Over on Twitter some moms are discussing potty-training, and it reminded me of a column I wrote a while ago on potty-training for the lazy. If you’re willing to wait, it really works! Here’s the (slightly updated) column:

As of today, one of my children is still in diapers. He’s got underwear, sure. And sometimes he even removes his own diaper to use the potty. But he spends most of his time with a protective layer of fiber filling around his parts.

By now you might be doing the mental arithmetic and thinking “Wait a second, isn’t her youngest over three years old?” Yep. I realize some may consider a three-year-old to be way too old for diapers. But while I know that plenty of little boys start potty training at closer to two—and sometimes before that—I’ve chosen the route of least resistance with all three of my kids. That is, the “wait until they want it more than I do” method of potty-training.

Now, I could try to sell you on the idea that I was putting off the potty only to save my children’s fragile self-esteem, which could be damaged by trying to coerce them into using the toilet before they were ready. And it’s true, I think, that forcing the issue on a child who’s just not ready for it yet can cause stress and anxiety.

But mostly, I’m just lazy. The truth is, I’d way rather change diapers than clean up puddles. Think the laundry gets overwhelming with four kids? Now imagine that plus all the extra underwear, pants, socks, sheets, mattress pads, and blankets that need to be washed during the “Oops!” and “Oops again!” phase of potty-training.

I know, I’ve got a baby on the way. And should Owen still be in diapers at that point, (though I hope he won’t), I know it’ll take a few extra minutes to do two diapers rather than one. But with two kids in diapers I can approach it as something like an assembly line: line ‘em up, lay ‘em down, wipe, wipe, diaper, diaper, and send them both on their merry and incontinent ways.

Let’s face it, even a completely potty trained child doesn’t necessarily create less work for moms. Boys—fully-grown ones included—aren’t exactly known for good toileting hygiene. I can’t count the number of times I scrub the floor around and behind the toilet every week, muttering “did they even TRY to hit the bowl?” under my breath. And as for washing little boy underwear—well, you never know what you might find. It’s usually best to handle the dirty laundry with gloves on, if you catch my drift.

And even when kids are good and ready for using the toilet, it’s an incredible amount of work for the parent. I—

Oh, wait. Owen needs help getting his pants off.

Okay, I’m back. Where was I? Oh yes, I—

Oh, wait. He needs help getting them back up.

See what I mean? That’s how my days will go as soon as we formally enter potty-learning-land, from the moment I’m shaken awake by an urgent three-year-old whispering “Mom, I gotta go potty!” to the last dry-pants check before I drop into bed asleep. Whether it’s help with pants off/pants on, getting positioned on the seat, wiping, flushing, or just plain old moral support, I’ll be there for every tinkle and…well, all the rest of it too.

And that’s not even including the near-misses. Though, I will say that hearing your husband yell “Whose POOP is this?” when finding an unwelcome surprise on the floor just outside the bathroom is pretty funny.

Apparently my relaxed approach to potty-training has rubbed off on the kids a little too much.

But mostly, it’s working out just fine. The average time to get my older three sons from all-diapers, all the time to almost-no-accidents has been about four days, as opposed to the weeks and weeks it often seems to take younger kids. So for me, waiting until after three years old was worth it, even if we did get a few raised eyebrows from people who thought three was “too old” to still be in diapers.

And barring serious regression on Owen’s part (or, God forbid, one of my older three), there’s just one more kid in the household with potty-training in her future. And I hear girls are easier to potty-train than boys and do it earlier to boot. So look out, diapers: your days are numbered.

What’s your potty-training philosophy?

If you’ve been reading my column, Mama-Rama, in the Lansing State Journal’s publication NOISE (and for a time, in the Greenville, SC LINK) for the last four-almost-five years, you may be wondering what became of it. Unfortunately, due to cutbacks at NOISE, the column (along with a lot of other content and sadly, some great staff) got the axe.

So that leads to the question: now what? In many ways, my blog is like an extension of my column anyway, and it’s not going anywhere. So if you’re a loyal reader and you’re experiencing withdrawl, you can check in here a few times a week to hear me give my take on modern parenting.

But, I’d like to continue my column in a more official way, too. Given the state of newspaper publishing at the moment, that may mean approaching websites, regional parenting publications, or maybe even moving to a new format (Mama-Rama on the radio?). I’ve also been toying with the idea of publishing the best of my 200+ existing columns into book format.

If you’ve found this post because you were a reader of Mama-Rama and would like to see it live on–or even if you never read my newspaper column but would like to hear more from me–tell me: what format sounds most appealing to you? Would you buy Mama-Rama: the book? Would you listen to the essays read out loud? Would you click through on a regular basis to read me on another website?

Looking forward to hearing what you think! And, as always, thanks for your support and for being such a great audience over the last four-plus years. I’ll really miss being in the NOISE!