You guys, this has been a rough week for many. Sorry for the silence, but I’ve been dealing with some stuff myself over here. Hopefully I’ll be back next week feeling just fab.
In the meantime, here are two of the latest Mama Said videos – Kristen and I are answering reader questions this month, and the first focuses on potty training. (If anything, you should probably listen to my original pee pee song at the 5:15 mark. I’m totally available for weddings.)
The second one deals with bad habits we are trying to break for the sake of our children. My biggest is cussing.
Wait, do you call it cussing or cursing? I guess I’m in the ‘cussing’ camp…
If you have any questions you’d like us to cover in future videos, feel free to leave them in the comments. Happy Memorial Day weekend – I hope you have a fun, relaxing three days off with your families.
Anne
May 24, 2013 at 4:58 pmThis is too funny! I do the exact same things! Oh no :( (Cursing, eating on the couch, checking my phone, you name it, I do it). I’ve been forcing myself to not do it and playtime is so much more fun when the phone is on silent off in the corner for an hour. People will survive. But you know, sometimes, the answer is simply: “Because I am an adult, and adults have learned to eat on the couch without making a mess. Once you learn to eat at the table, mess-free and sitting still, you may eat on the couch as well.” I think that sounds perfectly reasonable.
And potty-training – don’t even get me started. My son was almost 5 until there was no more struggle. Bless all the REALLY patient moms out there!
Esther
May 24, 2013 at 5:08 pmI love this! I too have the mouth of a sailor (don’t tell anyone outside of my house, lol).
I don’t have a smart phone, but my laptop, which I’m using right now while my kids run around is always going. I use the, “I’m working” excuse, but they occasionally catch me on Facebook or Twitter.
Thanks for breaking the silence! :-)
Sonja von Franck
May 24, 2013 at 5:10 pmI’m glad you mentioned that you had friends that had their children potty trained by two, because I really think that’s a better time to do it. In line with your “breaking bad habits” post, if you wait to they’re three, it’s such a harder habit to break. Especially if you’re under the gun of preschool. And imagine the stress they’re under in a strange environment and OMG what if I crap my pants!! I’ve potty trained three and am in the middle of training my two year old. I started them at 18 months and by two, they really do know when they need to pee and poop. Those PULL-UPS are the worst thing ever! Just makes it harder to break the habit. Oh and a good song is a must. Ours is “TEE TEE ON THE POTTY! TEE TEE ON THE POTTY! TEE TEE ON THE POTTY! THAT’S THE WAY YOU DO IT!” Actually that might be the secret. ;-)
Lisa Ensor
May 26, 2013 at 7:26 amHi! I recently switched to cloth diapering my 9 month old, now I’ve heard that cloth diapering can be used for potty training! Have you considered this? It’s said that cloth diapered babies potty train an average of a year earlier! My friend used Flip covers and insert to train her son at night! What are your thoughts?
Kandecia
May 27, 2013 at 6:02 pmI’m so glad to hear the potty stories. My daughter will be 3 in the fall and she just started pooping in the toilet. I have 2 issues that maybe someone can help me with. 1. She wants a piece of potty candy every single time she goes and 2. Naps and bedtimes-how can i get her to hold it while she sleeps?
GreenInOC
May 27, 2013 at 11:55 pmYour hair is magnificent!!! It’s such a good cut and I’m so jealous!
Jackie
May 29, 2013 at 7:46 pmWe have the same poop issue!!! And working on it… It’s nice to hear we’re not alone. I’m curious about how you transitioned your kids from crib to a bed. Our just turned 3 year old is in a bed but I have to sit with him until he’s asleep or he gets up. I tried the walking back to bed routine but the kid will go on for hours! It drove me nuts. When he was in a crib I put him down awake and he was fine and put himself to sleep. In January, we moved him to a bed and he slowly realized he could get up. So…. If you have any advise on the subject I’d love to hear it. (I’m currently sitting in his room while I type this waiting for him to fall asleep!)
Patricia
May 29, 2013 at 10:49 pmI think the first time my toddler swore we found it really amuzing but then it just carried on and on, and we realised we had to change our language, difficult at first but glad to say after about a year there are very few swear words coming out our mouth. I think my extremly bad habit is throwing my clothes on the floor at night and only pick them up in the morning. I go into my childrens room and clothes all over the floor in the morning and I spend most of my morning bending down and pickin up and then all nice and neat for the afternoon only to start the whole process again mmmmph.
BTW lovin the videos
Kris
June 16, 2013 at 2:01 pmBreaking bad habits and Mothering…awesome! Teaching my kid to avoid some bad habits in which he sees that I’m doing it. How pathetic! But anyway someone said that as parents, mistakes are inevitable and it is important to learn from those mistakes and try not to repeat them and attempt to be a better parent. I really need to cross my finger.
greenminimalism
August 2, 2013 at 12:59 pmMagnificent hair and great tips about habits, as usual!