Question 1: How do you feel when you are changing diapers? How do your feelings about diaper changing influence your interactions with children during this routine?

Answer 1: When it comes to changing diapers, I have not changed diapers within a classroom setting but I have changed my little cousins, my nephews’, and even my autistic brother’s diaper. When changing diapers, this does somewhat change my feelings toward changing the diapers because I have made a genuine connection with the ones that I am changing. When changing my brother’s diaper, I know that it is important to let him know, “Okay, now we are going to stop playing for a while and change your diaper and we can come right back.” With my nephew because he is not yet one years old, he is a little harder to communicate with. When beginning to change his diaper, I typically try to get his in a playful and good mood before taking him to the changing station. I also typically have one of the toys that hang from the ceiling for him to look at, or if I don’t have that I sing to him. With having a personal connection with them, I know what can calm them and help them get through the 3-5 minutes it may take me to change their diaper and make sure they are prepared for more playtime.

Question 2: How do you feel when a child has a toileting accident? What do you say or do? How does this makes the child feel?

Answer 2: When a child has a toilet accident, I do not necessarily feel any sort of way but I do think about different strategies that can be used in order to begin them on their potty journey. With young children, on of our many goals as an early childhood educator is to get them potty trained and have them go to the rest room by themselves. I may not say anything can be upsetting for the child but I would definitely assist them in changing their clothes and making sure that they understand that it is important to let someone know that they need to go to the bathroom if they have to. The child may feel bad because they were not able to communicate that they had to use the bathroom where they did. The child may not have any certain emotions for the matter because they are still young or they are still within the phase that they think that this is still normal for them to wet themselves as they are.

Question 3: What do you want to teach children about their bodies while they are learning to use the toilet?

Answer 3: One thing I want to teach children about their bodies is that they are all different in their own way. Not every child learns to use the toilet at the same time, some children learn later or earlier than other children. I would inform children that they have better knowledge about their bodies than anyone else. They know when they have to use the bathroom or when they are hurt or anything else better than anyone else so it is best for them to learn how to communicate this with those who are around them.