Potty Training - Burlington, KY

Hi J.,

Just be patient with her! I had the same issue with my daughter just a few weeks ago. She is also 2 going on 3, and is fully potty trained now. At first she would only go pee in the potty not number 2...but I would just remind her to go. eventually she got the hang of it and now she goes with out telling me..just yells for me after she's done. lol K.

Let her run around with just a shirt on, or nothing at all. My son would go in his underwear too while I was training him and so that's what I did. He wouldn't go without his underwear, so eventually, after putting him on the potty over and over, he finally couldn't hold it anymore and was able to go. After that, he did fine, potty trained in 3 days total

My son was NOT eager for the whole potty training idea. After constantly trying to get him to go I finally gave up - in a sense. I got a bunch a little things he liked, like match box cars and things, wrapped them like fun gifts, placed them in a basket and put the basket in the bathroom. I told him that I would not bug him anymore to use the potty, that he should go when he's ready but that when he did go he could pick out a gift from the basket. He waited a few days but kept asking what was in the wrapped gifts and I just told him , good stuff and when you go potty you'll find out for yourself. Three days later he said he had to go pp so we went and he did it. While sitting on the potty he panicked for a moment because he felt he had to go #2. I said well, you're on the potty so go. He did. He got to pick out two prizes and then from then on he went on the potty all the time. I did let him keep taking a gift everytime he went until the basket was empty. He seemed to really like it. It may sound like too much to some parents but it worked great for us. Good luck! C.

We didn't experience this with our daughter, but when she was potty training, she didn't want to take the time to go potty.

I don't know if you could apply or modify what we did or not, but thought I'd mention it. We started telling her when she asked to do things, "Potty first". You know how kids will ask to do one thing, be enthralled for 10 minutes and hten want to do something else...everything was "Potty first, and then we can do that."

For the longest time, my older sister would NOT go potty anywhere but at home. My 4 year old has to visit every potty everywhere we go. :)

Good luck!

Hi J.:
All mommas have this challenge ahead of them. Harder with some than others.
I always took my children with me when I went to the bathroom and made a big production out of using the toilet. Like listening to the noise (plop when solids hit the water and the splash when its water - almost musical) and they really do listen for the noise. Dad's do the same thing with their sons.
Our babies are very smart little cookies.
I find they learn much faster with actions than words. When we talk so much with our children - they tune us out and lose patience with us.It's amazing how they want to be like mom and dad. They feel really grown up. After awhile the fascination wears off and using the toilet becomes a habit.
My youngest daughter learned so fast I had to watch her like a hawk. She was so small I was afraid she would fall in head first trying to pull herself up onto the toilet seat. Of course I had to keep the seat spotlessly clean and teaching her to wash her hands after every trip to the bathroom was my biggest problem. She was toilet trained before she was a year old. Simply because she wanted to be like mommy.
A whole lot of LOVE and PATIENCE is the key in almost every thing we try to teach our little ones. It also teaches patience and they have less stress in their little lives. We live such fast lives not enough parents really take or have the time to slow down and teach our little ones the basic necessities of life.
Hope this helps with your little angel. It worked with our five children.
D. Y.

Hey J.,

Don't know if this is an anxiety thing a constipation thing or whatever, but an idea would be get a dowl rod and paint it when she's sleeping. Decorate it with glitter and make it "fancy". This could be her magic poop wand. Hide it and then go find it together. Explain that this will make it easier for her to go poop in the potty. WHen she holds this it won't hurt (if that's the issue) or she doesn't have to be afraid. It helps her be a "big girl".
In the meantime, give her lots of liquids and high fiber snacks to get things rolling easier. Best wishes. We are currently deep in the potty training boot camp if you will. I feel your pain! Hang in there... we can do it!!

I didn't have any problem with my children on this but my niece was almost 4 before she would finally go #2 on the toilet without throwing a fit. She was so scared that she would hold it for an entire week and then when she finally did go, it hurt. They were able to convince her that if she didn't hold it in, it wouldn't hurt so bady. They took her to a store to pick out a toy she really wanted. Once she started to go to the bathroom, she got the toy she picked out. Within a few weeks, she stopped holding it. I've read articles about this when she was having problems and they suggested that when your child is going in her pants, sit her on the toilet with her clothes on. After a few days, take down the pants and a few days later take down the underwear or pullups. She will learn to go to the bathroom without incident. First and foremost, it's about her being ready. If she isn't ready, don't push. She will eventually become a potty pro.

Hi J.,

The poop issue has been an obstacle for all 3 of mine. My first was fine w/ peeing by 2 1/2, but wasn't completely poopy-trained until 3yr5mo (gasp! I know.) She was and is extremely advanced intellect-wise, and was finally convinced that her bm's could no longer fit in pull-ups/diapers!

Now, I'm dealing w/ boy/girl twins who are 3yrs 7mos, and seriously I think they look at each other and think "well, he/she still goes poop in pants, I can, too." My boy's bm's are looser, so he'll go every now and then in potty, but he'll be so busy playing and since they are softer poops he'll go and not know I think! My girl's bm's are harder and less frequent, and I remember being like that around 3 or 4, so she still has to rely on the tried-and-true squatting position that she's done her whole life, she'll tell me that poopy won't come out on the toilet. (I'm modifying her diet, and provide books to read while on potty, searching for other solutions!)

As you can see from my experience, each child is different, but like my first, it will happen...someday. But these twins aren't going to Disney World anytime soon as long as I'm still buying diapers/pull-ups/wipes$$$$$$$$$$

About underwear...when your daughter poops in them, and this might work if they're a fav pair, throw them away!!! Let her see you put them in the trash. This worked for my sister's boy, who loved his Batman underwear and one day asked her "you're not going to throw these away are you?" Obviously, he was 3 1/2, advanced language. She said, "If you don't poop in them I won't." That's what finally completed his poopy-training. My son was a bit remorseful seeing his poopy-Mickey Mouse ones going in the trash, but we'll have to try again!

I hope to find more helpful hints from your responders!

Peace,
K.

We are having the same problem. I heard that this is common with girls. I was also advised that if she doesn't start pooping in the toilet by the time she is 3 we should consult our doctor. Everyone is telling me that little girls feel like they are loosing a part of themselves by going in the potty. (what?) LOL

My friend said she put Cheerios in the toilet and told her daughter to try and poop on them as a game. It worked for her, but it didn't for me! I am anxious to see if anyone else has a better idea - I'm at a loss too!

Try using anything she is interested in or excited about. My four year old seemed to take forever to train... and the same with my three year old boy. It would come and go. Sometimes they would be consistent and then all of a sudden they would start going in their underwear again.

My one son was really excited about wearing big boy underwear and I told him he couldn't have them if he didn't use the potty. Also, he loves chocolate cake and chocolate icing. I told him that I would make him a cake if he would go to the potty all week. I would give him stickers anytime he would go to the potty. Then I changed it to he got a sticker eat time he went and another sticker for wiping, another for pulling up his underwear and pants. I bought like 1,000 little tiny stickers. They were like $2.50 at Wal-Mart. That pretty much got my 4 year old trained.

My other son loves candy. I tell him he can have a Reece cup if he goes pee and a Dum Dum sucker if he goes poop on the potty. That seems to be working really well. He also gets to wear his favorite Transformer or Power Ranger underwear if he goes poop in the potty all week. I hated resulting to candy, but it just seemed to work. I bought the mini bite-size Reece cups, and Dum Dum suckers are pretty small too.

My three year old is quite stubborn and I finally had to add putting him in timeout if he pooped or pee'd in his underwear. He he would do it on purpose if he didn't get his way or was throwing a fit about something. I would then take him to the potty and wait for him to go (if he still needed to go) and he didn't get any rewards at that time. If he was on his way to the potty and just couldn't make it, I would reward him for trying to go potty and there were no punishments. As long as he tries, I make a big deal with clapping and smiling, hugs and kisses, and candy. Sometimes I don't remind him about the candy and see if he'll keep up the good work with just a congrats. So now... after about a month or so of getting candy, I am just giving hugs and kisses and maybe about every third time he gets a candy or chocolate.

Hi J.,
This sounds just like my middle daughter who will be four on Monday. SHe was completely potty trained as far as peeing goes but for number two she would wait until I put a pullup on her at nap/night. I was so frustrated with it and could not figure out why she would not go in the potty. I was expecting my third child at anytime and my daughter was about to turn three in a few months. I tried everything from rewards to "poopy parties" , I even went as far as not putting a pull-up on her at nap/night (with plastic liner under her sheets and had a lot of laundry) because she would not poop in her panties,but nothing worked until she decided she was not pooping in her pants on her own. It was like over night, she is very stubburn and had to make the choice her self.I also think that she was about to become a big sister helped as well. My oldest daughter was trained early without any problems (although pooping in the potty did come after she mastered peeing, but not very long after). Every child is different, and if it has only been a month since you began potty training I wouldn't be to worried. She will get the hang of it if you keep up your consistancy. Try telling her you will have a "poopie party" ( i know it sounds funny, but to a two/three year old it is cool) where you dance sing and manybe have a sweet treat. When she does finally go make a big deal about how proud you are and how big she is. Maybe even calling the grandparents or close people in your life to let her share the news. ANother trick I used when I was a daycare provider training 4 two yearolds at once was having a balloon cut out of paper with their names on it. Every time they went number one they got to put one sticker on their balloon and everytime they went number 2 they would get to put two stickers on. It doesn't have to be a balloon it could be anything that she likes.

I wish you luck don't beat yourself up, she will get it in time. My daughter finally got the hang of two months before her third b-day and we started training just befor she was two and a half.

Give it time, don't push it hard or she might regress. It will come with time. You didn't have this problem with your 5 year old because all children are different. She'll get there, I promise!

And by the way, I'm in the same boat as you... except instead of a month, it's been a little longer, and my daughter turned 3 in May. Sometimes things are frustrating for us parents, but when you really look at the situation, it isn't that big of a deal and will come over time.

My daughter is doing the same thing. She wears panties all day but if she has to poop she asks for a diaper or pull up. My niece did the same thing and she is now using the potty just fine. I was told to just let her figure things out on her own and it will all work out. I think that there is a fear for some reason and if you are constatly own them about pooping on the potty it makes them more nervous. Just give her time and a lot on encouragement. Good Luck

I was worried about potty training too. We have twins who are almost 2. I spoke to our doctor about it and he said to not even try till they are several months over 2 and not till they are ready. Potting training should only take a day or 2 at the most and if it takes any more than that, they are not ready. That's just what my doctor said. I've also talked to several moms who did the same thing, waited till their kids were ready and it only took them a day. Most of the kids were closer to 3, but if it will only take a day, I'm willing to wait till the kids are ready!
K.

J.,
I can't give you much advice, but I can tell you that I am going through the same thing with my daughter. She will be 4 in two weeks and we can't get past the number 2 issue. I wanted to let you know that you are not the only one struggling with this, and I hope that someone has some good answers to your question because I can use them also! :) Good luck!! I know how frustrating this is.
M.

Well I know you don't want to hear this but my advice is just to wait. I went through this with my son but several months maybe 8 months, peed on the potty every time, all day at school but would not poop on there. Honestly for him I think he couldn't get the idea of sitting down to go instead of standing up but either way nothing I tried worked, he might occasionally if I got lucky but didn't get there. Then finally he went on the potty and other thant he occasional accident everyone expects he's been doing fine ever since. I guess I just had to wait until he was ready. He was pee trained about 32 months but not poop until almost 40 months. They say girls are easier to pooty train so I'm sure she'll get there before that. My best advice would be to try to figure out if she has a pattern - my son would typically go in the 9-10 am stage and just put her on the potty every 15 minutes or so and see if you get lucky then make a big deal about much easier and cleaner that was to for her and you. Good Luck.

Let me tell you what I did with my youngest son, Jordan. When he was 3 (he's now 6), I had the hardest time potty training him. He wouldn't go in the potty for anything. Well, for Christmas, he told me he was going to ask Santa for a new bike. That's all he wanted. So I told him that, if he wanted Santa to bring him a new bike, he had to start going in the potty. That worked wonders. Before I knew it, he was going in the potty on a daily basis and, yes, he got the new bike he wanted. Find out what toy your daughter really wants and, then, just take it from there. If this worked for me, it'll work for anybody. Best of luck to you.