Potty Training - San Jose,CA

stickers are a nice way to praise her when she makes a effort. Put her on the potty before nap and right when she wakes up from nap. Childrens books are great too.

Hi M. :)

I trained my son using the "Potty Scotty" (Potty Patty for girls) It worked really really well! I got mine on ebay but you can also get them at various shops online too. Give it a "google" hehe

Have fun!
M.

Hi M.,

My daughter is 3yrs old now and we are still working on potty training. I was in the same situation as you with being able to potty train. I worked evening and her schedule was always changing so both sleep times and potty training were difficult. I have started my own daycare now so I have the time to work with her. I first got her on a set sleeping schedule, and now we are working on potty training. I know how you feel, because at first I felt horrible that my daughter is 3yrs already and not potty trained, but the truth is that my daughter has not been ready either. We got her a potty chair when she was around 2 1/2yr. It is one that can be converted into into one that sits on the toliet and a step stool. When we first got it she sat on it and used it. She has not used it since and about a month ago seemed like she is afriad of it. I got a video she can watch about going potty and a potty book, and now have the potty chair out in the living room so she gets used to it. She gets a reward for just sitting on it right now because that was such a hard step for her and she reads the potty book when she sits on it. I tell what she will get if she uses her potty. We are making progress, but it can be a slow process. It take lots of time and patience, and you don't want to pressure her.

Since you are in the process of opening your own daycare, don't worry about it too much now. Once you have your daycare you can spend the time you need on trainig her and if you have other kids that are potty trained in your daycare that will help because she will want to do what they are doing. Until then continue to do what you are doing but don't worry if she not getting it and don't push the issue.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

R.

I am a mom of two girls, 11 & 9 plus I have been doing daycare for 9 yrs. What has worked with my girls and with the many daycare children that I have watched is first I hate pullups. I think you should buy panties lots of them for her and let her pick them out. There will be accidents. That's ok. Also you can make a little potty chart, after everytime she goes in the potty give her a sticker on the chart and at the end of the day or week reward her with a little prize, or if you don't want to make a chart give her a stamp on her hand or a sticker and just keep on encourageing her how she is such a big girl.

Before I had my daughter start sitting on the potty, I bought her a potty doll who she would put on the potty chair at the same time that I would go on the toilet. Shortly after, she wanted to sit on the potty herself, with her pants on, and the potty doll would sit on her lap (this just got her comfortable sitting on the potty chair without any pressure). Then when I felt like she was ready and going through the night with a dry diaper, I found that putting my daughter on the potty in the mornings when she woke up was enough to get her started. I didn't have much time to work with her on potty training either, as I work f/t as well. She always had to go after a night of restful sleep, even if it was just a little bit. I would go first, and then would say "ok, now it's potty doll's turn. ok, now it's your turn." Treat it like it's just what everyone does, and it's not a big deal. My daughter has a mind of her own and likes to do things when she's ready. So I always talked to her about the process and let her decide when she was comfortable doing it. Then I asked her sitter to put her on the potty every couple of hours, or at least an hour or so after a drink, but not to force her. And she would get a sticker every time she stayed on the potty for at least 2 minutes, regardless of whether she urinated or not (sometimes it doesn't happen immediately, and I felt like the effort was worth the reward, not necessarily the success).
Just remember that it is a process, so don't feel there is pressure of getting your daughter trained in a day or a week or even a month. Some kids just take longer than others.

Hi M.!

My son just turned 2 last month (feb 1) and he mastered potty training 2 weeks ago!
Here's how we did it. (Keep in mind that I'm also a first time mom, I've been raising him as a single parent and working full time as well).
He's been wearing cloth diapers since he was born, which helps him feel the wetness on his skin. The disposables have chemicals that absorb it all away from the skin so it's too comfortable for the child and keeps them wanting to wear them. I also let him run around the house naked a lot so he could see when he was urinating, therefore cluing him in to the feeling in his body associated with actually going.

Shortly after he turned 1, I bought his potty and a video called "Once upon a potty", they have a boy and a girl version. We love this video because it has a cartoon in the beginning, the kid shows their body parts and it shows him learning to use the potty....then there's a ton of babies and toddlers (not cartoons now, real ones) running around singing the "potty song"....We watched it till I was just sick of it. I had him sit on his potty now and then but he was never really into it.

Then I found this potty chart and some star stickers.
One weekend I was just so fed up with accidents on the floor and changing diapers. I buckled down and dedicated the whole morning (a Saturday) just to potty activities. I put on his potty video, sang the song with him, interacted with it very enthusiastically. Each time he needed a diaper change, I'd tell him "if you pee peed in the potty, you wouldn't need to wear a diaper" and I was very consistent with that. When I went to the bathroom, I made him sit on his with me, and I put a star on the potty chart each time he agreed to sit on it for a minute.

By lunch time, he willingly took off his diaper and started peeing on the potty, then asked for a star! I let him put it wherever he wants on the chart, it makes him feel very proud. He even goes "number 2" on the potty now, everyone says boys are so hard to train for that one.

He's had a few accidents since then, when he was too busy playing to stop and go to the potty. But 99% of the time he pulls off his underwear and goes all on his own! Haha at the park last weekend, he walked off to the grass by himself, pulled down his pants and peed in the grass! Everyone was cracking up and so impressed!
If it seems like it's been a while since he's gone, I'll ask him if he needs to go. Half the time he says yes, and half the time he says no. If it's been a really really long time, I make him sit on it and he almost always does go.
At night, he's never peed in his sleep. So if he does wake up in the middle of the night, I don't even ask him; I automatically take him to sit on his potty, despite the crying, and he almost always does pee. So he doesn't wear diapers to bed, I didn't want him to depend on them.

I guess the keys are
1. Be consistent
2. Be positive, even if they have accidents
3. If they refuse, don't insult or be negative, try using incentives (not candy or foods, if you can help it)...if food does work, try frozen blueberries or another frozen fruit for a treat.
4. If they have an accident, still be positive with her. Tell her something like "it's okay, next time"....

Good luck!

Hi M., my name is Krissy and I am a mom to a little girl. She is 5yrs old now and let me tell you I had the hardest time getting her to potty train. When she was born she had problems constantly with being constipated. Oh that was a horrible time lemme tell you. I used to hade to push her legs up and in to get her to poop. So that was the case as to when she finally started going to the potty...she was 2 weeks away from 4yrs old and constipated. She was wearing pullups....they help trust me....and she was just feeling awful....crying because her butt hurt....since she was soooo backed up...well me and my sister-in-law went into my bedroom and sat the rubbing her tummy and pushing on her legs a little at a time. I then turned around to my daughter Amythest and told her "go sit on the potty with your leapster and try to do your poopie on the potty" with that she said ok. I told her I was gonna go get her pj's and when I came back into the room she was all proud of herself. "Mommy, I poopied!!!!"....Oh how happy I was for her. The next day she woke up and said to me...now keep in mind she was wearing pullups (or panties as we called em').."mommy, I don't want to wear panties anymore I want to wear underwear!" I went out and bought her all different little underwears for her to have because I was soooo proud of her. SO with your daughter give her something she will enjoy doing and just let her sit there for a bit. You will see she will do it.

Give her time. When she is ready she will do it - and most likely over night!

Dear M.,

Maybe she is not ready. Our 2 1/2 year old great grandson is still wearing and diaper and is starting to be interested in the potty, but he is too busy for it right now. Please do not get all upset about it. She will do it sooner or later, her body has to get ready first before she can cooperate. Give her a chance to be little. It doesn't last long. Good Luck, C. N.

Hey M.! I had a bit of trouble with my daughter too! She will be 4 in May! She was fully potty trained a month after she turned 3. She didn't like going either and she would only play with her little potty. I ended up buying her one of those little seats that fit right into the big potty (and a stool of course). She seemed to like that MUCH more. You can't force her, when she is ready she'll get it. Have you bought her some "big girl" undies yet? I let my daughter pick hers out at the store. I told her she couldn't wear them until she used the potty like a big girl. One day she came up to me and said "I wanna wear my undies, I have to go potty" and then she went! :o) I started trying with her at a really early age and it back fired on me. I was always frustrated and didn't know what to do. Once I finally loosened up, things were so much better! Just relax and don't worry! It will happen soon enough. I think it's awesome that you're starting a day care! I started going thru the process myself this past fall. My husband is a marine, so I was doing it for base housing. All was going well, but something came up and I had to put it on hold, but that's another story all together!. Anyways, she'll get it! Don't worry! You know that we're all here if you need more advice or if you just want to vent some frustrations!! :o) Take care, sweetie!
S.

Hi I took a week off from work to potty train my son at two. It took a week to potty train him. We watched a video and read books on being potty trained. He started school on MOnday and had two accidents that week but that was it. That week that I took off I trained him and was able to spend time with my some it was worth it. N.

Hi!! My daughter will be 3 in August and she refuses to potty train. Her bestfriend is the same age is fully potty trained. We were worried so we asked the doctor, who told us that she will learn eventually but don't force anything. It'll happen when she is willing, if you push her, you risk delaying it because she will try to stay in control and hold in her bowls. Just encourage her (by words and example) daily, but let her know its on her time. He also told us to have her choose some really cute big girl underpants, but she is only allowed to wear them if she uses the potty. Bring them out every once in a while and make a big deal about how wonderfull they are. Eventually she will want to do what it takes to wear them. Don't stress out, everyone eventually potty trains, its just on their own time.

I had a great daycare which helped and she seen the other kids go so that made her want to she will be three next month and she is potty trained except for at night, i work full time to but when your home with her you just have to keep asking every half hour do you have to go potty, on the weekend when she wakes up put her on the potty after nap put her on and then periodically ask her if she has to go, my daughter first started leraning a few months before she turned two, we had a few accidents but i think everyone does, by the way where do you live

I remember when I was tryin to potty train my oldest.. When she was 2 1/2 yrs old and hasnt used the potty yet.. I thought she was never gonna use it.. I started getting aggravated... and I never thought that when ppl said she will let u know was true.. Well I learned it is.. I remember she had turned 3 yrs old in November of 2004.. February of 2005 I was like why dont u try to go potty.. So she went in there and sat.. and came out and was like i cant... So i told her u go and sit in there till u potty... not even 5 min later I hear Tinkle Tinkle Tinkle.. and then i hear her say I DID IT I DID IT.. She was sooo happy.. Than 15 min later shes like i have to go potty and she goes in there and goes poopoo... SO from then on she was using the potty during the day.. it wasnt till March 1st of 2005 is when I started making her wear panties all day and nite.. she only had 1 accident at nite after that.. and she is now 5 yrs old and has been potty trained ever since.. I hope my next one is easy to potty train...

I even had my oldest go into the potty with her friends.. cuz she always did what her friends did.. but it never worked..

Okay, so this sounds silly and will be so exciting for your daughter. I learned this potty training my kids at daycare.
So you get out the new underwear that only she picks out...and all the outfits clean and ready to go for the day. Set aside a whole weekend to dedicate every second and hour to work hard with her. The first thing would be to time her from the second she wakes to get on that potty seat every "15" minutes. If she goes then you have a whole room filled with presents (wrapped and ready for her to open). hint: they could be used toys so it cuts the cost down. Every 15 minutes should allow for success, if not assure her it's possible.
When she protests on the potty talk to her if the bathroom makes noses that are scary or if anything in there is scary to her. Comfort is key. You are doing a lot already that is going to work--so hang in there and keep up the good work.
Have a lot of fun and make it a whole weekend to play a "potty party" game...It's rewarding and special for them too...Let us know how it goes.

Hello,

Is her daycare provider able to help during the day?

With my daughter her daycare provider and I started at 2 introducing the potty to her, we stopped and started again at 2 1/2. We didn't have much luck. It was on the night of her 3rd birthday she was getting into bed and she told me that she didn't want to wear diapers anymore. From then on out she didn't and only had 1 accident.

I would just say to continue being patient. Have you tried buying her pretty girl panties? Let her pick out the ones that she likes and put them on. Of course expect an accident to happen, but that is how she will learn that she doesn't like that feeling and maybe just maybe she will use the potty.

Good luck!

Hi, Who cares for your daughter while you are working? If you and your care giver are not on the same page, so to speak, your attempts to potty train will be unsuccessful. As a result, you will become frustrated, and your daughter will be confused.
Suggestions:

1. Talk to whoever watches her while you are working about it. It needs to be a team effort.

2. Make it exciting. Get some stickers, or a favorite treat, and have a pee pee or poopy party. Make a BIG deal about it. I know it sounds weird, but it works!

3. There is the possibility that she would prefer the big toilet. Some kids do not like potty chairs.

4. Personally, I never train with pullups or diapers. I use the padded cloth training underware. This way kids can feel the discomfort, they can't hide it, and they are forced to report to you. Take your daughter with you to the store and find pretty panties with her favorite character. Tell her that she can wear them as soon as she is a big girl and goes on the potty. Pretty panties must be earned!

5. If you take her anywhere while training, it is important to show her where the bathroom is. She needs to know that there is one, and infact she might even enjoy going in a public restroom. Many children are fasinated with them.

6 If you cannot get any cooperation form the person who has her while you work, then find someone who will help. You might want to wait until you start your daycare if it is anytime soon. In my daycare, I do group training, and we have many exciting parties over success.

7. Some kids trian quickly because they know that they will get to play with soap and water in the sink, more commonly known as handwashing.

I could go on and on with suggestions. Every child is different and you have to figure out what is going to get her excited about the toilet.

I hope that some of these suggestions help.

D.

There is also the possibility that she is not ready. Is she showing signs of readiness? It sounds like she is not ready.

M....I have an in-home child care in addition to a 3 year old little girl. Every child is different when they are ready for potty training. Who cares for your daughter during the daytime and does that individual work with her at potty time? If she cries she is not ready...potty time should not be a struggle. I recently potty trained a now 3 year old little girl in my daycare, who the first 2 days cried...we used reinforcements...1 M&M if she went potty as a reward...It worked..this week she is now telling me she needs to go potty..with no tears. I have potty trained 100's of children but there is no exact age, by 3 1/2 I believe MOST children have mastered the skill. I am a firm believer of..no toys or books on the potty...I feel it becomes "play time" for them. I do know others will disagree though. I just don't believe a child nor a parent should have to sit in the restroom for any long lengths of time. 10 minutes every hour maximum...Give your daughter the feeling of independence as well...teach ehr to pull down her training pants... wash hands..let her squirt soap after potty time. Establish a "routine" to alleviate all fear in your daughter! The routine needs to be done consistantly..it is not fair for you nor her to just apply this routine on weekends and then during the week nothing. Consistancy works best. Good Luck!

If your daughter is in a daycare then she gets to see other kids use the potty and will probably copy them. You have to take her to the potty every 20 min the first couple of days and on the weekday when you are at work your care provider has to do the same thing. after a few days she will get with the program. small rewards each time she uses the potty for the first few days works great. Try 1 M&M.

I am in the exact same situation as you. I work full-time and do not have a lot of time to oversee my daughters potty-training. She will be three in June. When ever I ask her to go she says a polite "no thank you". I thought she was just being lazy because she will rip off her pull-up everytime she goes.
This week I started to try something new. I read about this on another board. I bought her a bunch of pretty stickers and a piece of posterboard that I taped to her bedroom door. Now everytime she goes, she gets a few stickers to put on the board. So far it is working really good. She can't wait to actually stick them to the board and show me how many she has.

Hi M....
Potty training

My daughter is going to be 18 months old next week and she is pretty much trained already...this is odd and the only reason that she is trained already is cause we've been sitting her on the potty right before bath time since she was 9 months old. Just so she'd learn to sit and not be afraid of it. Since she turned one is when we started sittin her on there before each new diaper. I think there is no "real" way to train them, it is just getting them into a routine. Just sit her on the potty all the time. I know you work full time, I used to as well with a child, which makes it more difficult. You just gotta put more into it. I noticed at the bottom of your profile you say you ONLY have time for her on the weekends...well honestly thats not enough if your serious about this... You do get home at some point everyday, maybe start with... everyday when you get home taking her to sit on the potty while you go. Give her a book and just have her sit. She wont pee right away, at first she's just going to get used to the potty. Your going to have to work with your daycare provider and buy a potty for her place and just ask that she/ he sits her on the potty before each diaper change for 5 minutes. Once she's familiar and comfortable with the potty it will be so much easier... So for now your just giving her a new place to sit... It's also a great way to be able to spend time with mommy and talk about your days. Good Luck and I hope all works out for your daycare plans..I'm sure she'll love having her mommy around as will you.

I haven't had the joy of potty training my daughter yet, but I have been reading a lot of books and one suggestion that I think may work for you was that if your child doesn't like the potty just bring her little toilet into the living room or where ever you are hanging out and just let her sit on it and get used to it. I also read that it helps to let them run around with out a diaper (the backyard is good for this one) and point out when they are going potty so they know and understand the feeling and what you want them to do when they are on the toilet. You can also bring the toilet outside with you and whenever you see her going potty bring her over to the toilet.

Hi M.,

First let me say, hooray for you for finding a way to be with your daughter more often!! I taught preschool for the last 8 years & I can tell you, it is a very rewarding experience!

As for potty-training, I have helped train somewhere around 100 children through the years, and I always recommend getting the book "Potty Training for Dummies". I know it sounds silly, but they have some excelent advice, as well as reasons behind your child's behavior, and why different methods will help.

I don't know how long you plan to be working outside of the home. If it's going to be quite a while still, you will have to enlist your child's caregiver in helping you potty train. As a caregiver, what I would do is make a potty chart with a space for your child to place a sticker every time she uses the potty. Since she's afraid to use the potty right now, they may need to start with placing stickers just for coming into the bathroom, then eventually for sitting on the toilet, & slowly progress from there, until she is only placing stickers if she actually uses the potty. Every 2 hours, I would announce that it is "potty time", and bring her into the bathroom to complete whatever task she's working on to place her sticker, and give her lots of praise & "wow, what a big girl you are now" to help reinforce. When she is comfortable sitting on the toilet & has used it once or twice, I would start having her wear underwear every day. WalMart & Target both sell extra thick underwear & plastic liners to go over them to prevent leaks on the floor. This is much cheaper in the long run than pull-ups, and I have NEVER seen a child use a pull-up any differently than a diaper. They are just as absorbant, so children have no problem soiling them. With underwear, children feel wet & uncomfortable if they soil them, and they usually want them changed immediately. This helps you convince her that using the potty is a better alternative. In my experience, most children are done having "accidents" within 2 weeks of wearing underwear consistantly, and are ready for the cute "big girl panties". Also, through the whole training process, make sure she is clothing that is fast & easy for her to pull down. Elastic waists & short dresses are good. Try to avoid anything that will take a while to get off, and/or could fall in the toilet- like overalls & long dress ties.

Another thing that saved me many times was having a potty chair in the car. (I have a mini-van, so this was no problem for me, but could get hard if space is limited) This enabled me to pull over at any time, so my son wouldn't have to "hold it" while I searched for a bathroom. I just lined it with the small plastic trash can liners (they have scented ones at the 99 cent store), put in on the floor of the van, & let him go. Then I tied a knot at the top of the bag & threw it away. There was no mess to clean up, but as I am a germ freak, I would wipe it with Clorox Wipes, just to be sure!

So, you are starting at age two, which I think is the perfect age, but I want to warn anyone else- the older they are, the harder they are to train. Around 3, kids start to get a desire to be in control, and going potty is one of the easiest areas that they can control. I have a friend who was convinced that her son would naturally show an interest in the potty when he was ready, but at 4 years old, he was still happily soiling his pull-ups. The preschool that she wanted to enroll him in would only take him potty-trained, so she decided to try & train him then, & she went through the biggest power-struggle that I have ever seen. After a few months, she did finally get him to use the toilet, but there were a lot of fights, punishments, and resentments that I think could have been avoided if she had only taken the time to train him at 2.

Hope some of that helped,
C. : )

Hi M..
I have a son that just turned three in January. I was having the same problem, and his daycare wouldn't help me.
I asked his doctor about it. He told me not to worry. Around the age of three only half of the children are even interested in potty training. Don't push her b/c she'll only think of it as punishment. She'll come around, not to worry.
Just leave the potty in a comfortable area. (Ours was in our living room for like 6 months! LOL) I took my son to the potty and had him sit there about every 30 minutes to one hour, or when I, or my husband, went.
Don't worry. I know it's hard, but it'll happen.

Good luck!!