Potties and willies

We are at that stage where I would say we are on the 'cusp' of potty training. Beastie will be two and a half next month and so far everywhere I have read it states that this is around the age you can expect a boy to be ready.  Now it's a always an interesting one, I hate to go by what people call the norm and I know that all children develop in their own ways.

Where Beastie was super quick at rolling over, sitting up and being confident on his feet, he is still getting there with his speech and the latest being the potty issue. Not that I have made it an issue (by the way) as I know that is a massive no no, what I have noticed is how people are starting to comment. I have from time to time throughout Beastie's life become sensitive over people's comments on various milestones and I actually avoid parents now that constantly compare. Why can't they just be happy with their child's progress rather than trying to compete? no one likes bragging and those sorts of people never take it well when their child may be the one lagging behind.

So a long while back I began to prepare for the impending training and bought a potty and rather hastily I might add, some really cute pants. The potty was placed in the bathroom and was generally greeted with much disgust, we had a few occasions where it was sat on but more often than not it was kicked away.

It soon became apparent that the toilet was in fact what Beastie referred to as the potty and soon enough I bought a children's training seat and a book called Potty Training for Boys. I started to read this book yesterday and instantly thought it doable with the fact you don't need to set aside a few days to stay indoors. The book claims to offer step by step guidance through the next few weeks, geared more towards working Mums who can't take a few days off to dedicate themselves fully to the training. It reads well and I will stick with it for now although there are some statements that have annoyed me already...yes we're calling it a willy.

I have been careful not to rush Beastie and bow to pressure from other people, I do firmly believe that forcing the issue will make matters more difficult and that choosing the right time is crucial. This is the part that worries me. Last week the nursery manager casually came up to me to ask 'we were wondering what was happening with potty training?'. To which I flatly told her he was not ready yet. I was slightly irked that she had asked in the way she had, as they so often do with matters, as well as feeling that when the training does start that I would have the sense to mention it them. She also didn't confirm any particular cues that had brought her to this conclusion.

I have written before about the nursery manager and her ways of dealing with situations, she tries to be tactful but always manages to come across the opposite. Yesterday I was particularly amused when a parent walked into the nursery after me and said to her 'it always stinks of poo when you walk in!'. It doesn't in my opinion but I really wished it was me that had said it, she simply didn't know what to say and I could see it ruffled her feathers.

The potty has been relegated to the airing cupboard, it gathers less dust there. As for the toilet seat, I give it the thumbs up. Beastie has accomplished putting it on the loo, pulling up his little step and hopping on, dangling his legs for a while before putting them all back where they started from. I realise I need a lot of patience here and will need to wait for a present in the toilet, we just never seem to get one. Just confirmation it's squished up his backside and obvious squatting accompanied with denial. To all of you that have finished your training or are in the process, we are about to jump on board...wish us luck.

Has child protection gone crazy?

I have been mulling this one over for a few days as it has narked me, then I suddenly hit me that I should write down such incidences on here, as soon as they crop up in my head. It is my blog after all and just every now and then I want a bit of a rant.

I thought of it all whilst cooking dinner, I said it all out in my head and then thought 'quick write it down before you forget!'. All the while thinking I really need a dictaphone, that would solve the problem. Seriously though I would feel such a fool speaking into one of them, or even my phone. I mean for goodness sake, who do I think I am?

I have only previously had one other rant about my nursery and this was in my early days of blogging about nursery staff not respecting my wishes, but that's another story altogether...

Anyhow, dinner is bubbling away so I have bolted over here to the laptop. I want to put the world to rights about my annoying nursery manager. Last week she really got under my skin, not because she actually did anything majorly wrong, it was the way in which she addressed a matter. Now I don't often pay much attention to the notices on the nursery front door (bad mummy) but I have noticed one particular notice asking for mobile phones to not be used. Apart from them being a distraction for young children, I do understand the real meaning behind this, the darker side to them being prohibited. That is child protection, as a Mum of course I understand where they are coming from and because of the recent cases in the press regarding the misuse of mobiles for indecent images, I see the worry.

What has really annoyed me is the stance the nursery manager took. It was a foul day when I picked Beastie up and certainly not suitable to be standing in the rain waiting for my husband to pick us up. So being sensible (keeping my child dry) we stayed put inside and waited on a seat by the front door until our lift arrived. Not having the desired super power of xray vision, I wasn't able to to see when my husband was going to pull up so figured I would have to rely on my phone. It was on silent and it rang, the briefest of calls to say we could leave. Just as I pulled my phone out of my bag the manager walked by, she heard my conversation for the millesecond that it was and preceded to stand there and say 'now you do know that you aren't allowed mobiles in here don't you?'. I replied explaining that I was aware but it was raining outside and we needed to know when to leave. She went on the justify her patronising statement to which I was fairly short.

This was the same lady that told me she didn't agree with children attending nursery and that they should be with their Mums. This was coming from a woman that runs a nursery, not to mention it is not the most tactful thing to say to a new Mum who already feels incredibly guilty leaving her child AND paying them.

Now if you have stuck with me this far, bravo, I am not sure I would have (or skimmed a bit, I am good at that). Then you might want to comment on how you would feel about this? I feel it's child protection gone too far and some jobsworth relaying protocols unneccessarily, there is a time and a place, I really didn't feel this was needed.

It takes me back to when I first took Beastie swimming, along with a friend and her child. We were so excited to see their reactions and not surprisingly we wanted to capture the moment on camera. Oh no the lifeguard put paid to that, by asking my friend to put her camera away. Again I can see the rationale, but it was just my friend and I in the pool, no one else to even star in the photo's unwittingly. We were Mums! (complete with rather large tums) what threat did we pose? we didn't steal these children to take indecent photo's, they were our children. It really upset us as it was a special time for us and we wanted to document that with photo's, so very sad. It just worries me that peoples seem to have no common sense anymore and that there is so much red tape, they can't see beyond it.

It's very much like people are trained like drones to do things one way and one way only. A bit like when you go to the supermarket and some of people on the check outs appear to be battery operated. They barely acknowledge you and then say 'would you like any help with your packing?' seeming not to have noticed you have only bought three items!