Light Training

I find it slightly odd that we strive to potty train our children in a world that doesn't fit them. They're too small to pull on and off their clothes without help, too small to sit on the toilet without it turning into a diving expedition, too small to wash their hands, and too small to turn the light on and off. They're basically too small to do anything but the actual act of going. No wonder it's sometimes a difficult process. 

We help things along with stools and potty seats and letting them wander around all day in just their underwear. This gets us through everything but the lights. There doesn't appear to be any standard for the height of a light switch, though consensus has it between 48 and 52 inches measured to the top, center or bottom of the box. Quite a lot of variation, but not enough for hardly anyone of potty training age to reach. They could use a stool of course, just like for the potty and the sink, but then you either have a bathroom filled with stools, or you have a toddler playing bumper cars with the stool as they push it around. Neither option really makes the world a better place. 

When my oldest was potty training I made a light switch extender. It's nothing more than a 12-18 inch piece of dowel with a hole drilled in it. You then drill a small hole in the light, switch and tie them closely with any convenient string you have lying around. You don't even have to take the switch apart to do it as long as you have a slim drill. Now the just grab the dowel and push or pull as needed. The best part is that when your kids get big, you can just cut the string and you have a normal light switch again. Nothing to replace, just one snip and you live in a grownup house again. 

I've also put these on the kids bedroom light switches to silence the cries of 'Daddy, can you turn on my light?" Not that I don't want to help, I do, but not 400 times a day. Their biggest benefit though, has to be in potty training. When they're first learning, this is something they can do themselves, every time. Turn the light on, turn it off when you're done. You can't always get them to do what they need to do in the toilet, but the light switch will work.