When I got married, it didn't take long for me to realize that there were differences between my husbands and my views of bathroom etiquette. At the forefront of annoyances was his lack of regard in keeping the toilet clean. Why? Even after much pleading, his disregard remained intact. Why? Was this done to annoy me? Was this pay back for something?

After too much time spent on trying to understand his manly mind and wondering what this meant in the entire scheme of our relationship, I chalked it up to bad manners. I blamed those bad manners on his upbringing. We can choose who we allow ourselves to fall in love with but we cannot choose their families. And we cannot choose how they were raised. Sad but true!

Let the retraining begin!

In those early years of my marriage, my husband handled all things yucky. I didn't do yucky. He, however, had a sort of pride in handling these things. Perhaps it was a ego boost to know he had no problem doing things that I could not do without gagging. Whatever the reason is really of no concern to me. I felt extremely lucky to have him around.

Back to the toilet. Yes, he cleaned the toilet. Just not often enough for me. A toilet should be cleaned based on how often it gets used. For most homes, that should be a couple of times a week. I suggest scheduling it for particular days of the week. Like Mondays and Thursdays. Keep the cleaning supplies handy so the entire process takes less than a couple of minutes.

Fast forward 13 years: Now I am a mom of a 3 year old boy. Now I am the one who cleans the toilet and handles all things yucky. It is my job to raise him and teach him everything he needs to know. You can bet that bathroom etiquette is on the list. You can bet he will be taught to show regard for others. You can bet that this is not optional but absolutely, 100% mandatory. For some moms, these lessons will be easy. But no matter how difficult, you never give up on lessons as important as bathroom etiquette and respect for others.

My 3 yo has provided some insight into those early days of my marriage. Boys (including grown up boys) do not want to touch anything in the bathroom, including the toilet paper. They think if they do not touch anything then they do not have to wash their hands and they can get back to their activities that much faster. So how do we get them to do it all the correct way? Threats? That really isn't my style. Turn the entire thing into a game. Make it fun to wash their hands. Drill in the steps. Make it a routine and give each step a number. Repeat the steps each and every time. Make up a silly song. Just do it the same every time for as long as it takes. I plan on doing this until he can do it himself for a full week without missing a step. It may be hard work but the rewards are for a lifetime.

A lifetime of clean toilets. Priceless!!