My kid is a potty professional. As in, when he needs to go, he goes. As in, we don’t need to remind him over and over and over and…to potty. It’s all: git er done!

He went diaper-free at two. (Well, during the day anyway. We probably won’t tackle night-training til he’s, like, ten. Because I like sleep.) We did one of those you’re-trapped-inside-for-3-tedious-days-of-hell potty training boot camp methods.

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Now at 3 1/2, he’s got this potty thing down to an art. Or so I thought til we joined the pool.

To usher in summer, we spent Memorial Day splashing at the pool. As a working mom, I don’t get to put life on pause from June to August to lounge around poolside like my mom did when I was little. So this was a nice reminder of what summer can be.

Back at daycare…

But then little man returned to daycare that Tuesday, and it was wet pants central. What the what?! Regression, anyone? That’s how it went. All week. Dude, what gives? You’ve got this potty thing down!

And that’s when it hit me: I don’t want to admit this, but I really think he spent that entire day at the pool skipping out on the potty break. Mommy fail, big time.

I’ll blame it on chlorine-brain, but I really can’t be sure we ever took him to the bathroom. I do have a vague memory of the #RockStarDad escorting him out of the pool at least once. (Maybe they were headed to the snack bar?) Surely, we invited him to pee, right? Sadly, I just don’t know. I was too busy keeping my 20-month-old from licking all the things.

Uh, sorry, all you other little kiddies in the kiddie pool. (But, really, isn’t peeing in the pool one of those childhood traditions no one admits to?)

So, here’s my theory. Because we (maybe/maybe not) forgot to remind his busy little brain to head to the potty while in the water, he forgot to remind his busy little brain to head to the potty while out of the water.

Poolside potty training

Ladies, learn from me. Here’s what you need to do when strategizing your summer potty training initiative.

This weekend, we ventured back to the pool. We had lots of pee-pee protocol chats on the way. We were aligned (as they say in the business world.)

He peed before swimming. Then I set a timer and every 45 minutes, I cajoled another sweet mom to watch the littler guy while big brother headed for the restroom.

Maybe I should cut myself some slack. Each time the alarm rang, he managed to escape from the kiddie pool cage-fence before me and disappeared into the Men’s Room. (Noooooooooo! Everyone at the pool is awesome, but roll pedophile footage in my head.) Obviously, hubby had escorted him in there at some point during our previous visit.

And then we spent a few minutes playing Marco Polo: Mommy? “Out here!” Mommy? “Out here!” Til we both made it into the Ladies’ Room. I can confirm we got results with every visit.

At least you can’t blame my kid for any pee-pee-in-the-pool incidents this time around. And so far, it’s been a dry week at daycare (knock on wood.)

Poop – it happens

While we’re at it, let’s take a moment to chat about POOP. Because no one wants to be the mom of the kid who shut down the pool, amiright?

If you’ve got a mid-morning or mid-day pooper, I recommend scheduling your pool visit AFTER the bidness has got done.

Or else you should definitely take a couple extra changes of swim wear and swim diapers along in case things get squirrel-y. Also, if you notice your kiddo getting “that look,” DROP EVERYTHING and tell him to “Hold onto the poop! Keep the poop in your bottom!” Whisk that child to the restroom PRONTO, grabbing your wipes as you make the mad dash, because you can’t be sure what’s about to go down.

And I just discovered these disposable toilet covers that make life sooooo much easier when you’re dealing with public restrooms and drippy, pooping kiddos.

Now you’ve got a potty plan in place for the pool. Because potty training isn’t just a dry weather sport.

What’s your secret for summer potty training success? Comment below or share your potty professional tips on Facebook at MothersRest.