Potty Training Tips - Saratoga Springs,UT

Both my sisters and my best friend used this same method. They just took their kiddo's diapers off and let them run naked for a day or so. The kiddos were told that pottying on the floor was not ok (no punishment, just discussion) and the kiddos helped clean up the messes. The kiddos cannot miss the fact that they need to go potty without a diaper to absorb it.
After a day of this the parents put them in underwear and made a big deal of throwing out the diapers. Then they set the timer for 20 min intervals and made another big deal about running to the potty everytime it went off and getting a treat (1 M&M keeps them from getting full) when they tried and 2 M&Ms when they actually went.
The big thing was to not switch between diapers and underwear because they can get confused about which one is ok to potty in and which one is not. The parents also skipped pull-ups for the same reason.

I never tried this method with my own (I used Infant Potty Training), but I have recommended it to my daycare parents and they have had great success with it.

Good Luck

Hi S. H;
It sounds to me like it is time to give up the diapers for your daughter. I don't know how much plainer she can make it to you that she is ready. The only thing you haven't said is when she takes off her diaper does she act like she wants to sit on the toilet or potty chair. I know you are busy but kids don't wait. My suggestion is to put a potty chair in the bathroom, put her in Big Girl panties and then see how she does. Be prepared for a few accidents but don't revert back to diapers. I ended up potty training my daughter on a very long road trip and if that wasn't interesting, to say the least. No accidents.
Good luck and stick to it, you will be glad you did.
J. M

I suggest reading this book: Toilet Training In Less Than A Day...then maybe get a family member or friend to care for your 9 month old while you dedicate every second of that day to your daughter. Good luck!

I work full time and so when it came time to potty train I gave myself a long weekend (Memorial Day, Labor Day etc). I then made sure that I had nothing else planned that weekend and had a bootcamp so to say. First, I took my daughter to the store and let her pick out her own panties. She loved this and of course picked out the princess ones with lots of pink. I got her so excited about this and kept saying, "Yeah" you get to wear pretty panties" We then went cold turkey on the diapers except for nighttime and naptime (when we used a pull up). I had her wear her new panties and then put clothes on that would really feel any accident like jeans. I would then constantly ask her if she had to go potty. The first day there was lots of accidents so be prepared with plenty of clean clothes. Continue each day with lots of attention given to her. I also used the chart and stickers to reward her. Both my daughters were potty trained by the end of the weekend (still a few accidents here and there but they never used or asked for a diaper again.) You just have to devoted a lot of time to accomplish this. Both my daughter's were 2 1/2 when I potty trained them and my second daughter was only one when her big sister was potty trained so don't worry about your baby needing too much attention. As far a nighttime, after a month or two it was actually my daughters' who asked not to put the pull up on because they were "Big" girls. Hope this helps.

She is definitely ready, and the time spent working with her will be most beneficial in the long run. Simply take her to "do it the big girl's way" whenever she starts wanting to take off those clothes. Gradually, she will go before, and you do a lot of praise at that point when she tells you she needs to go. It's time....good luck. M. B

She sure does sound ready! My cousin has potty trained 3 kids and she said that she bought a big toy, wrapped it up all nice and pretty, set it on the TV, and told them if they went on the potty a certain number of times, they could have that present. It worked in potty training them rather quickly.

I've also heard of other moms that just bought their little girls pretty underwear and that's all it took b/c they didn't want to get their pretty underwear dirty.

I hear girls are easier than boys. I only have boys. So that's what i've heard for girls. hope it helps a little.

J.

Most if all the signs need to be there to be successful and no regression.

She needs to know the URGE before she goes, not after the fact, she needs to be able to hold it and wake up dry. Their bodies have to be where their brains are.
Her knowing that she needs changed after is a good sign and time to just set her on the potty every few hours. DO NOT ASK if she has to go, just tell her to please try. Asking is a bad thing as most of the time they do not want to stop playing to go, even if they have to.

I am going to recommend do not put her in underwear until she is really done. I know so many moms on here won't agree, but it is very stressful if there are constant messes on the floor and all of that. I made it through two potty training by using pullups, letting them go on their own pace. make it fun, use a chart for her to have a goal to work for. I am a huge believer just undressing isn't being ready, all the other factors have to be there.

It is better to make the choice to let it happen naturally, without issues and wait for all the cues to be in place so when it is done it is done 100%! :) Both of mine were 100% done at 3, no regression and even at night. It was unstressful and I just let them go at their own pace and did not do underwear until it was done. It took only a matter of weeks once we started.

I would just go cold turkey on the diapers, except naptime and bedtime of coarse. Remind her to use the potty pretty often. With my older daughter, we had to ask about every 20 min. of so, but she needed to go a little more frequently than most kiddos, I think. When she does go in the potty, make a big deal of it, and myabe give her a little treat. We gave our daughter a jelly bean. When she has accidents, have her help you clean up the mess. Also give her a minute or so in the wet clothes so that she makes the connection. Be prepared for a lot of accidents in the beginning, but before you know it, they'll be few and far between. They get it pretty quickly once they're ready. If she seems too stressed or overwhelmed, you can always back off of the potty training thing for a while and come back to it in a few weeks or even longer. This method worked really well for us. My older daughter was potty trained in less than two weeks once she was ready.

Your daughter IS potty training, at her own speed. She's figured out that when she goes her diaper gets soggy and she probably needs a new one. It does not mean she has figured out the signals that tell her she needs to go. That comes next, and there is no amount of forcing the issue, unless you both want to be frustrated.

Let her sit on the toilet, let her check it out. Show her how you go. Practice with her. Just don't expect anything big and don't force her to do anything she's not ready for. Think about how she learned how to walk. She crawled, she started to pull herself up on things, she walked with some help and then she took her first solo steps.

While she was learning to walk did you all of a sudden say, Shes ready!! and pull away all the furniture so she was forced to pull herself up and walk without any assistance? Of course not. Don't pull away the diapers, don't 'make' her sit on the toilet very 20 mins, that just cruel. Follow her lead and let her explore at her own pace. She'll get there eventually and when she does she'll most likely do it with little to no accidents and life will be happy all around. GL!

Hi S.. My daughter had just turned 2(in march) when I had my 2nd child in June of 08. One thing that really helped us was letting her run around naked. When I tried to put reg. panties on she would pee in them. We never did the pull up training because I just felt like it was another diaper that could pull down. She does wear them at night though. Of course we had accidents...keep the papertowels handy :) but she knew where big girls went potty. She never used the training pot for whatever reason so I went to get a Dora toilet seat that fits on top of the reg. toilet. She had her pottychair as a stool so she could get up on her own. I also made a BIG deal when she did go in the toilet. I would clap and sing and dance. She especially like the Potty dance. LoL. One thing to remember is NOT to yell at them when they do have an accident. Talk to her and let her know that its not ok to go pee pee on the floor and then walk her over to the toilet and say things like "this is where big girls go potty". So far its working well for us.

I've heard of people giving treats when their child uses the potty. I don't see the point but hey whatever works. Kids are so smart. There were times though that it was so frustrating so I would put a diaper back on her. LoL. It's okay to feel that frustration. Remember that every child is different. I'm terrified of how my second will do with the whole thing. =)

You'll be great. Believe in yourself and believe in your daughter. =) Good luck.

It sounds like she is ready... so you have to be too. It can be time consuming, but a necessary part of the process. It is like training you also, remember that when your out and about there will be times you have to stop what your doing to take her potty (they can't wait). I understand the issue of other smaller kids (I have 3 kids), but think about using the small potty chair for your son. Boys usually take longer so starting him to sit (in his diaper) there with you when your working with your daughter can't be a bad thing, plus you know what he is doing. We have a smaller potty seat and a stool for the toilet and that makes clean up easier. Good luck... I know there are some great books out there to read, but remember that kids don't come with owners manuals so be prepaired for trial and error.

On a side note we did do treats when our kids used the potty during this time. A different item for each kid depending on their likes. Hot Wheels sat in the bathroom window for sometime as did Star Wars charaters and stickers on the bathroom mirror.

Hi S.,
Yes your daughter is ready and it will take alot of time and devotion from you to get her potty trained. No child will fully potty train themselves. You have to be willing to work with and help your child and have patience with her when it comes to accidents. You can do this with a 9mo old baby. I have 5 kids all 2yrs or less apart and 4 are potty trained and the baby is still too young.

Take the diapers away and only use them at bed time and nap times unless she wakes up dry then just get rid of them altogether. Get a little potty and put it some where so its easily accessable. In the bathroom is best but sometimes the bathroom might be too far away then put it in the kitchen or hall, but not on carpet. Get the thicker training panites, not pullups, and have your daughter wear them. Get several, 9-12 pairs, because she will go through them fast and when you're down to your last 3 get them in the wash. I would also reccommend getting some plastic panty covers so that when an accident does happen it won't ruin your carpeting. Have your daughter go potty first thing in the morning right after she wakes up, as well as right after her naps. Then about every 10-20 mins encourage her to go to the potty. If she pees reward her with lots of praise and stickers and give her a sticker chart to put them on. We gave big stickers for a poop and 2 small stickers for peeing if the panties were dry, if they were wet they only got 1 sticker. Once your daughter really gets the hang of it and that may take some time, you can then give stickers as rewards but if she wets herself she doesn't get any stickers. Keep flushable wipes on hand for messy accidents.

Learning to poop in the potty will be harder and come after mastering peeing in the potty. But if you watch your daughter you ought to be able to tell when she needs to poop. She'll stop whatever she's doing and start concentraiting or focusing and that will be a big prompt to grab her and run her to the potty.

If your daughter doesn't wake up dry in the morning then she will need to wear a diaper or pull-up to bed at night. Don't deal with the bed wetting until she is fully potty trained during the day. Most times bedwetting is just something they have to outgrow and no amount of training will correct it.

Keep your cool and patience! Potty training can be as quick as a few days or take as long as a year. Every child is different but every child and parent can do it! Good luck and have fun!

C. C.

I started training my little girl too young, after thinking she was showing signs. There are numerous signs that they are ready and my advice it make sure you are seeing most of them (if not all). Starting too early can definitely lengthen the process. I totally understnad the circus you live in. My son was 13 months when I started training my 2.5 year old daughter...crazy times indeed.

I did away with pull ups and did the "training pants". We also did a "beep" or an alarm every 30 minutes to remind her to go. But you have to be consistant. I got lazy and kept her in pullups one week and she, on her own, decided she was ready. Its been 3 weeks and she has had only 2 accidents. Alicia will be 3 in June.