How to be a successful mother: potty training

I know this post is very out of context among all these beauty posts but I feel the urge to praise myself for being a successful mother in one and only respect: potty training. I've never felt proud of myself that my children learned to speak really quickly (Mikolaj, aged two, once said: 'Mum, give me a biscuit. Life's tough.')  knew the alphabet, could interpret most street signs when they were two and a half. They picked it up themselves. Same thing about singing, walking, storytelling, jumping, quarreling, pretend shooting and other practical skills. Potty training, however, is another story.

Potty training is something that requires extra patience and understanding on the part of a parent and most of all - time. I'm the lucky one cause I have the luxury of 4-month holiday a year and that's when I like to start my proceedings connected with making my kids realise that they actually urinate and if it wasn't for the nappy they would walk in wet pants.
This time the task was made easy thanks to Mikolaj who staged the whole show of wee weeing and pooing. What's more he introduced Adam into the the art of interpretation of poo shapes. Now both of them bend over the potty and decide whether they see a Citroen logo, an aircraft or perhaps a snail there. It took us about two weeks to get rid of the nappies completely (even at night time), but there are always some discomforts connected with a two-and-a-half-year-old running around without nappies. I feel that the process of potty training takes some parents so long cause they don't want to face the logistic challenge which awaits them.
What I mean is that once the kid is trained not to use the nappies you have two options: stay close to your home all the time or take the potty with you. We love travelling so we pick the second option. During our last trip to Warsaw we installed the potty in our Landrover boot, toilet for the disabled (brought to our minds one of the IT Crowd episodes), in the ZOO with the view to giraffes (picture above), in the park, MC Donald's Drive-In car park etc. Don't you worry, this is embarassing only the first time, you get used to it.
I firmly believe that human brain operates during sleep so if you show to your kid that they may wet their pyjamas they will realise that even during sleep they are supposed to control their bladder. If you don't give them the chance to sleep in wet bed they will never know and learn. What's more, if you sometimes use the nappies and sometimes you don't you confuse the child. So once you've noticed that the kid has caught the idea of bladder control throw away all the nappies you've got. Don't let them tempt you!
I know the whole business of potty training is a frustrating and discouraging process but with some time, patience and endurance you're bound to succeed soon. Better make an effort and do it quickly than extend the effort for months or even years. And it's not true that it's harder to train boys than girls.