Manipulation!

ok, this is starting to drive me crazy. the bean wants to sit on the potty which is awesome, BUT it has become a game to her. whenever we need to go somewhere or she needs to do something, like GO TO BED, she magically has to go potty. does she ever go? once in a great while. mostly she is using it to stay up later or get her way. i feel like i need to let her sit on the potty whenever she asks so that she can learn but i don't want her up past her nap/bed time every freaking day! last night i put her in her crib and told her good night, she looked at me with a big grin and said "i go potty mommy." then she laughed! arrrrrrrg! i sat her on the potty and gave her 5 minutes. the problem with that is that it sometimes takes about 10-20 minutes for her to go. i feel bad about her crying that she has to go potty after i've put her to bed but i have to draw the line somewhere, right? ahhh, don't you just love toddler mind games?!?!?

so now i've read that there are new recommendations on sippy cup use. "they" say that you should use them for water during the day but a regular cup should be used at meal times to give milk or juice. the new advice is to start training your 12 month old to use a regular cup. what?? i do get their point, that milk/juice through a sippy cup is bad for kids teeth. when they sip it through a sippy all day their little teeth are constantly being exposed to all those sugars and can create cavities. all i can see is the huge mess involved in getting a 12 month old to drink from a cup! of course there was alternative advice- if you give milk/juice in a sippy it should be with a meal only and NOT carried around the house all day. that makes more sense to me. but what do i know? ;)