Potty Training - Kansas City, MO

I used the book Toilet Training in Less Than A Day by Nathan Azrin. It was great, my son took to it right away and he has never had an accident...he's 5 and has never wet the bed.

I use to wake 1/2 hr after meals and put my daughter on the potty. Some times I would read books to her. Then when she finally did pee I made a big deal out of it and let her know how exciting it was to become a big girl. The pee pee dance.

It is hard work. The only thing I would not do is nag. Kids at that age are trying to become independent and test there parents.
Good luck....

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do! It is just one of those things that takes time, it will be at her calling as well.

My daugther is 3 and she does very well peeing on the potty but pooping is another. Like I said it is at their calling when they are ready. She will let ya know when it is time. Pushing it can make them not want to use the potty.

Good Luck! M. H.

Try reading a book to her while she's sitting there. sometimes the distraction helps...

Try the warm water trick.

Sometimes runnigng water just a little might help. This might also be that she isn't ready yet. She'll go in time. Don't worry.

D.

When my kids were around that same age, I made it our rule that any time we took a bath, they had to pee on the potty first. I said that they weren't allowed to pee in the tub. Once they started peeing on the toilet before each bath, I knew that they understood the feeling of when they had to pee. So at that point I devoted the next two days to potty training. I had them spend the day bottomless (no diaper or pants, just a t-shirt on). They pee'd on the toilet every single time when they were naked. Now we did have a few accidents in their underwear from time to time after our two day potty training, but not many.

Hi

I think there are a couple of issues here. Is she feeling that she has no control over anything and can only control not going to the bathroom? Do you have her in pull-ups? How soon after meals are you putting her on the toilet? Okay, now that I have asked a thousand questions, I will tell you what I did. I didn't use pull-ups at all. They don't get the feeling of being wet. I used the absorbent underwear. Also I found I had better results with giving her one of the little potty's instead of putting the insert into the big toilet. I actually had two potty's because we lived in a two story house. When they need to go, they need to go and can't run upstairs. As soon as she would wake up, I rushed her to the bathroom. About a half hour after every meal as well. I also had a toy or a book that my daughter could only have when she was on the toilet. Initially I did have the water dripping, but as she got better about it, I didn't need to do this. I also stayed in the bathroom with her.

Hopefully these suggestions will help you.

Good Luck
K.

I am in the same boat. I have always heard that it is best to let the child decide when they are ready. My daughter knows all about going to the bathroom cuz her brother is 15 mos. older than her. Now, let me tell you what I eventually did with him. I put him in underpants, it was summertime, and I let him pee and poop all over himself. Yes, it was a mess and it really pissed me off but it was necessary. The diapers today never let them feel, YUCKY. Now, he's a potty trained guy and I tell ya, a few weeks of that mess and he was all through with that and he took the time out to go to the bathroom. I would say a few months for #2 but not bad. I will do the same with my daughter if she doesn't train herself by her 3rd birthday in June. She's dying to go to pre-school and I tell her, she can go if she'd use the potty. So, she's so not ready. BUT, she can totally pee in the bath-tub. That is how I know she could really be ready. #2 may be an issue but heck, it's all an issue initally for some of us. For others, it is so easy. But, I must say.......it really all does come. So, don't beat yourself up over it. AND, I constantly hear that girls are easier in the potty training department.

Kristen,

GIVE HER PLENTY TO DRINK-AS MUCH AS SHE WILL TAKE
My daughter wouldn't even consider potty training until 3 1/2 years old. Our pediatrician recommended letting her play outside in a long t-shirt,no panties, so everything is covered. Once she feels the pee running down her legs she will begin to understand what is going on. The very first day we tried this option our daughter went to the potty several times.

Once she gets the hang of this just remind her to go "potty" every few hours. Don't make a big deal of her accidents but praise her immensely when she suceeds. She wants to please you more than anything and will do what it takes to receive that praise.

ONCE SHE GOT THE HANG OF IT
Our daughter is a very girly girl so as a reward we let her wear little cotton dresses to daycare. If she had an accident she had to wear shorts to daycare the following day. I don't know if this would work for you but it was a way of rewarding the "good" behavior.

Don't worry, it will happen.

Hi K.!
I had no troubles with my son when he potty trained, but my daughter is very similar to yours. I rented the VHS 'Once Upon a Potty' from the library to get her into learning more and then just kept asking her. It didn't matter if she did or not- set a timer and just say "good try!" and get her off. The less you care (they pick up your energy!) the more she'll be interested. I swear the week that I decided to take a break, she was all ready to do it herself. Read up and have patience- good luck!!!

Have her drink about 6-8oz while she's sitting on the potty and sit for about 15 minutes after she finishes drinking. She's bound to pee then.

You could always try running water. The sound helps for some reason. I also had a sticker book for the kids.
I used a pocket calander (free from hallmark) and everytime
the kids would go potty they could put a sticker in the book. Good luck!!

Hi Kristen,
I agree with Lori, she isn't ready yet. I would wait a month or two and try again. If you push her see will probably rebel against the potty. Don't make such a big deal about it. My son turned 2 in Jan. and he will pee on the potty sometimes. I give him positive praise but if he doesn't want to I don't give it a second thought. In time he will use the potty all the time. Good luck.
Chris

I remember having to potty train my girls, and I was at my wits end by the time they actually "got it", I have heard many different things to try and honestly, this one is the best, I did child care in my home for 12 years, and I did this with most of the little ones that were potty training. First, once you decide to remove the diaper, dont ever put another one on again for any reason, this gives mixed messages to your daughter, I dont like the pull-ups personally, but some do, I just think that they are diapers with a different name. What I did was I took everything off from the waist down, and put on a long tee shirt, when they go they will assiciate the feeling of going to seeing it, and she can understand what going potty means. It took my daughters like 2 times of going on themselves that realize they wanted to go on the potty. Another idea that I have heard works, but it depends on your comfort level, when you go in, bring her with you and let her watch, so she see's what exactly you want her to do in the potty, and tell her "mommy's going potty, now can you do that to" or whatever you would say to her. And yet another idea that works, my sister did this, she bought her big girl panties, like Barney, and my sister would say "you dont want to make Barney wet so you have to go in the potty" Reward her when she does it, and if there is something she really wants tell her that when she goes in the potty for like a month,without any accidents she will get whatever it is she wants. I hope these help you, I know some worked for me my kids are 16 and 13 and they both are potty trained!! I was told by someone when I was potty training and it helped me, she said "By the time she graduates, she will do it just fine!" So dont sweat it, it will happen, some kids just take a little more time. GOOD LUCK!!

we're working on it as well. i did a potty chart (from on-line) and he gets a sticker and a chocolate chip :) each time he goes. also, a trigger for him was when i said to "push it all out" he suddenly went. it takes time...
also, we are done w/the diapers. b/f when i tried i would go back and forth. i'm going to use pull ups only when we go out in public until he completely gets the hang of this and at night (which he's been dry the last two nights.) i also put him on the potty every hour until we get this. we're on day 2 of intense training, but i've been putting him on the potty since october. just make it a part of your routine (when she first wakes up. everyone has to go then.) b/f nap, after nap, b/f bed, etc. don't put too much pressure on her, but be consistent. have fun! :)

K. T, When my girls were tiny,potty training was a challenge .When I sat them on the potty all day and nothing happend.Once I put training pants on they go potty.So it dawn on me.If It is warm out side take her out side to play with a dress on with no panties.They don't like peah going down ther legs.Then talk to her about going potty in toilet.Thats what help me with my girls.And if it did'nt work try again later.Or maybe she is not ready,all children are differant.Happy potty training,J. S.

Hi Kristen,

It sounds like she isn't ready yet. Take a break for a couple of months and try it again. Kids won't potty train for real unless they are ready. It doesn't matter if you are ready or not!! Most importantly, don't compare her to other kids you know. They all do this at their own pace. Some kids are 1 when potty trained and some 3 1/2. Their bodies all grow at different rates, and thier emotional readiness is different too.

Don't stress out about it!! It will happen all in good time! Summer is a great time to try again. More outside time and less clothing!!

Good luck!

P.

I remember going to the doctor when my daughter was 2 1/2 and the doctor telling me that since she talked so well I should potty train her. I walked out of there feeling that I wasn't a good parent...

I talked to a lot of Moms and I learned that the easiest, least stressful way for her and I would be to let her take the lead. I let her go into the potty with me or take me to the potty (she really liked that). When she told me that she had to go I let her go sit on the potty. I never bribed her, I didn't reward her... I did let her pick out her own panties though. And... I let her tell me when she was ready.

My sister told me that you can't teach kids when they feel like they have to pee, they have to feel it themselves.

Hope that helps!

L.
http://www.HealthyFamilyHome.com

She may not be completely ready yet. I know that my youngest daughter didn't start to actually potty on the toilet until January, and she's only been fully day time potty trained for about a month - she turns 3 next week. We started sitting her on the toilet at about 2 1/2 but there wasn't any interest in going. Keep doing it, eventually she'll start going and then you're on the track. You may want to just try putting her on the potty once or twice a week (or once a day) just so you don't get frustrated.

She probably isn't ready at all. Give her some time

i wouldnt worry so much. most kids arent ready til their 3 years old.

Hi K. - You have half the battle won already - she will sit on the potty for you. Congratulations! Second off, as other mom's have said, be consistent and keep a good schedule. Every hour or so should work fine. To try and get a triggered response out of her try running some water in the sink while she's sitting down. If she's close enough, maybe by the tub or something, try having her put her hand under running warm water or stick her feet in a shallow pan of warm water. Another physical trigger is to let her drink something while sitting down. Those are a few physical triggers I found. Keep up the good work - when she's ready she'll start going all the time without a hitch. It just has to be her time to want to be trained. Be patient. :o) S.

My daughter will be 3 in June and we went through the same thing. I was very frustrated because a friend's daughter was fully potty trained at 20 months, but my little one had NO INTEREST in the potty at all at 2 1/2. ALL OF A SUDDEN, she started going on the potty last month. Nothing had changed in our routine or what we were talking about (I always told her when changing her diaper that when she's ready, she should just tell me when she has to go and we could sit on the potty). Then one day, she just decided to go on the potty. Since then, it's been hit or miss, but we are making progress! You just have to wait until your little one is ready. Probably not what you wanted to hear, but it's true. GOOD LUCK!!!

Does she still war pull ups? put her in training pants so she knows when she is starting to go. Yes you will have to clean up a few messes but this workd bette than pull ups or diapers. Also us a sticker chart if she like stickers. Be patient she will learn.

Hi Kristen,
When my little girl started potty training she did not like the potty. Another Mom suggested I get the seat for the toilet (we now have one in each bathroom). She didn't like the potty chair. The other thing I did was put her on the potty about 10 minutes after she got up in the morning. That was the only time that we made her get on the potty. If she went potty - we did the potty dance, did high 5's and pretty much made a big deal out of it. After a while, she started telling us when she had to go.
Also, don't stress over when she is potty trained. So many people get all yanked up about when your kid is going to get potty trained. They go when they are ready. I also have 3 much older boys and they were all different when they potty trained. She will too!
One fun thing that we did with our daughter - I bought her every cute pair of panties she wanted. We made a big deal over that too. Big girls get to wear princess panties or pink panties or.. you get the idea. We are also on a budget and the way I looked at it - a package of $5 panties is a lot cheaper than a box of diapers. She has been potty trained for a while now but I still am putting her in diapers at night. Most mornings she wakes up dry but she still has accidents. It seemed like it was stressing her out so we went back to the diapers at night. Again, she will get there in her own time. Good luck and have fun!

don't push her to be potty trained. if she sits there thats a start. one day she will actually go. my daughter did the same thing. after a while we just put "big girl" underware on her. or we would even put a diaper on her and put her underware over it to make her feel like a big girl.

she is probably not ready.

My daughter has been pooping on the potty for several months now.. but would not pee-- if I asked her to pee on the potty she would say no no..
For the past couple of days she has been peeing on the potty..

I would wait a couple of weeks or a month and try again..

I caught my daughter pooping and put her on the potty.. After a couple of times.. she got it and told me she had to go.

When they are ready it is easy.

I am in the EXACT same boat with our 2.5 year old daughter. We tried even the M&M trick - treat everytime she gets on the potty...hasn't worked.

I have also heard of the "comando" version - basically you put them in underwear and don't go back to diapers until the are trained. The family is in the house for a week.

When I was trainning my kids to pee, I would turn on the tap water (the sound does wonders). To train for the other we would take a favorite book and read, mostly to get their mind off what they were really doing. Good luck!!!!!!!!