The TP obsession

Why is toilet paper so fascinating to a three-year-old?

A few days ago, I went into Cole's bathroom, curious as to why he hadn't flushed after going potty. I figured I better either: (a) flush for him or (b) find out the reason behind the lack of a flush. What I discovered was about a half of a roll of toilet paper floating in a yellow sea. (At least he had the good sense not to flush that mess!) I scolded him for doing such a thing and then proceeded to clean everything up. I thought that would be enough to deter him from doing it again. Well....wrong. I'll be darned if he didn't do the same thing in my bathroom right after lunch! That's twice in one day! Ugh.

Fast forward to today, Sunday. 2 days have gone by with no more TP incidencts and I thought we were going to be OK. This morning, I put Chase down for his morning nap, had Cole situated on the couch eating YoGos and watching Little Bear, and I ran to take a quick shower. As I turn off the water, I hear, "I'm taking this out, Mom." Ok, sure, whatever. But, WAIT...taking what out? I went into his bathroom to find, once again, half a roll of TP in his toilet! Only this time, he tried to hide the evidence by pulling out little bits and throwing it in the trash. Not only did I have a trash can of urine-soaked toilet paper, but the floor was wet too!!! This time, he got a spanking and was put into time-out.

After I got myself dressed and had a minute or two to reflect on things, I realized that probably the best punishment would be to make him clean up the mess. (He HATES to touch anything dirty or have his hands messy. This is the kid that eats donuts with a fork so as not to get icing on his fingers!) I got him out of time-out and told him he would have to clean up the toilet and bathroom. He gave me that look of, "You're kidding me, right?" but proceeded to the bathroom anyway. He starts pulling out tiny pieces of TP again. Not so bad. Then, I tell him to take out bigger pieces (just knowing that would bring on the tears). He does, and says, "Yippee, this is fun! I love playing in potty!!!" *sigh* My brilliant plan completely backfired!

So...the toilet paper has been removed from the guest bathroom (a.k.a. Cole's bathroom). And, if you are coming over for a visit and need to use the bathroom, you'll probably have to ask for toilet paper. Sorry for the inconvience.