When our children reach two years of age, it is very common for people to tell us: "hey, you are old enough to leave the diaper." There is a belief in many aspects of children's development, that at a certain age they are ready for this or that thing. The famous "diaper operation" is usually one of them.
And so it was, Lucia turned two and there was no shortage of someone who told me that "it was time" for me to leave the diaper. What to do as a first-time mother? I tell you why I decided to wait and how this helped me say goodbye to the diaper in an easy and fast way.
First attempts
Maybe I let myself be guided or influenced by feeling first in this subject and being honest, I must say yes, I did try the "diaper operation" shortly after they made me the comment about the time.
In Babies and more It is not true that in summer children should leave the diaper: signs that will indicate if it is preparedThe truth is as mothers and fathers our responsibility and work is to guide our children through all its stages. We must accompany them and teach them so that they gradually learn. I like being active and present in the steps my daughter takes, and saying goodbye to the diaper is no exception.
So after two years we started talking about the subject, I explained that she would eventually stop using diapers, put some songs on her, take her with me to the bathroom and show her how this whole thing worked. We tried to walk without a diaper a few days but she was not ready yet.
In total, there were three attempts that occurred before my daughter left the diaper completely during the day. But the truth is that those first attempts were difficult from the beginning because she was not ready. And since I didn't want this to be a bad experience, I decided that I would be patient and wait.
So they just stayed on that, attempts, because I decided that it wouldn't be me who dictated when it was time for Lucia to leave the diaper. The only person who could decide on that was her and no one else..
Why did i decide to wait
I know that most people think there is a specific age for children to leave the diaper, but since my daughter was a newborn I understood that not all tips work with all children.
I share the reasons why I decided to wait as long as possible:
Because I didn't want to press my daughter
This is the biggest motive of all. The truth is that for me the fact of leaving the diaper is a big step in the life of a child, and therefore, I think it must be a positive and good experience for them.
Pressing them to do something when they are not in the mood, do not want it or are not ready, is often counterproductive. Simply and simply, I didn't want to say goodbye to the diaper was difficult or stormy for her.
Because I know that each child develops at their own pace
This second reason is because from its first months, I realized that although there are certain guides to ensure that our children develop properly, not everything is the same for all children.
Each one develops at their own pace and at their own level. The maturation processes of each are different and the fact that one left the diaper the day he turned two does not mean that everyone will.
The best time to leave the diaper is when our children tell us. Not the pediatrician, not the teachers, not the neighbor or the grandmother. Each child marks the moment when he is ready for a new stage in his life.
Because I was not in a hurry
Why the pressure to remove the diaper after two years or because it is summer? Although it is true that in summer it is easier to do it, I have never understood why it should be an obligation to do it at that time yes or yes, where sometimes there is a risk of getting ahead of ourselves just because it is summer. I understand that there comes a time when it is tedious to keep changing diapers, but that It does not mean that just because we are tired of doing so it is time to leave them.
I was never in a hurry to take my daughter's diaper off; on the contrary, I think being patient and waiting for her to be ready alone was what helped us to almost not realize that I had already left her.
In Babies and more The best time to leave the diaper is not always when the pediatrician says it, neither the neighbor nor the teacherBecause I didn't want to fight
The pure truth. I know you might hear me as a bad mother or a lazy mother, but after reading many articles where they recommended dozens of accessories and resources to leave the diaper, I didn't feel like doing anything.
I have read experiences of mothers who are carrying everywhere with the potty (which increasingly comes with more things to entertain the child sitting while we anxiously wait for him to pee) or who take the child to the bathroom every half hour to see if they give him desire or that they spent cleaning accident after accident because evidently their children were not yet ready to leave the diaper.
I knew I didn't want that. I wanted to get my daughter to leave the diaper in the most respectful way possible without it becoming an odyssey, and that would be done by listening to her, not pushing her to do it or telling her that "she is older" to continue wearing a diaper.
In the end, one good morning morning my daughter woke up and asked to go to the bathroom. So I took her diaper off, she peed, put on a pant and never used a diaper again during the day because she decided to do so. The "diaper operation" passed practically unnoticed because we wait until she tells us when it would be time to leave.
I share my experience because I know that some parents feel pressured or worry that their child still uses a diaper. Mine left him just a month ago, a few days before his third birthday and I wanted to wait just this month to verify that the farewell had been final.
It is valid to use songs to leave the diaper, talk to them and do the test to see if they are ready, but Remember that there is no specific or mandatory age to leave, as each child develops at their own pace.
