I have been living in the nightmare that is potty training. My very headstrong and beautiful 3-year-old (almost 4) has issues. She is not interested in using the toilet for, let’s call it #2. I have tried many tactics, both positive and negative, including bribery, stickers, candy, toys, time-outs, reasoning, and pleading. She will not budge. I have explained to her this is not a choice; this is what people do. Still no interest. As I am reluctant to clean up huge messes that can be sometimes created with this training, I rely on pull-ups instead of regular underpants. I see where this may have been a deterrent to her learning (which, has been ongoing. For over a year.)

This weekend, a new opportunity came my way, in the form of Princess Belle. She was at a birthday party we attended, and my daughter sat in rapt attention whenever Princess Belle talked. She quickly jumped up when told and was eager to do all of Belle’s bidding. It was only later, after the princess had departed for the castle, that the idea seized me – I should have asked Belle to talk to my daughter about using the toilet. So with the help of a good friend, that night, the princess called my daughter, and with eyes as big as saucers, Lauren promised Belle that she would use the toilet like a real princess.

I pushed this angle and encouraged my daughter to act like a real princess. The next day we did not have a #2 accident, but we did have a #1 accident. I realized that the safety net needed to be removed before I could press further, so we removed the pull-ups from the daytime rotation and panties are the only option. We have endured 2 “accidents” (quotations used for emphasis, because were they really accidental?) on 2 separate days (one of each variety) and yesterday was, remarkably, accident-free. I woke up this morning at 2am, terrified that I would get the call from school, that she would not remember that a real princess uses the toilet.

As I realize this is a control issue, I have also tried to turn that to work for our benefit – because, after all, if she’s not using the toilet, who’s really in charge? The princess or the poo?