soon they will be refused at school

One of those things in motherhood that turn out to be quite disappointing. Or well, which I thought would come naturally.

Potty training: my children still understand very little about it. Every evening I read aloud about Kas op the potty, in the hope that Bodi and Daaf will suddenly notice. But my sons are not potty trained yet and they have to go to primary school in six months. Time is running out.

That is a headache. They understand the basics well and when they are naked (for example in the bath or in the garden in the summer) they really enjoy going on the potty or the large toilet. But once they get their diaper, romper, and pants on, they don’t even think about it. Convenience, habit. How do you, as a parent, break through the rut of those miserable diapers? Because I think it would be great when we’re finally done fiddling with the changing table. Toddler poop doesn’t get any more pleasant to wipe with age, so to speak. I think I’ve changed 8,000 nappies in the past 3.5 years and no, that’s no exaggeration.

When will you know if your kids are ready for that? How do you know that they will now really understand and that the effort you put in is not in vain? Potty training twins at the same time therefore seems more difficult to me than having all the focus and attention on one child. Of course you do the same thing with both, but still. I have to run after two pairs of bare bottoms, help.

If you have the golden tip for potty training two 3-year-old boys, I’d love to. Otherwise they will still be refused at school: teachers no longer start diapers in group 1/2. In fact, they don’t even wipe your child’s buttocks, so they should be able to do that themselves too. Maybe just sacrifice that autumn break to get to work. Schedules, workouts, pay attention, mop up and on. I know, we’re going to have to bite the bullet for a week or two. No more diapers and put them on the potty every half hour. Make a party out of those big boy underpants. And then there will undoubtedly be accidents in the house. Or may I cautiously hope that toilet training will suddenly come naturally – ping! – coming?

Tessa Heinhuis (32) is mother of Bodi and Daaf (3), married to Billy and editor-in-chief of Mama Magazine. They live in ‘t Gooi.