Having a child with special needs obviously presents extra challenges. One of these is potty training. I have three children, and I have yet to successfully potty train any of them.

That’s probably a little misleading. The truth is, two of my three kids trained themselves. We’ve been trying to get Alex trained for so long that the other two just kind of mastered it on their own, when it was developmentally appropriate for them to do so. In the meantime, we’ve attempted potty training many, many times with Alex. It obviously never ends the way we hope.

The average age for a child with Down syndrome to be toilet trained is eight. We are two years past that, and I’m done. He can totally do it, but for some reason just won’t. He is about 80% trained, but still can’t stay dry, and we’ve allowed him to stay in Pull-Ups, thinking he would let us know when he was ready.

Well, he’s ready. We made that decision for him, though, because it’s just ridiculous now. It’s easier for him to not stop what he’s doing to use the bathroom, and he probably enjoys that sense of control that he then maintains over the situation.

Sorry, pal. Time’s up.

He did really well yesterday, and while today was a little rough, we stuck to it and made it to bedtime. I thought he was doing so well this evening, and then discovered that he had changed into a Pull-Up at some point. I wasn’t sure if I should be frustrated because he ditched the underpants, or admire him because he managed to get one over on me.

Tomorrow is a new day, and another chance to try again. And try, try we will.