For the past four days, I’ve been cleaning at least one, sometimes two sets of sheets and blankets a day because my kids have decided they are so psychically connected, they must do all the same things, even pee the bed, in the middle of a deep sleep. Just for some background, my children are in no way abused, and have plenty (but not too many) options in their lives, which should make them feel more in control of their new found independent existence than they actually are. Professor Google will give you many reasons why your child may be peeing the bed, but I know the truth.
1. They enjoy the feeling and the smell of freshly laundered sheets and blankets, each night.
2. It’s not fair that they can only have milk at mealtimes.
3. They are pissed off because I turned off their favorite new Wii game. I told them there will be no more Wii until they are emotionally mature enough to handle a loss without having a complete red faced, tear gushing, screaming at the top of their lungs mental break-down (of course I used slightly less sophisticated language when I explained it). I think this may happen in like ten years from now.
4. They resent me for making them go pee on the potty before bed each night, and this is their version of giving me the finger. Last night, after three nights of peed on sheets and blankets, my daughter refused to go to the bathroom before bed. “I won’t do it.” She said.I was so tired of the fight. “Ok, don’t go pee on the potty right now. But tell you what, if you end up wetting the bed again tonight, in the morning, you can clean yourself up, take the sheets off your bed, throw them in the washing machine, start the washing machine, put them in the dryer, take them out of the dryer and put them back on your bed.”
Sobbing. “But I can’t put them on my bed by myself.”
“Well then, I guess you’ll just have no sheets or blankets.”
She continues to sob. At this point I decide I’d better elaborate a bit. “But, if you do go pee on the potty now, and you have an accident in the middle of the night, I will help you tomorrow, so you don’t have to do it yourself.”
She quit crying and went to the bathroom. When I walked into her room this morning, the familiar ammonia scent of pee greeted me.
5. They hate me. Kidding, kidding…but still…
Can anyone else relate to this?
If you’re just beginning your potty training journey, and want to get it right the first time, check out this video for a great plan of action.
