Day 137: Potty Training

One of the greatest challenges Sue and I have had as parents is trying to get our kids potty trained. Where most kids seem to "get it" by age 2 or so, ours have seemed to struggle until closer to the time that they turn 4. Even now when I call back home, I hear stories of accidents that have occurred, yellow puddles on the bathroom floor, and pull ups having to be put on little girls that just don't quite get it.

So I was amused a little by the following sign I read today posted on the Afghan bathroom. It read "Please do not use the floors to toilet." I have heard many stories since arriving here of grown Afghan men depositing their "waste" in places it doesn't belong...such as the shower or bathroom floor. "Why not just use the toilet?" you ask. Well a lot of it comes down to the fact that what is done in the Western world isn't necessarily the norm in other parts of the world. Just because you give someone a nice, functional toilet, doesn't mean they know how to or like to use what you supply. Many of these people have lived using ditches or have dug holes to do their business. When it is time to go, you just stop what you are doing and go. So if you are in the shower and it is time to go...well then you just go. Another interesting fact is that Afghan men don't stand to go "number 1" like US men do. They actually squat. One of my interpreters, who is used to the American way of using the bathroom, walked into our bathroom the other day and turned around disappointed saying, "oh, I don't like this kind of toilet." He walked out and went to find an Afghan restroom. Apparently he likes to squat.


So I guess America is here not only to promote democracy and human rights, but also to convince our Afghan friends that the American way to use the bathroom, is the right way to use the bathroom. I think my kids would prefer the Afghan way--go when and where you need to.

The American version of what an Afghan bathroom should be (toilets inside are normal American ones)

This is a more typical Afghan toilet I discovered last month (no I didn't dare use it)