Potty Training - Dos Palos,CA

A., I would love to hear how days 2 and 3 went. I will be attempting the 3-day potty training with my 2.75 year old b/g twins in a couple weeks and am wondering if going the 3-day route is a mistake and if it's even possible.

Hi A.-

I've potty trained many children in my 16 years in the field, and now I coach parents on the topic. I have NEVER had a "program" work. You cannot rush potty training. It's not only a process of the body communicating properly with it's self but also the child REMEMBERING to listen to their body.

You child has spent the last 2-3 years peeing when ever they needed to, now they must remember to wait and go. That's tough. Reverse the roles, what if you were put in a diaper and expected NOT to hold it? Tough huh.

One thing I have found to work is to put the responsiblity on the child. Buy a wrist watch with a timer, set the time for 30-45 minutes and have the child reponsible for going when it beeps.

Potty training is a process of training the body, and this helps remind your child to go often.

Lastly, if potty training becomes stressful, your child will regress. Make sure you're stress free (or pretend), to make the experience stress free.

Good Luck

R. Magby

I am not sure what 3 day potty training is? How old is your child? I tried to potty train my little girl about 1 month ago and she was just not into it. So I did not push her. Well guess what she is into it now. I really expressed to her that she would get big girl undies..like her Sissy and that Max & Ruby are potty trained and she could get Ruby undies. One day she went into the bathroom with her Big Sissy (about two weeks ago) and she is doing really well. I asked her at least once a hour if she has to potty and I sit her on the potty after she has a drink. We sing with a potty dance and sometimes I read to her in the bathroom. Whatever it takes. But I do beleive that if they are not ready. Do not push them. My little one just turned three on July the 9th. I hope that this really helps and God Bless you!

The big question is...how old is your child? That makes a BIG difference...

Hi A., Potty training is not so difficult, don't follow a book or a guide, use reward and discipline and peace of cake. I did that with my 3 now grown children, I started my first born at 20 months, by 21 months trained, my second child wanted to wear big boy underwear like his brother, he almost trained himself at 19 months, my daughter I started her at 22 months when we got over seas to Japan, she was still 22 months by the time she was trained, I used reward and discipline. I have been potty training toddlers in my daycare for 13 years, using the same method, got to tell you I have had some happy mama's. If you are stressed and frustrated your child will be too. calm down get rid of the book or what ever you are reading and do it naturally. J.

First of all....it's only the first day....give it more time. Second, do your best to NOT show your frustration...I know; easier said than done!

I used this 3-day method but didn't follow it to the letter. Mostly cuz our son is the younger of 2 & even tho big brother was at camp all day, I still had things to do, places to go & people to see. I found it unrealistic to stay home all day &/or to keep our son w/me at all times. So, I modified it somewhat. What I really took away from this & used whole heartedly was (& another parent said the same thing) I made our son responsible. I ONLY made him go potty before we left the house. ALL other times, I left it up to him. I got VERY tired of saying 'tell Momma when you have to make a peepee.' but I learned from my mistakes first time around. That mistake was that w/our older son, I MADE him sit on the potty EVERY 1/2 hour & ended up w/a boy trained to go every 1/2 hour & not know the NEED to go potty. I know another parent suggested the timer/watch on the child set to ding every 1/2 hour but you may end up in the same situation as me....re-training your child to feell the need to go VS 'it's time to go.'

I also have to add & you may not wanna hear this, but it took me longer than 3 days. I'm sure most of that was my somewhat laxadasical (SP?) attitude about it but that's how it went. So be a bit prepared for it to take longer.

My 2 other suggestions: 1) ditch diapers all together....none for 'emergencies' & none at night. Remove them all from the house. 2) No pull-ups either. Essentially the same as peeing/pooping in a diaper only less absorbant, more expensive & a pain in the arse most times!

Offer lotsa praise & small rewards for staying dry & letting you know when he has to go potty. My older son loved putting stickers on the potty & phone calls to Daddy at work as well as to my parents. I did the same reward method for our younger son & was successful. I also suggest you buy a fitted water-proof mattress cover ....they are no where near as noisy as you think! And also get a pad that wraps around the mattress on top of the fitted sheet. I got our's at onestepahead.com. Used it for both our boys & loved it!

I wish I could help, but we potty trained our little one over a VERY long period, like 6 months or more. She started young and we just never pushed her, we kept using diapers even when they were dry until it seemed like the right time to take them off all together.

As a side note, she did wonderfully when we finally did stop using diapers, hardly an accident at all, until 6 months AFTER she was 100% potty trained and we went on a big summer vacation (just last month). With a 9 hour time difference and being away from her Daddy and in a new environment she started peeing on everything! After a few days she got back on track. But just be aware that it's a delicate thing and you have to be really patient and go with how your child is feeling about it. At least with my little one, there is no forcing her to go. :)

Good luck!!!

We did this same training this weekend with my almost 2.5 year old and I think it was a success. The first day was a disaster--he went through 5 pairs of undies in the morning alone. Each day got better and he only had one pee accident the third day. I must say, however, that he is still pooping in his pants. Overall, I think he became much more responsive and aware and by the last day, he was asking to go to the potty. Today, he's going to daycare, so we'll see how he does. Fingers crossed.

So I suggest that you hang in there despite how frustrating it is. Once you switch to undies, there's no going back. Your child probably won't be 100% trained by the end of the third day, but hopefully he/she will be getting to the potty the majority of the time. Good luck! You and your child can do it!!

Look online at the "Booty Camp." I used this technique with both of my kids and they were potty trained in one/two days. It totally works! You just have to be consistent. Basically, it's all about allowing the child to be in control of his body and taking responsibility. You place the potty where you want it and tell the child that if they have to go pee/poo to go to the potty. You also tell them if they potty on the floor it is their responsibility to clean up the mess. They must get down and wipe up the mess (with parents help of course) and throw away the towel. Also, they must help you change their clothing and place it in the dirty clothes basket. This is having them be responsible for their actions. You never ask the child if they have to go potty, instead you allow them to make that choice. It's all about giving them the "power." I gave my kids lots of salty snacks so they would drink more during the day. We had lots of accidents on the first day, but by the evening on the first day, they were going in the potty every time. I believe they just get tired of cleaning up the mess. I would also give 1 starburst for every time they went potty and they loved that! This program really does work. The lady that came up with the program is Wendy Sweeney and she has even been on the "Today Show," which is where I came up with this idea. You can even view the "Today Show" clip online. As a side note: This lady doesn't recommend this program unless the child is at least 2 1/2 yrs old. Hope this helps and best of luck!!!

Hi, we potty trained my son when he was 3 years old and it was easier than I expected. See if your child is ready and don't push it. My son showed interest way starting to 2.5 years old since he would go look at the other kids who used the potty in the preschool and he would sometimes go to the potty once in a while at home.

With my oldest (she was 3 yrs, 3 mos) we potty trained in 3 days but almost no accidents since (she will be 4 this month). The big thing that helped with her was to leave her in underwear only and we brought the potty chair out in the living room where we were. The first day was horrible (she went through almost every pair of underwear we had). Each day got better and then we braved going out and she stayed dry while we were out!
With my youngest it has been totally different. She has been using the potty on & off since before she was two, but when we tried to potty train her at 2.5 yrs we did the same thing and it did not work. She would stay dry some days but most would just go in her underwear whenever she wanted...it was very frustrating to me and her so we went back to pull-ups and we are still in them (she will be 3 next month). I think we will be trying again soon but I have to see when she is ready.
Good luck in your potty training adventure...remember to be patient and calm 8-)

There are a lot of different methods I have read/heard about and it is tough at first using any method pretty much...but here is a link of a few stories I think might be helpful...good luck!

http://www.theskinnyscoop.com/search/potty+training?utm_c...