Catchy songs and a pair of pandas**

(Logistics forced my post about Jason's marathon down a notch, so make sure you keep scrolling to see pictures of my amazing guy running his socks off.)

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It takes a special kind of someone who can write a catchy tune about wearing diapers and using the toilet. I can't say for certain that I love these people, since they are responsible for getting such tunes stuck in my head. For me to absentmindedly sing. In public. In front of students.

A recent defining moment in my professional career: "Are you singing about diapers, Professor?"

What? Uh. Maybe.

And who is responsible for this fabulous soundtrack in my head? The songs are from a DVD called Go Potty Go! We got it last month from Parent Bloggers Network--just as we were finding some success in potty training--and it was an instant hit. Before we watched it, I couldn't quite imagine how on earth someone could make a clever potty training video.

Songs about underwear? Hmmm.

Songs about poop and pee? Ack.

But give it up for Paige and Parker Panda who won me over. They are just too cute for words, and in no time had Sydney and me marching in the livingroom to the Underwear Parade song (we were, however, fully clothed). The 15-minute video is cleverly animated and has a positive, motivational approach to potty training. Silly songs, friendly looking animals, and well-phrased questions make it a highly interactive video that didn't wear and tear on my nerves like some other kids videos I've encountered.

When we received the video, Sydney was already mostly potty trained. What I was most interested in discovering was if it would help her remember the whole "wash your hands bit." Boy, did it ever. She's crazy about washing her hands now. I'm sure our water bill next month will certainly reflect this trend. The video also inadvertently provided us with a tune for the whole underwear in the daytime, diapers at nighttime bit. The original song: "Diapers are for babies, and that's okay. But I'd rather be a big kid, and do it the big kid way." Because I wasn't loving the "for babies" tagline (even if it's true), we kept the tune and now we sing, "Diapers are for nighttime, and that's okay. But underwear is for daytime, and we do it the big kid way." It's perfect. In fact, we use lots of the tunes from the DVD for other various activities we encounter throughout the day. That's how addicting they are.

Sydney loves singing the songs from Go Potty Go, so much so that my parents put the video on their iPod so she can watch it when she visits them. Oh yeah. We're high tech in our potty training.

One thing about the video that caused a slight hiccup in our routine: it mostly stresses the use of a potty chair rather than a toilet. It does give a fleeting mention to using a toilet, but all the pictures are of a potty chair. In fact, the pictures are of the exact model we own. Sydney never got into using the potty chair, and just went straight for using the toilet. This was fine with me because the thought of cleaning out the potty chair seriously grossed me out. After seeing the video, Sydney wanted to start using the chair. We had to have a chat about that, and after some smooth moving on my part she decided she was okay with our original program.

Another thing that I thought about getting worked up about, but just can't bring myself to doing it, is that judging from the style of underwear, most of the animals are boys. In fact, I think Paige Panda might be the only girl, although maybe the fish too (red polka dot underwear...probably female?). So, the video is not exactly gender equal, but whatever. They're cute anyway.

And the last small "I would do this differently" thing: have a continuous play feature. The video is short, so I didn't mind Sydney watching it twice. Not a big deal to have to press play again, just would be nice.

Well, I've reviewed diapers. And now I've reviewed movies. Hopefully, this wraps up my discussion on potty training for the next couple years. The second time around I will go into it wiser, more prepared, and my head full of potty-wonderful tunes.

**I originally called this post "Tinkle Tunes" but had to change it. It just weirded me out too much. That title was a nod to my dad who has--for better or worse--taught his granddaughters to say "tinkle." My brother and I aren't sure if we like this development, but grandpa gives them candy so I don't think we'll win this one.

Comments

[karen]

I like Tinkle for girls :)It's sort of cute.

[Jenn]

I am so excited to hear about this! we are having a tough time with cj and training. he would love something like this! thanks for the info!

[kimberly]

This is hysterical, and I can imagine infinitely better than the video I used to have to watch years ago when babysitting. Oh that song made me want to shoot myself in the head... I can still remember it so clearly, it was so stinking dumb.

and by the way, I love that pollyanna is on your book list. I watch the movie with one of my best friends from time to time, and enjoy all of its quirks. It really is kind of a terrible movie, but we love it anyways. It's been longer since I read the book though... I don't remember it super well, which probably means that your description is pretty accurate.