Henry is a doll that came in a Potty Kit for Boys that I bought in a fit of enthusiasm one day long ago. He comes with his own little potty, a book and a video. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with it all because honestly, I haven't even looked at it yet but for some reason thought it would be a good idea to let Bennett play with Henry and the potty. Since Murphy has arrived we have focused on house training him. Considering that I haven't cleaned up a Murphy mess in over a month now, maybe it's time to shift my focus back to Bennett.
I guess right now I'm making the excuse that Bennett is not verbal and *people* always say the child will *tell* you when they're ready. Granted, Bennett is a wonderful little communicator - he uses signs and gestures and has his communication book and device. So, I guess I should at least consider trying some more. I think August is a good time for that - yeah August.....
Anyway, I was talking about Henry. Bennett does like to play with the little doll despite its incredibly creepy appearance and resemblance to another famous doll (think Chucky). The other day he was playing with Chucky - oops I mean Henry - and he placed him on the potty. When he took him off, he looked in the potty, then stuck his finger in the potty and then just to reassure himself I guess, he took the potty and dumped it upside down. He then came and grabbed my hand and dragged Henry and I to the bathroom where he insisted that Henry wash his hands. I'm all for good hygeine - even if it is a doll - so we proceeded to wash Henry's hands. However, Bennett had a problem with the fact that I didn't use real soap and water. As many of you know, it's a lot harder than you might think to fool a 2 year old. Somehow, I managed to convince Bennett that it was ok not to actually wet the doll's hands. I'm very happy that Bennett recognizes the importance of hand washing. However, I am less keen on the idea of pretending to wash a doll's hands 35 times a day.
While we're talking potty time does anyone have tips on how to potty train a non-verbal child? Oh, and for those of you wondering what's under Henry's diaper - I have to say that picture is definitely not appropriate for this blog!