Potty Training - Boulder City, NV

Great she's potty trained, but she's still a little young to do it by herself. Still show her and let her do some of it, but you still need to finish the job. Good luck.

My 4 and a half year old still can't wipe herself well when she poops, only when she pees. Three is way too young, you need to wipe her for awhile. I think around 5 - it is hard to coordinate for little arms and hands. Also, if it is getting messy when she tries, she may give herself a bladder or vaginal infection if she gets poop near the front. So I'd do it for her for now.

At three, most kids need help in this area. To assist, you may want to try those wet, flushable wipes. They get more off. But, kids at three years are just not capable yet to do it completely themselves. Practice makes perfect, but they need alot. Praise really works. Be positive with what she has done. In another year, she will probably be able to get it all off herself.

She just turned 3. In addition to what Julia M. said... just have patience with her. At this age, their fine motor skills are still not exact either. Even at 5 years old....some kids still need help with it. It's okay.

I believe, still assist her. In time, as each child is different... she will "get it." With girls, make sure you teach them to wipe in the "front to back" direction so they don't get infections....and to NEVER use the same toilet paper to wipe the front and back. But even at this age, they will get confused. So supervise or help wipe her yourself.

It won't happen overnight. For me, with my girl at that age, I wiped her. I didn't expect her to wipe herself... or have the precise coordination for it, yet. Also, my girl didn't like to have "skid marks" on her panties. Which happens. Also, sometimes it's just not easy for them to sit, then twist their body & arms back to then reach their bum to wipe ALL at the same time... plus without getting it all over the place. Heck I remember while pregnant, it was hard to twist and reach too!

Obviously, your girl, with the poop getting all over the place, needs assistance. No punishment needed. It's normal. Just help her... explain how, and through repetition, that is how they learn. Over time.

Here's some links:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Pediatrics-1429/teaching-child...
http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/8/586186
http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/potty/wiping.html
http://www.thelaboroflove.com/articles/how-to-teach-your-...

Is she sitting far enough back on the seat so that potty wont go down her legs? I think for the most part she is still pretty young and she will still need help for awhile. My DD just turned 4 and I still help her 70% of the time.

Hi C.:
Congrats on your daughters latest acomplishment.This will certainly make things alot easier for you,in that, you will only have one in diapers now.whewww. huh? The most important thing, for your daughter to learn, is which way to wipe herself.If shes making a mess, it sounds like shes confused as to which direction she wipes.It's important, that she doesn't wipe from the back forward. This can cause not only a mess, but infections for her in the future.she needs to be shown by example, to wipe from the front to back. This is difficult for them, as they have short little arms,and have problems reaching back.Teach her to raise her bottom up a little ,so its easier for her.You may want to leave her some baby wipes on the sink,so she could use those to help clean up after.Theres nothing better than learning from example.Show her a few times,and she will catch on.I wish you and your growing daughter the best

In your statement you say she doesn't wipe all of the "potty" off of her. What is that? Pee Or Poop? If it is pee, then I wouldn't worry about it to much...it's just pee. But, if it is poop, then I would try to keep showing her and inforcing the inportance of cleaning herself well. FRONT TO BACK!!!! That way she will not get bladder infections.
Good luck!

You are expecting an awful lot of her! You said it yourself. She just needs practice. Within 6 months she will be greatly improved. But don't expect her to wipe perfectly for several years. Until then, help her out. It is all part of being a mom. Having baby wipes by the toilet will help. They are much more effective than toilet paper.

My 3 year old is also training. I remind her to keep her legs together so she doesn't "spray" the wrong way. I also encourage her to wipe herself as much as possible and let her watch me do the same. When it comes to pooping, I think you'll have to help with that for a little while, but the wet flushable wipes help a lot too.

Hi C.,

I think it's great that your daughter is potty training! Don't worry too much about her learning how to wipe all by herself right now. I have a 3 1/2 yr. old daughter and I still wipe her when she goes #2 and figure she'll get it when she's a little older. I let her try herself first, then I finish her up before we're all done. She wipes herself when she goes #1. I also have a 6yr old son and did the same with him and he's a great little wiper now! Just concentrate on praising your daughter for going potty on her own. Keep up the great work and good luck!

Hi C.,
She just needs to practice but you (or another adult) have to help/double check until she is older. My son just turned 6 and he is just at the point where he doesn't need help most of the time and where I don't have to check him most of the time - sometimes I check anyway. I still have to help for the really messy stuff. So just let her keep trying and she'll get it. Explain why she has to double check that she is all clean and keep plenty of wipes by the toilet. It will get easier as she is older. 3 is still a little young.

Good luck.

I a mother of a 26, 21 and 13 year old boy, the 21 years old is a girl, the way I trained her, was with a doll, I use to seat her doll at the same time with her, and show my doughter by wiping the doll how she needed to do it herself, I hope this works for you!
good luck
A. C

my daughter did the same thing. i got her the huggies cleanteam wipes, and though they did help a bit, just in the past month or so she has been able to get it all off herself. she will be 4 in january.

what i would do is get her to try once by herself and if she didnt get it all she would call for me and wait on the toilet.

Sounds like you understand, its about practice. My youngest even at four needs my help with a poo wipe. My heart aches when I think back to the toddler days of my 17 and 20 yr old children. Enjoy this days they fade so fast.

Hi C.,

My daughter was also about four when she became a self sufficient wiper. I know sometimes it is a bothersome task. But they grow up so fast, and before you know it your wiping days will be over.

C.,

First, remember that teaching your children to wipe will not happen overnight. It will take several days, maybe even weeks, for your daughter to master the "art" of wiping. So, please be patient.

I have a daughter who is 9 1/2 years old, and she is still needing to be reminded to wipe after every toilet visit when she has only urinated - she has no problem remembering to wipe after a bowel movement.

Now, that being said, here is how I taught my daughters to wipe (I have a total of three girls that I have taught):

1. After they have finished using the toilet, pull off about 4-6 squares of toilet tissue. Fold, rather than scrunch, the paper into a nice little bundle and wipe.
2. Look at the paper. Can you SEE anything on the paper? If yes, then fold the paper over to a clean spot, and wipe again.
3. Look at the paper again. Again, can you see anything on the paper? If yes, fold the paper over to another clean spot, and wipe again. If you can no longer fold the paper over to a clean spot, then put the paper into the potty and pull off another 4-6 sqaures of paper and fold that up to wipe with.
4. Continue to do this. Wipe, look, fold, wipe, look, fold, etc. until you have see that you have a CLEAN paper after wiping.

Teach your children that they are NOT finished wiping until they can SEE that the paper is clean after they have wiped.

I have taught my girls this method, and this has prevented dirty panties in the laundry for us. Occassionally, we will have the few that have minimal staining, but nothing major. As for my youngest not wiping after urinating, we are working on that. However, it is way easier to get the urine out of the panties than getting the BM out, so I just count my blessings and move on.

I hope this helps you.

Good luck to you,
A.
North Las Vegas, Nevada