The mean potty and other newfound fears

By Anjali

About two months ago, Leela, my nearly 3-year old daughter known for her fearlessness and risk-taking, started becoming afraid of nearly everything.

Fire trucks. Tall weeds. Bees. Lawnmowers. The vacuum cleaner. Things that are too hot. Things that are too cold. Things that suddenly ring or beep. Birds. Squirrels. Wind, even. But her worst fear, the one that has been quite difficult for me in particular, is her fear of automatically flushing toilets.

Recently, we met a friend and her children at a local restaurant for dinner. Halfway through the meal, Leela said she needed to use the potty. I walked her into the bathroom, and before I got her pants down, the toilet flushed. She jumped into my arms and screamed so loudly I'm sure the entire restaurant could hear it, "No, mommy, I don't want to go on the mean potty! That's a MEAN potty!"

I tried to calm her down. I explained that it was actually a nice potty because it flushed by itself so we didn't have to. I then demonstrated by using the potty myself. And when I got up, the toilet flushed.

Leela's eyes widened like a deer's in headlights. She scurried to the bathroom door and began banging on it to get out.

We headed back out to our booth. Leela again declared that she needed to use the potty (though this time more urgently). I asked my friend to watch Mira, picked Leela up, and headed out into the mall in search of a self-flushing toilet.

While perched my hip, Leela yelled loudly enough for the entire mall to hear, "Mommy! The pee's gonna come out! Find a nice potty NOW!"

I speed-walked all the way to Macy's, skillfully avoiding the free perfume samples on my way to the escalator. Suddenly, Leela dug her heals into my back. "No Mommy! Not the 'skater! I don't want to go up the 'skater! It's too scary!"

"What? Since when are you afraid of escalators?" I asked, panting and out of breath.

Leela buried her face into my neck and began sobbing. So I picked up the pace, weaving in and out of the clothes racks to the back of the store. When we reached the elevator, I pushed the "up" button and leaned over to put her down.

"No-no-no-Mommy! I don't want to touch the floor of the el-vator!"

Oh, my. This was a new fear, too.

Leela tightened her kung fu grip on me, and when the elevator doors opened, we ran inside. At the third floor, we stepped out and headed to the bathrooms.

Please don't let there be automatic flushers, I implored.

I pushed open a stall door. Sure enough, the toilet was equipped with a sensor. This time, though, I had a plan. I had Leela's back to the potty, and quickly removed her clothing so we could get her on and going before the flush. Just as I was about to sit her down, Leela turned her head and noticed the sensor.

"NONONONONONONONONO! This is a mean potty, too! No, Mommy!"

And she threw her body against the stall door and propelled herself out of the bathroom.

Eventually, we made it back to the restaurant and our table, where my friend gave me a "did-she-go?" look. I shook my head. Leela ate her dessert with her legs tightly crossed. I was just thankful that I had extra pairs of underwear and shorts in my bag.

Miraculously, Leela made it home dry. When we entered the house, she took off her shoes and marched to the bathroom. As I set down my keys, I could hear her move the stool in front of the toilet, place her potty seat securely on top, and sit down.

"We have a much nicer potty at home," she called out to me. "This one doesn't talk back!"

Anjali lives in suburban Philadelphia with her husband and two girls. She fears spiders, dust bunnies, and bounced checks. But her greatest fear is being trapped in a building with Leela, with nothing but automatically flushing toilets.

Comments

[Potty Train Child]

That is so funny. You never know how kids are going to react to things. Potty training was really tough for my son, I have hopes that it will be easier for my daughter.

[Rachel]

I take a paper towel and fold it over the sensor. Julia calls these the "bad" toilets but luckily she still believes Mommy can make it all better. At least, some of the time!

[Susan]

My son does the same thing. Try covering up the sensor so it won't flush while she's in there. But honestly even with that, my son still doesn't even want to go standing up at one. "Too loud", he says!

[Lauri Jon]

My daughter started potty training this past March. She HATES automatic flushing and loud potties.