SPELLING CHECK TFG CATCHES UP WITH THE FORMER (AND RECENT) DONNA MARTIN AND
FINDS THAT
HER LIFE HAS REALLY GONE TO POT-TY
Tori Spelling wants to potty all the time. (Well, you know, she wants
her son to potty all the time,
but we couldn’t resist a good Eddie
Murphy
–inspired play on words.) TFG Editor-in-Chief Jillian Swartz
caught
up with
the actress, best-selling author, reality star, jewelry designer and
mother
at a Pull-Ups
event promoting the Potty Dance, a catchy little ditty
that
helps kiddos nationwide ditch diapers—sans
the candy, stickers and
dollar-store gifts.
Here, the mother to Liam, 23-months-old, and Stella, nine-months-old, gives us the scoop on how the
Potty Dance has helped her find her groove with her son’s latest and greatest milestone, plus she shoots
the, uh, breeze, about her life in the motherhood.
JILLIAN SWARTZ: As a parent, your children’s milestones often bring up your own issues. I remember when my daughter was potty training, my lack of ability to be in the moment hindered her progress. What were your concerns as potty training was beginning? TORI SPELLING: I was just overwhelmed by the whole experience. I thought it was going to be this daunting experience that we were about to embark on. I didn’t know what to expect. In my mind, the two milestones are walking and then potty training—and I had bittersweet moments with it because this means he’s a big boy. I didn’t push him into it. I waited until he was ready. He came to me and identified that he had to go to the bathroom, and so we knew that it was time to start. But it was a scary thing at first. Now, going through the process, we’ve made it fun. The only advice I can give is not to stress about it and don’t stress your child out about it.
JS: Yes, once we as parents stop stressing, it’s fine. TS: Exactly.
JS: Is there a go-to book that you sourced? TS: Well, I was lucky because Pull-Ups gave me lots of tips and their Potty Dance is amazing, because Liam loves to dance. I thought that this was the perfect thing for me—a great partnership because we dance every day in the house. Teaching him the Potty Dance was kind of relaxing to me because it was funny and fun and something we could do together. Other than that, I didn’t really turn to any books in particular, but my favorite book on this subject is Everybody Poos, so I showed it to him—because he was scared of poo at first. He thought it was pretty gross. He’d say, “Gross poo.” To her son: What is poo? What is poo, Monkey? Liam: Yuck! TS: Well, he usually says “gross.” So, we looked at that book so he would understand that it’s normal.
JS: Did you do treats or did you just do the dance? TS: We do the dance. At first, I didn’t know about the dance and I wondered about what to do. Am I going to be that mom who’s like, “Please go potty, here are two candies”? I don’t want to be that mom. I don’t want to start that.
JS: Yeah—that’s a tough one to get out of. You’re in the sugar hole. TS: I know. Exactly. So when we discovered that the dance worked for us, it was perfect. I mean, we’re still in the process.
JS: So, he’s doing great. TS: He’s on his way.
JS: And you’re doing great. TS: Yes!
JS: Is there anything that you learned from and will do differently with your daughter? TS: She’s doing everything faster than him. She watches him and she wants to be older so badly. I always joke that she’s going to be potty trained by a year old. I mean, she already wants to walk. JS: My son, too. I have a 9-month-old and a 4-year-old, and it’s the same thing.
JS: Is there a takeaway lesson from the whole experience—anything you want to share? Any other advice or perhaps something you learned about yourself as a parent? TS: I learned that I could let go of the stress. I kind of stress about everything, and I knew that my stress would really affect him, so I had to let it go for his sake. Just like early on, I had to let go of the “huuuh!” every time he fell. That was a hard one for me. The next thing to let go of was the stress about potty training. I realized that inside I could be freaking out, but outside I had to be cool as a cucumber and let him know that this is an easy process.
JS: Well, they go by your cues. They feed off of how you act. TS: Yeah—and I wanted him to know that he could take as long as he needed and that the whole thing was going to be fun.
JS: Let’s talk mom to mom on behalf of our readers. You do a lot. You are an actress, a spokesperson, a jewelry designer, an author, you have a TV show. Is there a Tori actress, Tori designer, Tori mom? Are you compartmentalized? TS: No, it all blends.
JS: Are you just that way naturally, or have you learned to be that way? TS: I am definitely a type A personality. I am a micromanager, but I am not neat enough to compartmentalize every little aspect of my life. So everything kind of blends together—but that’s who I am. Those are all the aspects of me, so I go into everything that I do the same way. I am constantly—my mind is always in overdrive. JS: But it works for you. And I think sometimes when people do compartmentalize, it doesn’t work.
JS: As busy as you are, how do you stay connected with your husband? TS: Well, we are lucky enough to work together. Our reality show is a blessing because it keeps us together and it keeps our family together because we all film together.
JS: I have to say, it’s a quality show. I really appreciate it and think that it does a good job of showing who you are. You are very likable. My girlfriends were commenting on the fact that they feel like they know you from years of 90210, and now that they’ve seen the show, they feel like they could be your friend. Your show is a positive and real glimpse into your life, and you, your family and your day-to-day are very relatable. I think it’s cool that you are putting that out there. TS: Well, thank you—then I’ve done my job. I am so proud of our show. When you look at all the shows that are out there…and as an actor, sometimes you do roles and you think about whether it’s something your kids could see. I do a TV show that is family oriented. Women can watch it. Men can watch it. Kids can watch it. Families can watch it together. When the kids grow up and they look back and they see the tapes, I think they are going to be proud to have had their family on TV.
For more on the Potty Dance and to hear its super-catchy tune, go to www.dothepottydance.com.
Tori Spelling wants to potty all the time. (Well, you know, she wants 
TS: He’s on his way.
