Potty Training - Sherman, TX

One thing I always did was when she did the right thing on the toilet I made a big deal of it. Like a party praising her. Which made it fun and her want to do it.

I rewarded my girls with something tiny (mini m&m's) every time the went in the potty when I took them. It was a nice incentive and something I could build on. As they got accustomed to me taking them, eventually I would just remind them to go into the bathroom on their own and try, I would give them a little space by standing outside the door until they were finished. If they went without fussing,they got a regular size m&m. After they developed that habit, when they would go potty all on their own, they got a hershey's kiss (at this point, they had to actually achieve something, no fake events). Nighttime was the hardest, as enurises (bedwetting) runs in our families, but we kept up the rewards for the daytime training and it worked. Eventually, their habits were fully developed and they forgot all about the candy. My cousin's daughter is allergic to chocolate and many other items, so for her I helped her make a weekly chart. Each time her little girl went potty, went to the potty on her own, etc. she got a sticker. After 10 stickers, she got a reward. In her case, we made 10 - 15 little notecards with activities and prizes (a trip to the park, a $5 toy, a trip to McDonalds, an ice cream cone, etc). It worked like a charm. As she got more independent, she would have to earn more stickers and the prizes got better. Again it worked. I will stress that we also used tons of praise, and never scolded for accidents. (Especially at night) Mistakes happen and they will learn. Take your time, never rush it. Be patient and prepared to wait. Give the child something to do while they sit so they are comfortable waiting for the "event" to happen. And I also think flushing the waste and cleaning the potty is best done after they are praised and leave the bathroom. Some tots are terrified to see/hear something they just got rewarded for flushed! And some are scared and confused by disposing of their "stuff" Others just want to contribute a helping hand, and next thing you know something is in the toilet or sink that you really didn't want to be there. I did let my girls stick around, telling them things like, Wow you did a good job, now Mommy is going to clean this all up so you can have a clean potty next time, and we can flush this all away, etc. etc. etc. and I would let them have the honors of "flushing" the toilet. My cousin's daughter was not as eager, and when they flushed hers the first time, she was terrified of the noise, and cried. She would not go near the bathroom again for a long time. And even when they started it again, nobody could flush a toilet without her running out of the room. And goodness, (at 10 years old) if she uses an automatic flushing toilet, she goes, and runs out of the stall so fast that she is out before it flushes. You know what's best to expose to your own kids, but this is what worked with ours...Have fun! (and good luck!)

WOW K., you and I must have the same child. My daughter just turned 2 and her attention span is 0 to none. I have been working with her for about 2 weeks and what seems to work best is to allow her to run around the house with no diaper or pannies and ask her to sit on her potty every 15 minutes or so. She does have some accidents but they seem to be fewer. I also make a huge deal when she does go to the potty by clapping and cheering for her and she loves all the attention. So now when she goes to the potty alone she also clapps and cheers for her accomplishment.

Good Luck...

In our house, we let my son take the lead on potty training. We had a little potty seat that we left in the bathroom starting at about 18 months. He would sit on it whenever he wanted with no pressure from us. One day, he told us he wanted to go pee pee in the potty, and he did. After that, we took a more active role in using the potty. We had a week of naked time, with no accidents, and a week of transitioning to underwear with a few accidents. He did pretty well after that, and after about 3 weeks or so, he was accident free.

I would make sure that she is showing all the signs of readiness. Such as, asking to have her diaper changed, wanting to sit on the potty, and being uncomfortable when wet or dirty. There are several others, those are just a few.

2 isn't the magic number for potty training. The average is somewhere between 2-3, so it is completely normal if she is not ready.

We started my daughter out by sitting her on the toilet every morning right after she got up and every evening before she went to bed, then we would put her on about 30 minutes after each meal or drink. We also gave her some kind of treat every time she actually "went" in the toilet. My sister would take a book in to read to her kids while they sat there in order to keep them there long enough to do something.
I hope this helps.
Good luck!

There is a book on how to potty train in a day...

J.

Before you start potty training, there are three things that you need to make sure she can do. 1. can she identify her nose, eyes, ears, body parts. 2. can she pull her own shorts down 3. can she execute multistep instructions?
If she can do all these things not related to the toilet, then you are good to go. IF not, then give her more time. Each child will learn at their own level.
Please, when potty training, dont force her to stay on the potty until she produces; instead help her recognize the feelings that come with a b/m or urination.
If she is hiding to poop or pee in her pamper, she is probably already noticing her body's messages that she is about to go.
Encourage her to try to go to the restroom, change her pampers in the restroom and let her see you deposit her b/m into the toilet so she can associate that this is where it winds up anyway.
Relax and it wont be so hard on either of you.

Hi there. I have heard great things about the book Toilet Training in Less than a Day by Nathan Azrin. You can get it off of Amazon for like $2. But you have to devote a few days at home and not going anywhere. But in the end it's VERY worth not having a long drawn out process of potty training slowly. Good luck!

Hi K.,

My daughter sounds just like your daughter only she is turning three this week -- and we are still not anywhere near fully potty trained. I started early and thought because she was so "smart" she would be a breeze to train. I was completely wrong! If she isn't ready, it will be a long, uphill battle, so make sure she is really ready. I never thought I'd have a 3 year old not potty trained, but here I am and I've learned that there really isn't a set time, each child is different.