WE admitted defeat this week.

There is only so much wee one can clean up during the course of the day you know. As you can probably gather it’s been potty training fun in the Mum About Town household this week. It was a combination of Ben coming of the age when the idea of relieving himself on the toilet might be appealing and the fact that his dad was off for the summer so could run around after the little man with a bottle of Flash and a cloth in close proximity.

After seeking advice from the health visitor and sounding out a few mates whose little ones had, surprise surprise, already mastered this social norm we approached the move from ‘peeing at will’ to ‘hitting the toilet target’ with a fair degree of preparation.

We excitedly led him around the aisles of a well-known baby store. I was getting far too animated over the array of toilet adapters and potties on offer. We had dabbled in the idea of a potty several months ago but we knew that it would come to nothing when he preferred to wear it as a hat.

So fresh start, fresh accessories.

Thankfully they did an array of toilet training products on a Thomas the Tank Engine theme which has become his firm favourite. However, Thomas also knows how to charge so several packs of Thomas pants, a loo adapter seat and £40 later we felt we had covered most of our bases.

Most of our friends also advocated the use of rewards, so for every time he did the necessary the chocolate would be distributed.

After three days the dent on the family sized pack of Buttons was minimal.

We did think he was ready for the transition out of nappies after his interest in mine and his dad’s own toileting habits was growing significantly.

Another tip from friends was to encourage him into the loo to see mummy and daddy doing their business. It was a bit odd, especially when he pointed with a quizzical look at me and demanded ‘what’s that?’. His dad though did struggle with the whole thing telling me that there were only a few places he could find any peace and quiet and the toilet was fast becoming his only sanctum. He had a point.

Anyway Ben was keen as mustard to get his own pants on but resolutely refused to perch on the potty or loo. On one occasion he did plant his bum for all of five second before standing expectantly for his chocolate, but that is as far as it went.

Oh well, give him another few months and we will give it another go, at the very least it will give my washing machine a rest.