Teaching your child how to graduate from being incontinent wearing diapers to no need for diapers at all. This stage of life has mixed reviews with parents. Some parents are excited while others remain stressed the entire time instruction occurs. Using educational games like grabbing Cheerios for boys to “aim” for, or girls “have to cover” the toilet paper in the kid’s potty seat, is one way to attack this milestone. The older generations would let their child run around naked and usher them to the little potty when it’s time. Many resort to dancing around like a mime on crack singing a happy potty song. Once the concept is understood the progression to overnight potty training takes place. I shudder at the thought of that whole potty-training ordeal. Lots of patience is required along with consistency. This training may take merely a year or less for these children to gain understanding.

On the other hand, children with additional obstacles become potty trained. Where do I begin? The reality can range anywhere from an elusive dream to parents who have the exuberant patience probably greater than that of a saint again with stamina for the consistency your individual pitter patter will require. Unfortunately for selected parents their child continues to receive continence training for multiple years, holding hope that their child will one day obtain physicality, possibly the mentality, to have this education sink in. Those are like me, nothing but stubborn will power in believing my child can accomplish anything.

Yesterday was a bad day. I lost my mind with Katelynn. She sat 10 or so steps from the bathroom with alarms sounding every hour to use the bathroom, still resorted to soaking her diaper. My frustration with her was not only that it occurred, but that she sat in it, said nothing, then attempted to hide it from me. As a side note, I know she was using the restroom when prompted, because in my house the door never gets shut so I listen.  [Katelynn doesn’t remember to ever shut doors, unless something is bothering her, then ALL doors are shut. But that is a whole other topic]. The progression of this daily act has a wide birth of outcomes. Some children pick it up quickly, others are a little more stubborn with their adherence to the ritual as a whole. The reality is that some if not most of our children will continue to wear some sort of incontinent aid.

To be honest the part of incontinence training I long for is no longer having to think about ordering them or adding them to the “need to buy” list, the actual buying process, waiting for their drop ship date or the buying at a brick and mortar. The price and hunting to find sizes that are above size 6 diapers for toddlers and below small adult incontinence covers has changed over the years. The hunt has become easier with companies like Amazon, Walmart, and even some DME (durable medical equipment) stores not requiring a prescription anymore. If order placed which required a prescription, most of them also required the supplied to be covered by insurance. Only long term insurance covers incontinence items which traditionally is only Medicaid, with a few exceptions.  

For those of us who do not qualify for Medicaid, we have COVID for the vast changes. That timeframe taught the world if businesses which to continue they need to take a hard look at their practices.  One of the changes was things like decreasing the script requirement and opening the range of in-between sizes to be located and purchased easier.

All of this is to say, it’s ok our children have not perfected this task no matter what age. As loved ones, we will just need to ensure plentiful stock, insurance or self-pay.  My reminder is as a parent I need to offer myself grace for having a bout of frustration when reality intersects expectations. I as a parent nor Katelynn as a child will be perfect, we just need to meet in the middle. Darn now that song about an Old Georgia Pine is going to be stuck in my head…now yours too.