Potty Training Help - Columbia City, IN

I would not force her to do it or anything, as you don't want her to have a negative association with going potty. The average (50%) girl trains between 2.5 and 3 years old. So, she is still young. She will eventually get it. We have a boy, and I just started out using the big toilet. I think it helped him to understand because that is what mommy and daddy use to go potty. He always just played with his potty chair and never understood to go potty in it. One other thing you may try is to get the potty training elmo. He has a potty chair, and you can practice by having Elmo go potty and then see if she will imitate going on her potty chair. But, maybe try using a step stool and putting a potty seat pad on the real potty. But, still don't try to rush it. When she is ready, she will go. Plus, you want her to be trained, not you. I see many moms of younger kids say their kids are trained, when it is really the mom who tells them when to go, so the mom is trained. Plus, if they are ready, you won't have to deal with many accidents at all. Keep trying every few months like you are. Good luck!

Hi A. S,

I have potty trained at least 4 children (it's been so long ago and I helped train my sisters' children). Find out what time your child usually goes in the diaper/pamper. After you get her schedule, put her on the potty 5 minutes before she goes. Make sure you make a big fuss (praise, bribery, etc.) when she goes in the pot. I worked at a facility for mentally challenged individuals (children and adults). They trained the clients who were not trained to use the bathroom. If they used the toilet, that was a hit. If they didn't, it was a miss. The staff would take the client to each room of the cottage and take them to the bathroom from each of the rooms and tell them "this is where you do your business (they used the correct terminology)." They would show them from every vantage point in the house and outside where to go. Then they would sit them on the toilet/potty for 5 minutes or so. When they had a miss, they would tell them not to do it on themselves, and repeat the process each time they had a miss. They would praise them and give them a treat when they had a hit. It worked in about a week or two. I used this method on one of my children and it worked.

The main thing is to be consistent. My children were potty trained at a year old and they did very well. I gave a lot of praise for going to the potty and a lot of "oh no's" and "don't potty on your s-el-elf" for not. They loved the praise because I would really be enthusiastic. I heard a lady on the radio say the other day that she bought her daughter some big girl panties and put them on her and she didn't want to mess them up so she started going to potty herself (if the light was on). I see you have a lot of people giving advice, but do what works for your little girl. Boys are little harder to train, but the method I suggested above worked well with them as well as the girls.

A little about me:
I am a proud mother of ten, grandmother of 26 and a great grandmother of 5. I've been through the potty stage with all of them (almost all)!

I let my children read a book on the potty. They were busy reading and so they wouldn't play. We would slowly read the book together. When we were done reading I would ask if they were done going potty, if not we would read another. Usually two books was enough. When it seemed like they were responding well and going once or twice a day I started taking them every one or two hours. Just remember if you ask them if they want to go potty they can say no. If you want them to try don't ask tell them it is potty time. Just like lunchtime or bedtime it is just part of the day. When they are this young keep praising and they will enjoy the encouragement. Never punish her or she will get discouraged. I guess that is why I read with them. It was one on one time with mommy!!!

Mother of 2, 10 and 8. My advise is that she is a little young. I tried to push my older daughter to potty train before her brother came, she seemed interested at first, then it became frustrating. When she was ready it was a breeze. When you both are ready the best advise I have is, go cold turkey. Do not use pull ups (unless you are out). It's tough for about 2-3 weeks. Lots of messes and lots of laundry. We learned the hard way. We put my daughter in pull ups at night and it was 5 before she stopped going through the night. They get use to the wet feeling in diapers. If you go cold turkey, you're up a lot at night and washing a lot of sheets, but my son caught on quick. The wet feeling wakes them up. Put a plastic liner on the bed, and even some towels. Most important you both ahve to be ready! Good luck...

I can only provide "advice" based on what I have experienced with my 2 year old (she turned 2 in August).

I bought a potty for her when she was around 1 1/2ish. I introduced it to her, but not much happened. Very sporadically she would go potty.

Then the beginning of December I thought I would really try to push the whole potty thing. So, I put underwear on her (the thick kind) and ask her to try every 45 minutes. I would give her 2 M&Ms for trying and 4-5 if she went. That lasted about 2 days and then she decided she didn't want to.

About 2 weeks ago, I asked her if she wanted to use her big girl potty. She said "yes" So she sat on the potty and she actually went. I praised her - gave her 4 M&Ms - plus I asked her if she wanted to wear big girl underwear (which are princess pull-ups - but we call them underwear). She seemed really proud. She has gone in the potty ever since then --- I just kept reminding her not to go potty in her big girl princess underwear.

She has gone consistently for about 2 1/2 weeks now (she wets herself during nap and nighttime though).

She even goes poopy in the potty - she gets a small sucker and gets to wear "special" big girl underwear when she goes poopy in the potty (I let her wear real underwear for a little while).

Also, I think I did ever since she was 1 or maybe even before, I always asked her to come potty with mommy --- so now her and I both go potty at the same time (sometimes she wants the big potty though which is great). So prior to her using the potty, she would help me flush the toilet and she would always wash her hands after me. This helped her learn some of the routine.

Just my experience --- for me, I guess I had to wait until she was ready.

Good luck --- the time will come. It's a long process :-)

A.,

It sounds like your daughter may not be ready for potty training. This is one thing that kids are going to do on their own time when they are ready. My suggestion is to just introduce her to the potty again a few months from now to see if she shows any interest. Or just continue with diapers leaving the potty chair where she can see it. If she doesn't show any interest for a while don't be too concerned. Most kids don't even start the potty training process until they are two and a half or three years old. Pushing this issue will only frustrate you, and possibly do damage to her self-esteem. Just relax and put this into prospective; your daughter is not going to start school in diapers! When she is ready the process of potty training will go very quickly.

J.

My 3 were all ready at different ages & took different lengths of time to 'get it'so it was challenging to remain patient with the process. I was so ready to let go of diapers before they were. Check out the potty videos.

A.,
I have a little girl who just turned 2 the end of September. I also got her a potty seat in the summer and basically she just played with it for months, using it as a normal chair. Around Christmas time I seriously started trying to potty train her as I was off of work for a couple weeks. For us the most effective thing was going out and letting her pick out underwear with the design of her choice and then I put them on her when we got home. She needed to learn what if felt like to be wet and that she didn't like that. Once she had wet her underwear a few times she started to get the idea that she needed to go in the potty if she didn't want to get wet. I have to admit that this was about a two week process before she really was being consistent and then she just up and decided she didn't want to do it anymore. I gave up on is assuming that she was just too young or too stubborn but a week later she started asking to go and for about a week now she has been dry night and day and always goes in her potty!! We are still working on her going #2 in the potty though. Anyway, I thought the underwear helped my little girl get the idea plus when she was successful I would give her one MNM which was a big motivator for her. Also, at first she would only go when I was out of the room (maybe she was shy about it?) so you could try leaving the room for a minute or two.
A.

Dear A.,
If she says she has to go, put her on and turn on the faucet.
This might prompt her to go.
Otherwise just keep her there maybe 5 minutes at the most.

I made a chart for my children.
They got a star for peepee and a sticker for a BM.
You can make a 2-week chart and if they do something in the potty every day then they could get a prize of some sort or a special privilege or outing.
Then you start over with another chart.
As you have discovered, this can be a long and frustrating process.
For your own mental health you might want to take a break, put the potty away, and start again in a month or so.

Sounds like she is not ready yet. Give up for a while and re-introduce it. Don't force it!

Hi A.
I'm a mother of 5 and I have found the best way to potty train is to buy one that sits on the floor and when you go to the bathroom take her with you and have her sit on it while your going. when your done show her what you did, Also don't push it or they will resist. I have had some of my children be potty trained at 1 1/2 and some that did get it until they were 3 almost 4.
Good luck and if you have anymorre questions just give me a buzz.
G. W.

It's been many years since I potty trained my children but my friends were amazed when my daughter was trained 1 week before her 11 month birthday. My son was more stubborn, 1 year and 2 months. Every time they eat or drink anything, you put them on the pot alongside of you. Tell them "listen to mommy tinkle (run the water if you have too). When you're done it's their turn. When they go, even 3 drops, applaud, and praise them again and again. Give the a treat (reward) of a piece of grahm cracker, teething biscuit, whatever according to their age. Always get them on the pot after the last drink of the night..and only an ounce or 2 then...you don't want their bladder exploding during the night. Boys are more difficult because of standing so daddy is best for them and a small stepstool. Good luck! J. from Elk Grove Village, Il.

Let her loose. I mean let her run in the nude. Sometimes them feeling a different sensation helps. She may pee on the floor but the concept is she knows her diaper will hold it. If she feels it running on her leg it might help. Also get her underwear they are great. My son was so excited to have spiderman underwear he started peeing on the potty. I think pull ups are a big waste of money and diaper don't give her the feeling of wetness. Hope this helps. Happy Potty Time!

I started potty training my daughter when she turn 2 also and went through the same thing. What I found worked for her was I would put her on the potty with a pillow behind her back and a few books. after she got through the second book she usually had gone potty. Gradually she got to the point of oging on her own and reading 1 book. She's almost 3 and doesn't need my help at all. Make it fun for her and don't force her otherwise it will turn in to a negative thing and take longer.

J.

Hello,

I must say that I do agree with Jackie. Let her be free. My last daughter was potty trained by 18 months. The way that we did it was one by letting her wear a dress around the house with no diaper, no panties, or panties. We also brought her potty chair in to the livingroom. That is the one room she was more secure about then the bathroom. We allowed her to sit in watch tv in the chair. It was used as a chair as well as a potty. She knew that and during her blues clue all the sudden she would lift the lid and go potty and then it started happening more often. We let this go on for about a week then we slowly moved the chair day by day down the hall until we reached the bathroom and transition to using the potty in the bathroom. Though I never made her go from the potty chair to the toilet instantly. I allowed her to tell me when she was ready to get on the big potty which was in no time. We did not use the lid to the potty chair though. We used the smaller version on the toilet seat. ( the ones that fits in the big seat) we allowed her to pick it out and her new underwear. It was honestly very easy! Just do not get to pushy and sometimes they will just not go in the potty. I do think that by allowing her to wear a dress around the house and allowing her to feel her self getting wet will help. Yes, you will have messes to clean up but it wil not last long! Well good look!