't want to pass it on.