Potty Training - Peoria, AZ

You are not a failure, potty training is a tough thing! My daughter is almost 2 1/2 and has been potty trained for 4 months already. Go to www.3daypottytraining.com , I used this method and it worked wonders! I know at least 5 other moms who used it around the same time as me with their girls and had awesome results too.

That being said, do what you feel will work. If you don't think this method is for you and your daughter, then don't use it...but it sounds like it would work!

Hang in there!
~L.

Stay strong and keep motivated! Kids always have a sense of our feelings and emotions and as hard as it is, "keep your game face on". Give your daughter something to look forward to or to get if she goes in the potty or doesn't wet her undies, i.e. a trip to Chucky Cheese, a special toy, etc. This worked perfect when my son was in daycare. He got a bear once he pooped in the toilet because he wouldn't do that at all, but hated messing up his underwear. Maybe even try making some sort of a game out of it, like parents do when boys are learning to use the potty. Does she have a special potty chair?

Hi M.,
Don't feel like a failure!! I'm sure you've heard it said before, "All children are different and come to things in their own time." Forntunately for me, my daughter was very easy to potty train, never had an accident at night (or a wet pull up) and only a few during the day while actually potty training. The trick for me was NAKEDNESS!! She hated how it felt going down her leg. She would actually stop herself from going so the amount to clean off the floor was minimal. Plus we have wood laminate flooring, so not sure you want to do it if you have carpeting. :) Another thing that helped us was her love and desire to be like her cousins. We talked about them wearing big girl panties and she wanted to try (yep, not scared to use peer pressure for potty training!:))
Good luck and no worries, she'll get there. I think the hardest part is the being patient.

I put my daughters in big girl panties and when they had an accident they got to clean themselves and their panties. It didn't take more than two or three times for them to figure out that it was better not to soil their own clothes.

I agree with the post about nakedness. Being naked is the best way to potty train- there's no place to hide the pee or poop! Did this with my first and am currently doing it with my second. When they have something, anything, over their bums be it a diaper, pull up or undies they just pee and poop at will. When they have naked bums they will go running to the potty. Plus you can see if they start to go. I used to yell "stop" when my oldest started peeing then take her hand and run to the bathroom. She's 4 now and still runs to the bathroom when she has to go.
The problem with pull ups and even underwear is that you and your child can't see when they are going pee, you only find out after the fact and then it's too late to do anything about it. When they can see themselves pee it makes it easier for them to associate the sensation of peeing with using the potty.

Aw don't feel like a failure! I was told that potty training my daughter would be best if I waited until after the baby was born. I took that advice and my daughter was 2 1/2 when we started. I went to Walgreens and bought the really bright neon poster boards (the smaller ones that come in a package of about 5 or so) and some stickers. I got the star stickers at Walmart (I think they were on the same aisle as the colors and stuff) and I made a chart using my computer and then I used a glue stick and glued the chart to the board. I taped a chart pretty low on the wall on her bathroom (that way she could apply the stickers she earned all by herself), and the downstairs bathroom. She had been at my mom's the day I did this, so when she came home that night and went to take a bath she noticed the chart right away. (I also drew all kinds of girly stuff around the board) She asked me what it was and I told her that it is her very own POTTY CHART, and when she went pee-pee and poo-poo she could put stickers on it! She thought it was so cool and she said "Oh I'll go now"...and she climbed on the toilet and went pee!!! She became an expert after that! I was so shocked at how easy it was, because I never pushed it either, and she never really showed any interest in wanting to go. Pooping was a little hard on her after about a week of being potty trained....I looked it up and found that it is very common for them to feel scared and not want to poop in the potty. So what I did was let her pick out some 'special' stickers with her favorite character (Belle from Beauty and the Beast) and when she went poop she got one of the special ones to put on her chart. I made the chart have more than one spot for stickers each time she went. She got a sticker for going, wiping, flushing, and washing her hands. When the chart was full I took her to the Dollar Store and let her pick out a toy for being a big girl.
I hope this helps, and I'm sorry its such a novel of advice! =) Good luck, your lil one will be going on her own very soon!

I am having the same issue. My daughter turned 3 at the end of September and also has no desire to go on the potty. It is really frustrating because she will wear big girl underwear for an hour or so and then ask me for a pull up when she feels she has to good. If I don't get her one she has a huge tantrum. She completely understands she just doesn't want to do it. I really don't have any advice I just wanted you to know you are not alone. However I am reading Potty Train your child in just one day by Terry Crane because it was recommended by a friend. I haven't finished it yet but it does seem to have some good ideas.

I think I would start to actaully potty train her by at a certain time of the day she is made to stop and focus on going. by now I would think that you know about the time she goes and I would not just put her on the potty at any old time you feel like it. by making her completely stop doing all activities except to go to the potty it may force the issue. if she is as intelligent as you say she is probably too busy to stop such an inconvenient thing as this.

I hate pull ups ---my kids were raised before pull ups were common--- to me pull ups allowed the child to be in libo--half baby and half a child in underwear. the concept is stupid.

my daughter was 2 1/2 and she was not potty trained so every sunday night for a few weeks I put her on the potty and if she went it was cool if not it ws cool --- I did this for about 3 weeks and she was trained herself in days when she decided that goin in the potty was so cool or something --- whatever feeling she had was fine with me--- we never had tears from mommy or baby and it was terrific
good luck with this

I was in the same boat as you, until last week. My son is almost 3 (turns 3 in March), and was content to pee/poop in his pullup and run around in it. (Pullups are evil by the way :) ) Here's what I did. I got some of his favorite drink (apple juice), and gave him a bunch to drink. I put him in "big boy" undewear and told him that Lightning McQueen doesn't like pee or poop on him. I put him on the potty at about 30 minutes to see if he would go. I ended up timing his body and the juice passed through at about 40 minutes. So, for the rest of the day - every 40 minutes I put him on the potty. NO MORE PULL UPS - they think they can just pee and poop in them (that's why they are evil). Only underwear during the day. I started last Friday, and he's had about 1 accient per day average.
Offer a reward, too. I give him 2 chocolate chips for going pee pee, and 5 for going poop in the potty. With my daughter, I had to make a chart and give her smily face stickers as additional motivation. It was suprisingly easier than I had remembered this time. Good Luck.

M.,
My two girls were motivated to potty train because they wanted earrings like mom's and grandma's! We told them that when they could go without accidents for 2 weeks, they could get their ears pierced. With the first daughter, it took her a while to get it figured out (we started earlier with her), while my second daughter was fully trained with no accidents one week from when she decided she wanted to do it! Your daughter will do it when she is ready and finds something that motivates her to want to try.

Also, since she has never gone in the toilet you might want to try giving her lots to drink one day, then have a "potty party" where she sits on the toilet and you read to her or listen to music, etc. Also, running some water in the sink might help her go too! Then she can learn to recognize what it feels like, and she would be able to enjoy all the praise you give her for her success!

Don't worry--there ae as lot of kids that make it to their 3rd borthday and are not potty trained. Do not feel like a failure. Honestly, the bext advice for me was to just put my daughter in underwear--she could sit in her pee and poop all day in diapers or pullups, too--but in underwear she did not like to get wet. You will have to deal with accidents--we had many a day to begin with, but my daughter got it after just a couple weeks. It is also okay in the beginning to tell them to go, not ask them if they have to go, and sit them on the potty every 20 min, half hour, whatever the need. I was told you will know when to ask your daughter versus telling her. I do ask my daughter sometimes, but sometimes I still tell her, b/c while she is now fully potty trained, she will say she does not have to go, and then we will get in the car and five min down the road, and she will say she has to go, and we have to pull over and let her go. Best of luck--this was the most frustrating process to date for me hands down...

NO, you're NOT a failure!! Chances are, BOTH of your girls will be potty trained at the same time, just wait a little bit longer! ;-)

It is my observation that those who potty train earlier often have more accidents (or will be potty trained for pee but not poop). Personally I much prefer to change poopy diapers (unpleasant as they are) than change & clean poopy underpants. Your girl WILL catch on, and your younger one just may be old enough & interested enough to train along??!?

I remember this about my younger sister who was about 3 or 4 at the time (another baby sister younger than her was still in diapers.) My parents friends came over and they had a little girl the same age as my little sister (named Anna, the other girl was named Nana, so we had fun pointing out to them how similar their names were fingerspelled) Anyway, in the course of the evening, the little girl had to go and she went to the potty, leaving the door open at the end of the short hall and I remember seeing my little sister who had come around to find her standing there, staring in surprise. After that, she was potty trained too! It really is a mental thing (once their bodies are also ready). You can battle and train, or you can roll with it and rejoice when it happens.