We're going to try potty train our oldest child soon - so it's with great interest that I read this CNN article on ... poop school for kids who hate to go potty (or are afraid of the toilet):
While Dunn works on the kids, psychologist Elaine Leclair, an instructor at the Harvard School of Medicine, offers frank advice to the parents in a separate room.
"I just say, 'Step back.' They hate to hear me say this, but I say whatever you're doing now is not working. You really need to try something different," Leclair said.
She said many parents come to the sessions angry and anxious. "They come in feeling extremely discouraged, very isolated thinking they are the only ones in the world who have this problem."
Teres acknowledged that's how she felt. "Imagine my surprise to find out there were thousands of kids who had this problem." After years of hiding her daughter's toilet training troubles from family and friends, the group parenting sessions allowed Teres to open up about her frustrations.
"It was like going to Betty Ford," joked Teres, who felt she had exhausted all her other options.
Link - Thanks Tiffany! (Photo by egg on stilts [Flickr])
Comments (6)
The M is for Man-eating.
Lisa: But isn't that a bit short-sighted? What happens when we're
overrun by lizards?
Skinner: No problem. We simply release wave after wave of Chinese
needle snakes. They'll wipe out the lizards.
Lisa: But aren't the snakes even worse?
Skinner: Yes, but we're prepared for that. We've lined up a fabulous
type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat.
Lisa: But then we're stuck with gorillas!
Skinner: No, that's the beautiful part. When wintertime rolls around,
the gorillas simply freeze to death.
When a new species is introduced to an area, it can often make an easy living. Organisms that are not a problem in the area in which they evolved can overrun the natives when they find themselves in new locations. They have an easy time of it, squeeze out native species, and breed like crazy.
Eventually however, the presence of these invaders who become so plentiful becomes an opportunity for another species, one that preys on the invader. The predator might itself be an introduced species, or it might be an existing organism that has adapted and stepped up to the task/free lunch offered by the invasive species.
Yes, over time, these things have a way of working themselves out. But the span of time required can be longer that is convenient for human activities. And certainly much diversity is lost along the way.
Humans have been responsible for the introduction of so many organisms into new locations. Sometimes it is intentional, like the cane toads. Sometimes introductions are a by-product of other activities such as Eurasian plants brought to the Americas as seed in animal fodder or larval stages of marine organisms in ballast tanks.
In most cases, we've lost diversity, a lot of diversity. The case of the cane toads is a rare one in that people pay attention to it. They don't so much notice the difference in the assemblage of weeds in roadside ditches, or the loss of native bee species.
It's a pity. Sadly it is rather inevitable.