Wyatt has been trained since April. Over the summer I tossed his overnight pull-ups. He rarely has accidents. I can probably count the times on one hand and usually they happen at night. He'll wake up saying "Momma, I have to go potty" and he'll have already gone. You really can't blame him for trying. Sometimes there will be a small wet spot in his underwear because he waits till the very last second before rushing to the bathroom. He holds it forever. Kid's a camel. But even that won't happen if you prompt him when he starts doing "the dance".
During the first month in school, on a Wednesday when I went to pick him up, he was soaked. Drenched in pee down to his socks. You could smell him 5 feet away. I didn't think it was Wyatt at first, maybe some kid with a dirty diaper. Most of the kids in his class aren't potty trained. I told his teachers he is really good about telling you but sometimes you have to prompt him. I wondered if it just happen. That he got too busy and couldn't be bothered to stop playing. I gathered him up in my arms and rushed him out. I didn't say anything to his teachers. I didn't want to embarrass Wyatt. I didn't want him to think he did anything wrong. I took him to my office to get him cleaned up. (I still keep an extra set of clothes in his backpack. If its not pee, its chocolate or dirt or water. Better to be prepared.) It wasn't until I got him undressed that I realized he was freezing. He had peed a long time ago.
I was livid. He had been sitting in his own pee for God knows how long. Why didn't they change him? If they didn't want to change him, why didn't they call me? I am in the building, working, while Wyatt is at school. Literally, 30 seconds away. Hell, if they let him out of the classroom he would know where to find me unassisted. The only answer I could give myself is there are too many kids in his class; 17 kids to 3 teachers. They missed him. He's not a crier so he doesn't get noticed. I was so upset. I called Terry, Mom, Jen, Becca to find out if I was over reacting or the conclusion I had draw seemed accurate. They all agreed I would have to talk with his teachers.
I went early on Friday; to catch them before all the other kids and parents arrived. I explained that I was unhappy with something that happened. I told them that I wasn't upset that Wyatt had an accident. I almost expected a few with the transition but that he sat wet for some time. They said I shouldn't be upset, that accidents happen. No matter how hard I tried to explain myself, they just didn't seem to understand. I left the room bewildered. I didn't know how to explain it any clearer. I went to work. I thought all day about making a second attempt on how to spell it out. Its hard to tell someone you don't think they are doing their job. I ran into the director of the program in the basement. I wasn't going to mention anything to her. She said she had heard I was unhappy. I explained again. She confirmed that was a valid concern and didn't think his teachers understood.
When I went to pick him up, all of his teachers came over to apologized. They said that he is such a great kid and always asks for anything he needs and that they were sorry they didn't notice. I asked that they remind him to go once a day until we're confident that he'll remember on his own. In the following days, they said they asked but he never needed to go. They thought maybe he had some kind of fear of the potty at school. Which I thought was weird. I had taken him there before and he pretty much goes anywhere, no problem. I talked to Wyatt about it and he responded with "I'll remember. Don't worry Momma." No joke.
He hasn't had another accident since. And I think they have stopped prompting him. One of his teachers ran over to me on pick up a few weeks later, so excited that he came and asked to go potty. I told Wyatt I was proud of him for remembering. When I asked him for his daily highlights, he didn't mention it. Colored play-doh and cherry pickers were much more interesting. It was a non-issue for him. He forgot that one time. The whole incident taught me that it was clearly something that bothered me much more then it bothered Wyatt.
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