My 2 1/2 yr old daughter is finally using the potty as long as my husband or I remind her to do so. Does anyone have any ideas to get her to go on her own or to tell us she needs to go?
Thank you all for your great ideas!
Melissa,
children start at various ages. my youngest was like this last year. We just kept reminding him to go every 30 minutes or so and now he goes on his own. chin up.. just be patient.
Is she wearing pull-ups or underwear? Throw away the pull-ups if you haven't already. Let her pick out a couple of packages of big girl underwear. Make a sticker chart. Each time she goes to the potty (and does her business) she gets a sticker. When the chart is full, she gets a prize. I would establish a few rules such as she must go when she wakes up in the mrning and before you leave the house to go anywhere. Carry a couple of extra changes of clothes when you go out - just in case.
Congratulations on her interest. I currently work in a preschool that has a very structured curriculum. And I have been teaching and potty training for 5 years. I average 4 to 5 children a year that I potty train, plus I potty trained my 4 girls. Here is how I do it. I do "pull-ups" for 2 to 3 weeks, then I go to underwear/panties. I take them every 30 minutes. If they go pee pee in the potty they get to go in the treasure box. No pee-pee, no treasure box(prize). After the first 2 to 4 days, they know what to expect and have learned the sensation. After the 1st week of underwear, the punishment for pee peeing in underwear is more severe (ex: time out, lose some outside play time, or color time or something they really like). You will be surprised how quick they come around. But for me this year has been odd. My 4 year old is terrified of industrial toilets. She only likes potties like at home. and is scared to wipe her butt. lol
Yea for her! That is great that she's using the potty!
My daughter was 2 1/2 when she was trained and she really liked the sticker chart, the potty dance/cheer, and wearing big girl underwear. Once we started having her wear underwear, I stayed mostly in the house for a couple of weeks (I would only take her places if she had just gone to the potty). Once she's wearing big girl undies, she will probably have accidents. I never said "That's OK", but I did remain very calm and supportive. I said "OOps, you had an accident. I know you can do it next time!". That seemed to work.
Also, you can get some plastic pants to put over the undies if you really need to go somewhere. I agree with other people about pull-ups. They are just too much like diapers. They are only useful in the beginning stages of training, and your daughter seems to be past that!
Great job! The fact that she uses the potty at all I think is great. At this point though, it might be asking too much of her to go on her own. It will come with time and practice. How long has she been using the toilet? I think that if you just give her a little more time, she will start doing it on her own.
A.
I would like to know how you did it. I have a 2 1/2 year old and she is not interested. Well I take that back she is but she wont. How did you get your to be potty trained?
E.
Ok it will probably seem like my "advice" is more like questions lol.... but... does she go on her own or do you assist her?? does she have a stool so she can easily get to the potty on her own?? does she have any "signs" (dancing, holding herself, etc) when she is ready to go?? Maybe you could do a star chart and explain that each time she goes potty like a big girl (without you asking) she gets a star and then can have a small reward after so many stars. It took a while for my son (who's 4 now) to just go on his own and our daughter 2 1/2 still requires "reminders" to go.. I also think though that Daddy (who they were with during the day) was helping too much and they didn't have to do it own their own.. I just tell them... You are a big boy/girl and you can go potty all by yourself.. Hope that helps..
First off I would be sure to let her know that "big girls" get to wear "big girl" pantys like mommy. You should let her know that and make sure that you constantly tell her that "big girls" get to wear "big girl" pantys. When she finally does go to the potty with or without assistance, make a HUGE deal about it. Do a potty dance. I know it sounds silly but it's what I did when my daughter was potty training. Go to the store buy some cheap liitle birthday hats and when she goes, dance, put on the hats and sing "pee pee in the potty" YAY. I know it sounds silly, but it will work. You just have to make it seem like she has wrapped the moon.
