Potty Training

Speaking of nieces, mine is getting potty trained. So cute! She gets a single Skittle as a reward for every time she goes pee and washes her hands. Apparently, this is a doctor-prescribed incentive plan, and boy does it work. Each time she earns a Skittle, she cherishes it for over ten minutes, clutching it, running around with it, presenting it to everyone periodically, and shouting with glee, “My candy!” It is quite darling to see happiness in its purest form. In fact, it’s infectious. I kind of wanted a Skittle myself after watching her go to the bathroom, receive her rewards, and perform her victory lap four times in the course of two hours.

Her mother, my sister, says that a side effect of the potty training process is that she is also learning fraud. After the Skittle has been eaten and its inebriating effects have worn off, she states, “I need to go potty,” and then for clarity, “I want candy.” Then, she insists that she go to the bathroom alone. Her wily parents are not fooled and say that she must have a witness to her feat, which frustrates the budding con artist. Yet, she usually manages to squeeze out some proof. She’s pretty talented, my niece!

[Image from: www.shopping3000.com/toys2/?product=2667979]