I Let My Son Pee On A Tree At The Park

But here's the confession: there was a decent public bathroom nearby.


Normally, I have no problem with little people (as in very young children) doing their business behind a bush or tree if there isn't a public restroom onsite. If there is a restroom than it should be used. Little boys especially don't need to think they can just whip their fire hoses out whenever they want and give the grass a watering. But, it's hard to hold it when you're two, and it just seems cruel to "punish"" a preschooler by heading home to use the bathroom when he/she responsibly told you that they have to go.

But here was my dilemma the other day. We are about two weeks into potty training and it's been going pretty well. We have better days than others. Some days are completely accident free but then the next it seems as though the lad is regressing. Since he hasn't completely mastered the art of doing one's business in the ceramic bowl I want to give him the opportunity to succeed whenever I can. And I knew remembering to tell mom he had to "go" while distractedly playing with friends on the playground was going to be tough.

So, when he exuberantly exclaimed, "Mama, I have to go pee-pee" mid-play I was ecstatic and wanted to make sure he won himself a gummy bear by avoiding an accident. The bathroom was just far enough away I doubted his ability to make it. And the portable kiddy potty I had brought with me was further than that. Desperate for success, I whipped down the boys pants and planted him next to a nearby sapling.  He was a tinkling successful!

Tacky? Probably. But until we are done with "training" I guess I'm just what my friend Jessica would call: that mom.