If there’s one phrase that strikes fear in my heart more than any other it’s “potty training”. Training my oldest son, who is turning nine in two weeks time, was a nightmare of epic proportions. Now that my youngest son is two years old and coming up on the “potty years”, I’m scared practically stiff by it. At this point? I’ll try ANYTHING that will work.
Enter: the Parent Bloggers Network and their offer of a chance to review the immortal classic “Once Upon a Potty” by Alona Frankel. I’m sure everyone, whether they have children or not, has heard of these books. They should; they’ve been around since 1975. And what sets them apart from other books of their kind is that they were the first of their kind (as far as I’m aware) to offer a book to both sexes. There is a Girl Version and a Boy Version. Each book contains a small anatomy lesson given in easy to understand terms and accompanied by cute but accurate drawings.
The book is essentially the same as it was 33 years ago. However, that is both a good and a bad thing. It’s good in that the “retro” feel of the story is appealing to today’s stylish parents and that the simplicity of the tale is what makes it effective with the preschool crowd. It’s bad in that there are a few items that could use with an update. Well, actually just one notable item. I don’t take issue with the cloth diaper, obviously, since I have become a cloth diaperer myself. But the potty that the child receives as a gift from Grandma isn’t recognizable by today’s standards as being a potty. It looks like, quite simply, a pot. And not exactly like the pottys that line the shelves as Babies R Us and Walmart. It wouldn’t hurt to do a little revamping of the illustrations to show a potty that today’s toddler could easily identify with.
However, there ARE some updates that are rather nice. For one, the book comes with an audio cd that includes a reading of the story and various potty-themed songs and sing-alongs. You can even find the lyrics to “The Potty Song” online. Also nice is that the book comes in board-book form now and that is so much more durable. This is a book that has a prayer of standing up to my destructive whirlwind toddler.
I have a feeling that with this book under my belt (and the girl version for my daughter), I’ll feel maybe a little better about tackling potty training. If this book makes it at all easier? It’ll be SO WORTH IT.
Tags: Alona Frankel, Books, kids, Once Upon a Potty, potty training, toddlers
