Potty Training.. - Midland,MI

Hi T.,
I agree with Amanda. Three is not late. Kids develope at different rates. Brandy was wrong in saying that. My best advice would be don't push her. My son is three and a half and was potty trained on his third birthday. He just decided he wanted to wear underware all the time. One theing that did help him learn was he got one m&m when he went pee or poop on the potty. He always was very proud that he got his m&ms. Sometimes he would save them all so that he could show his daddy when he got home from work. Try not to stress out. It will come in time. One day she will just get it.
Chris

If she crys sitting on the potty maybe she isn't totally ready yet. She is showing signs that she is getting there through, first step she doens't like to be in the "icky" diapers. Go with that, when she brings you the diaper tell her that if she starts to go in the big girl potty then she won't have to wear those icky things anymore. Try taking her shopping also and let her pick out her favorite big girl panties. When you get them home go on about how special and pretty her new panties are, and that it would be sad to get them dirty by going potty in them. Then just gradually start to put them on her a little more and more at a time and ask her all the time while she is wearing them to go to the potty. Let her know you want her to go and sit on the potty and try to go because you are trying to help her keep her special panties clean. I learned with my kids that it also helps give them the patience to sit on the potty for a little longer than a second if you have a special potty time only book. We would take the book in the bathroom and I would read this book to them while they would sit on the potty and ONLY while they were on the potty.
Don't worry about how old she is, and still not going. My daughter was two months short of her fourth birthday before we accomplished the task, and her doctor told me not to worry about it. He said she will go when she goes amd not to push her because then it just becomes a battle of the wills between you and the child and in this case they will win. Once I adopted that idea and stopped trying so hard she just took off and started to go. Good luck, and give her time she will get there.

Hi T. - My daughter was exactly the same. We introduced the potty at about 18 months, but she didn't officially start using it until she was just over two and a half years old. About three or four months before that she began taking her diaper off and bringing it to me and telling me to change her. It was so frustrating! I tried pull ups, but she just went potty in them as if they were a diaper. So I went out and bought her some big girl panties. That also didn't work because she thought it was funny to pee on the floor! Needless to say I was at my witts end with her. As a last resort I had let my friend take her to the bathroom when she took her son hoping that seeing her little friend go would encourage her to go. After we got home she told me she had to go potty so I took her into the bathroom and sure enough she went and she's been going ever since. It has only been about six months or so, but she is completely potty trained, accident free both day and night. I think it is important to keep trying even when your so frustrated that you find yourself in tears over the matter (I think I cry more now as a mother, than I did at any other point in my life) You have to keep trying in order to find what works for your child, as every child learns differently. Try not to push her because she'll probably just resist, but if you keep asking if she has to go, if you take her to the bathroom with you, and make sure to praise her when she does go, everything will eventually click and she'll want to use the potty like a big girl. I hope something in their helped, I know how frustrating
it can be, but hang in their! Good Luck!

Every child potty trains at their own pace. I was trained at 18 months(with absolutely no accidents, so my mom says). But my 4 and a half year old is still not 100% trained(about 99%, I'd say). I use the training underwear during the day, without the plastic pants over them. If he wets his pants he'll know it, along with everyone else. We also used safe-t-pops at first, to encourage him to sit on the potty. he got one to suck on as long as he was sitting there, and another if he peed. If he got up, before going, he lost his sucker. After he got the hang of it, we switched to a sucker AFTER he peed for a reward. This mildly backfired though. He started going a tiny amount many times a day, just for the sucker. So we switched it to he got a sucker if he peed alot. That routine went on for about 2-3 weeks, then no suckers. He's till going without the reward, so it must work. Our pitfall seems to surface at night. We use a pull-up at night. Soon we plan to get rid of it, though. I think when he uses the last one of this package, we're through. Wish me luck.lol

Three is not really, really late! All children learn at there own pace. My son was 3 1/2 yrs old before he mastered it completly and still at age four has accidents at night. My daughter was trained by age 2 1/2. I do agree with the training pants and plastic covers. I always left a bucket in the shower to throw the dirty ones in throughout the day and then wash them all in the evening. It's not a pretty thing, but everyone has to do it (well, moms anyway :) Just remember that it will happen eventually, I mean there aren't really grown-ups walking around who just never learned, right?

Hey T.! I am a preschool teacher and many of the Three year olds have not mastered potty training! Some are still in Pull-ups. If you feel that your child is ready we find that if we put underwear on the child and let them know that underwear is not like a diaper and if they don't pee in the potty they will get wet and it will feel "yucky". It has probably about a 70% sucess rate. However, it might take a while and alot of laundry!!!! All children learn at different paces. Offer potty treats and let her pick them out. Have you tried a sticker potty chart?? That might be worth a shot! Good luck!!!!

wow, three is really really late. have you been using good old fashiond training underwear and the plastic training pants that go over them... so many moms now days think these are pull ups, NOT PULL UPS training pants. sure mom, they might be more work for you, but she will not like them and it should make potty training much easier and quicker, especially if she has to wear them. find a special reward for her if she uses the potty and not the training pants. by the way, yes you can find them at walmart if you look hard enough in the baby section

She is just at the age to start. While some girls are easier to train, it is normal not to successfully potty train until 3. I would keep encouraging her and let her know she will get a small reward (M&Ms, or something) if she is succesfull. Don't nag her or push too hard-- it will backfire. But be consistent, i.e. first thing in the morning, "let's go use the potty" and once an hour and before bed. Eventually she'll catch on. Just try and stay patient. I'm going through the same thing with my son who will be 3 in Feb. I tried the underwear thing and he likes to put them on but as soon as we do he says they bother him.