Bathroom reading...

I don't know what it is about 3 year olds, but I am learning that they can often be obsessed with going to the bathroom. This, of course, is only true when we are in public and when I have a cart full of groceries at the opposite end of the store. I have heard friends talk about this bathroom syndrome as well. I am starting to wonder if it is mostly girls too. My friends with boys haven't appeared to have the same problem.

I think the kids know they "have us" because they know we don't want to discourage them using the bathroom. I have actually had to make the rule that we cannot only use the public restroom more than 2 times during any one trip to that place. Seriously.

The other side of this dilemma (beside the obvious annoyance of having to take her to the bathroom ALL THE TIME) is that Jo is just now starting to become more independent in the bathroom. She actually goes into the stall by herself and I wait right outside the stall (and in her mind I AM NOT permitted to even touch the door while she is in there...good thing I know better than to leave my 3 year old in charge). In some ways this is fantastic. I still have to check the stall and put toilet paper down, but other than that it is a little easier than helping her through the whole routine. However, new problems have presented themselves due to this situation.

1. There is the possible locking of the door. I have told her repeatedly NOT to lock the door while she is in there. As you know, 3 years olds always listen, so I was shocked when she locked the door one day while in the Buehlers bathroom. This in and of itself isn't that big of a deal. The big deal came when she COULDN'T unlock the door to get out. I tried coaching her through the task while all the elderly ladies coming in and out gave me sympathetic smiles that hid (not really)their amusement with the situation. I told God that I would really like to draw the line at crawling on the bathroom floor surrounded by other people. As mothers we are asked to embarrass ourselves on a daily basis, but this was a bit much for me. Thankfully, God took pity on me, and Jo got the door open. I will take pity if it save me from crawling on the nasty floor. Did I mention I was wearing a dress?
2. There are all new options for getting into trouble while left alone in the stall. Usually, she will just do her business. But, there is always the possibility of taking WAY too much toilet paper or pulling the emergency cord while using the bathroom at the hospital. Yup, that's right. While visiting my sis-in-law at the hospital yesterday (she had a beautiful baby girl!), Johanna used the bathroom in the room several times. She save the best for last when she pulled the emergency cord next to the toilet. The nurse came rushing in (at least we know it works), and I had to have another talk with Jo about the only things we touch in the bathroom.

Maybe Jo has a future in product testing and development. She would be good at that.