Potty Training - Parker, CO

Take her with you when you go to the bathroom so she knows MOMMY goes potty and dont have to have pee down her leg. Go to using the clpth diaper with the plastic pants so she can feel the wet! Maybe she wont like it and be a big girl then.

she knows you want her to go potty. Sounds like you have one of those little one's who are determined to do it when THEY want to. Just ignore her for a few days, leave her diaper on and praise the older one every time she goes on the toilet. Pretty soon she won't like that and she will want the praise also.
Good luck, I had three boys and that was hard enough. Now my baby is 34 years old and fighting with his own kids.

To quote our pediatrician 9 years ago, "No kid started college without being potty trained". Some children may not have the physical capability of maintaining their bladders and bowels yet. In the case of my son, he was almost 4 years old before he "decided" to potty train and he had become "potty training resistant". He had started out well at age two but regressed. Because it was taking so long I had consulted our ped about it and she told us that it is the one thing that we as parents really have no control over and the worst thing we could do was push or punish (I had an ex and he was pushing him when he was at his house. It was during that time that he had stopped potty training and regressed). If you have a strong willed child, it's their way of showing that they can do what they want to do. What she suggested and what finally worked is just leaving him alone about it. Not asking, not bringing it up. Eventually he asked us and within a few days, he was potty trained (including overnight) and has NEVER had a single accident or a bedwetting problem and he's 12 now. The dentist makes the same recommendations about thumb sucking (don't bring it up, don't push or punish)
I know that the same advice is now available on the internet and if you google or search potty training resistance you will get the same workable advice that we go so many years ago. When we (including my ex who thought she was wrong) finally started to follow her advice, he did it.
Make it easy, follow their cues and never ever push them. Punishment in our case (from my ex) caused him to stop.

(After I posted I found this link...it's basically the same information we got from our pediatrician)
http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/parenting_tips/potty_train...

Hi L. I have 3 children of my own. My two boys were so simple to potty train. But my daughter was a whole other story. She acted just like yours. She refused to sit on the pottychair or the toilet. She would hold it for hours just to drive me crazy. Then one day my son screams mom come look at Aryn and there she was perched on the toilet with a huge grin on her face she never had to wear a diaper after that day. Sometimes I think we need to let them do their own thing. Hope this sheds some light on your ordeal.

i have had the same problem with my 2yr 3 mo old she didnt get interested until i watched another child 9 mo older and saw someone same size doing it as well. i also have a 5 1/2 yr old who did great after someone besides me told her she was good for trying. another thing that works for my little one is to have her favorite toy "talk to her" about the potty she likes to please dora :) hope that helps

Maybe you 2 1/2 year old like the personalized attention see gets at her diaper change. I would suggest spending more time with her at other times. Maybe in the bathroom reading or playing some game of peek-a-boo, something like that. Then again she might be physically ready. But no emotionally. Hope this helps.

My son was reluctant to be potty trained at 2---in fact he did not want to dress himself. At 2 1/2 I just said that he had to wear underwear till afternoon. The first day he peed in the underwear, and did not like the way it felt. The second day he used the potty. I don't believe he wore diapers again after that week. I think I did use plastic pants on top of the underwear. There was nothing punitive or pressured about it, just simply it was time for underwear for part of the day. How he handled it (potty or in underwear was up to him).

He's always resisted change, is sensitive and very intelligent. He needed help making transitions.

Hi L.,

If I learned anything from potty-training my first child, it was that you can't make 'em if they don't want to. They control what goes in and what comes out. I know it's hard to wait for them to be willing to give up the dipes, but I'd suggest you scrap the whole thing until she's ready. Maybe put her undies and all that somewhere and tell her, "you tell me when you're ready, and we'll work on it together." Give her the control, which is what she's asserting by refusing now. Don't mention it at all, just leave the bribes and the undies somewhere and ignore them. Betcha as soon as you give it NO ENERGY and put her in charge, she might change her tactic. She wants your attention, and right now she's getting a lot of it by refusing. Stop engaging in the power play and see what happens.

Hang in there and good luck!

Your story is just like mine. First was literally overnight and the second was over a year of "no" and some intrest, then no intrest. What worked for us.... she really wanted to go to school like sister. One day while we visited sister, we ran into the preschool teacher. I pulled her aside and explained our problem. The teacher had a loving conversation that summed up was " you can't come to school in a diaper. You have to know how and when to use the potty by yourself". It worked. She got on the potty band wagon. We had all summer to perfect her skills, but by September she was a pro. I think is was someone other than mom and dad saying she had to use the potty, that did the trick. She has a very strong but loving personality.

My suggestion, think outside of the box. Is there a place she wants to go? A family memeber's house, vacation you are planning, school... ect. Try that. I know how frustrating this is. My daughter wasn't out of diapers completely until just shy of her 3rd b-day.

Good luck!

It still may just be too early. However, I just potty trained my 2 1/2 year old last month because we were running out of diapers and I didn't want to buy any more. She kept complaining about them being "ouchy" like she needed a new size and I told her she either gets the ouchy ones or panties so she chose the panties and hasn't had an accident yet. Maybe if her diapers were too uncomfortable, she would choose the panties.

Oh I remember those days well.. I have 3 sons and 1 daughter. My boys were a breeze to potty train, ut oh my daughter, I knew she going to go to school in diapers...
Well at about 3 1/2 to 4 something finally clicked with her and never had a problem after that...
Some kiddos don't grasp the concept until they are older.. Give her time!!!
P.

I know she is physically ready if she held it all day, but remember, there is an emotioinal component as well. Unfortunately, they have to be "on board" emotionally before potty training can be successful. Don't push, but ask every few days if she wants to try being a big girl and sitting on the potty. She'll turn around soon. Don't worry, she won't be in diapers forever! Good luck!

Maybe the potty would be less scary if she decorated it herself with some fun stickers, etc. She'll own it now. She could add a new sticker each time she goes on the potty. Her sister could make a big deal of it with her. Could be a lot of stickers, but it might work!

Make plans to stay home for three days and then do this: make her drink a ton of beverages... even soda... anything to make her have to pee A LOT. Then every 45 minutes to an hour (don't let one minute slip past) put her on the toilet and tell her she has to stay there until she pees. YOU have to put her there, it's not her choice. she will have to go since you have been pumping her with liquid all day. then when she goes you give her an m&m or other small treat and lots of hugs. this is fool proof - BUT you HAVE to make her drink, and you HAVE to put her on the toilet ever hour. good luck!

I am still working with my 4th child on this and I hate to say this, but you might as well wait a bit. I pushed too hard with my daughter and we have been trying to potty train for almost 2 years. She is now 4. I finally convinced the doctors that she had something wrong and we got the diagnosis of Encopresis. This is a symptom though of a problem. When we first started potty training she got a bladder infection and developed a fear of the potty. Then she wanted to be potty trained, but her colon is still so backed up from her fear of the potty that we are having to do a colon cleanse, completely change her diet, and try to re train her bowels.

In hindsight, when the doctor said age 3 is early enough to start, I maybe should have been more patient (I was pregnant with #5 and anxious to not have 2 in diapers again).

What worked for me with child #2 was pointing out things that big girls could do and that her baby brother couldn't. The deciding factor for her was going to the dentist. She went in after her big sis and then when I came back to talk to the dentist she said it was baby brothers turn and I told her that only big kids got to sit in the dentist chair. My son took learning to stand up and pee on cheerios to be successful. The point being, it is a hopeless cause if she doesn't want to do it.

It is great not to have the expense of diapers and dump the diaper bag. But when the doctors say don't push it, I believe them now.

My older daughter trained at 18 months - she was a natural. It required no work at all, she simply saw the potty that I was using for my son and started to go. It was amazing. And I wondered what the fuss was all about.

My older son who is 11 mo. older than her, trained after her. He told me when he wanted to potty train and no longer wear a diaper. When he made that decision, there were no accidents at all (3 years 2 mo.).

Then along came the twin girls. I wondered when it was all going to come together for them. They really did not care much about the potty. And toy prizes did not do the trick either. So I bought a nice big bag of Skittles and M & M's. Candy worked for us. Each time they sat on the potty for 2 minutes (use a timer) and there was no accident during the wait time, then they got a piece of candy. They told me the color of the piece of candy that I had in my hand (it is a great way to reinforce colors) and got to eat just one. If they actually went pee in the potty, they got 3 M&M's or Skittles. When they started catching on, I made it as a treat at the end of the day if no accidents were made. I learned from my oldest daughter and son that kids will train when they are good and ready. I learned from my twins that if you can find something motivating, that really can work for you too. If she can hold it when you remove the diaper, she really is ready and you may be able to find something to motivate her, like candy. By the way, my twins are cavity free and they are turning 5, so the candy did not ruin their teeth. It took about 3 weeks for them to really figure it out. And then about 3 months to master it. Offer them water to drink after eating the candy to help them rinse their teeth and to fill up their bladder for the next round. The more they drink, the more successful they are. Good luck! And have fun! I hope this works for you too!

My daughters wore cloth diapers because of skin allergies to plastics and whenever a friend of mine had your problem I loaned her a few of mine and within a week their little princess could not wait for her new pretty panties! Cloth diapers are not comfortable, the rubber pants, worse. Both my girls trained themselves by 18 months during the day, soon after, night. They make those Pamper types too easy for kids to say "NO". I forgot to mention those pins... that hold those diapers together...maybe now they have a better way!
Regina R
Taos, NM

HI L.!

I know how this goes. My sister was in the same postion as you just a few weeks ago. She has a 3 year old and a 12 year old. She decided that everytime her and her 12 yo would go to the bathroom they would take the 3 yo in with them. The first day she just stood there. The next day she wanted to sit while in there so my sister had her sit on her potty. The next day she was sitting on her potty without her pull up and by the next day she was going. She just need to see that everyone does it. I hope this helps!

M.
Proud Member of The MOM Team

my son was potty training at 4. i never rushed him, nor put the 'potty' in front of the tv. he peed great, but pooping was hard. then one day , i saw him run , hide, then come and tell me he had a poopy diaper, that was the last day he wore diapers or "pull ups". He had 2 accidents since, he is over 5 now, but we have a matress pad, that works great.

I wouldn't push her, normally when you don't do anything, they just 'majically' do it!