Don’t Flush The Toilet

Shlomo has finally managed to climb up onto the toilet and flush it.  Why did it take so long?  Because in Israel, the flusher is on top of the toilet, usually in the middle.  So, it’s a bit harder to reach than if it were on the side . . .

This is [pretty much] what our toilet looks like.

He’s been trying to climb up on the toilet for a while, but since it’s slightly wider than a regular chair, his little arms couldn’t grasp the opposite side, and he couldn’t get up.  Now his arms have grown those extra few centimeters.

But we don’t flush the toilet just because.  We flush it only if there’s something in it.

So when he wants to flush, we ask if he wants to go to the bathroom.  If not, too bad.  If so, he sits on his potty, goes, and when we dump the contents into the toilet, then he gets to flush.

It’s one of those treats that he gets when he goes on the toilet.  Along with a star sticker and playing with his electronic butterfly with the loud volume (and no way to lower it) and the flashing lights that give me a headache.

It makes the toilet special.

But that doesn’t mean that he’s happy only flushing sometimes.  And he knows that he’s not allowed – he often “asks” first, and waits until we come.  Problem is, when we come into the bathroom, we tell him no.

Whoever goes in the toilet gets to flush.   And that’s how it’ll be for most of his life.  Until, that is, he potty-trains his own two-year-old.