2 parents, 1 very determined child....

The title of this would probably be the heading of the current chapter of my biography.  Every day is a new discovery in how 2 parents and 1 very determined child try to resolve conflict and strong determination by all parties...

My son was somewhat difficult to potty train in that like everything with him, if it's not his idea, it's not going to happen.  I swear he's a cat.  He is every bit as determined and headstrong as my geriatric feline who has over 17 years of experience of fortitude.  My husband thinks my son and cat have had a secret pact for world domination ever since we saw an ultrasound picture that looked strangely like he was plotting with his fingers... But that's another story.

Mornings at our house are.... shall we say... payback for how I was when I was a child?  (My husband would argue it's how I still am).  My child likes sleep and I can't blame him.  When we aren't on a schedule, I let him sleep to his heart's content.  The rest of his life he's going to have to get up to an alarm clock most of the time, so I'll give him freedom now.  He's determined to sleep, snuggle and procrastinate as long as his willpower can hold.  It's not pretty.  My husband and him need to leave the house by 7:30.  It's tough.  The two toughest hills to fight battle on are getting him to change his clothes and getting him to go to the bathroom.  Eating breakfast is normally not a tough point of negotiation and in a worst case scenario he can eat on the ride to school.  The clothes battle we have mostly dealt with by dressing him in something that is mostly appropriate for school the next day the evening before and modifying as needed for weather, etc..  Pick your battles.  The toughest negotiation is one neither my husband and I can understand.  Going to the bathroom.  For some reason, our child likes to withhold going to the bathroom like Custer's Last Stand.

Last week culminated in a debacle, so we decided there needs to be some changes.  No TV until you go to the bathroom.  Yes, it's nice to eat breakfast in front of Paw Patrol.  No Paw Patrol without the potty!  Most preschoolers would not see this as something to fight over.  My kid is an exception.  This morning, my husband and I found ourselves resorting back to our childhood days (or at least mine).  You know what you did when you were on a long car trip and you wanted to torture your sibling?  We made so many different sound effects and scenarios with water involved- waves, lakes, waterfalls, you name it.  Apparently it worked.  I guess throw logic and reasoning out and when battling a pre-schooler it's time to use a juvenile skill set.  It was kind of funny and I guess because it worked it kind of leaves me with a smile.  Sometimes you have to dig deep in your parenting tool box and sometimes you wade back into the shallows...