The Bottom Wiper is Still Intact

One of my readers emailed to ask me what the status of Bow's "bottom wiper" might be. Well, I am happy to report that the bottom wiper is still intact. This in itself is a sign of progress. Bow has mouthed it on occasion, and he takes every opportunity to play with it, when I am distracted, but he has not destroyed it! He could so easily do so, but he has chosen not to. While this may not seem like a very big deal to outsiders, to me it is a sign of growing self-control and self-discipline on Bow's part.

Of course, the "bottom wiper" is just a rubber lint brush, such as you see in the advertisement here. It is not advertised as something to use to clean bottoms, but every tool has many uses. Bow has not started using it for that purpose himself, but he allows me to do it.

"Bow, would you like to use the bottom wiper yourself?" I asked him this morning when bottom wiping was called for. He silently picked it up and handed it to me, as if to say: "No. You do it."

While on the surface potty training may seem to be all about hygiene, it's really more than that. It's taking responsibility for yourself, it's not being a burden on others, and it means self-discipline and self-control.

I am encouraged by Bow's growing level of self-control around material objects, because it is my hope that one day soon he will be able to have direct access to his computer as well. It will be so much easier for him to write if he's allowed to use his fingers on the screen, rather than a chopstick through the grid.

We may be taking small baby steps, but we are making progress.