How a Business Tried to Shame Me into Spending $500
Parenting in the age of the internet.
What began as a story about nighttime potty training transforms after a company shamed me, clearly describing my “Parenting Mistakes” and trying to sell me a $500 product so that I could do better.
This is the story of how an internet search led me to share a critical message for other parents: be kind to each other, especially in the digital age, and be sure to spare some kindness for yourself, too.
“Bladders are a muscle. For boys, it can take until the age of twelve years of age for this muscle to develop.” I was attending a parenting group, and potty training was the day’s topic; these words resonated.
I was attending with my first-born. My child was under a year; I didn’t have to concern myself with this subject — yet. Fast-forward two years, he was three when he potty trained — over one weekend. Shortly after that, he was nighttime trained, and I knew nothing different.
Friends would struggle with their boys. I would share these words from that parenting group years later, “apparently, boys bladders can take until they are twelve to develop.” I said it so matter-of-factly and without much empathy.
