Potty Training, Help!!!! - Goshen,IN

I've heard boys and girls are different but I just went through this (in the last month) with my son. He's 2 1/2 (3 in August). We've been trying since he turned 2 to potty train him. My family has been on me quite a bit b/c they thought he should be potty trained by now. I was getting ready to have a baby and didn't want to push it too much b/c I thought he'd regress once the baby got here.
He could have cared less if he pee'd or pooped in his diaper or pull up. He'd go hide, bring me a diaper, etc. He knew full well what he was doing. He just had no interest in going on the potty. He didn't even want to put on his big boy underwear, he told me he wanted diapers. Well, about 3 weeks ago I got determined and took him to pick out his own underwear. When we got home he still didn't want to wear them, the next day I got them on him and told him to tell me when he had to go and DON'T go in your underwear and he'd get baseball candy if he went in the potty. Well, of course he went in his underwear but he didn't like it. So we put on another pair. He only had 5 accidents over 4 days (2 pees and 3 poops). After that he just decided on his own that he wanted to use the potty. He even started going by himself without having to tell me by the 2nd day. The moral of my story is when we pushed him he didn't care about it but one day he just caught on to what he was supposed to do. When she's ready she'll do it. Just keep reminding her but don't act frustrated. Once she gets motivated she'll do it.

DON'T RUSH IT!!!!!!!!! My daughter will be 4 in june and she si stubborn but doing better some kids are just not ready to be potty trained.

Good Luck

J.

If she's not ready to potty train, I would put her in clothes that she can't get off by herself when she takes a nap--things like overalls. Do you still have her crib? I would put her back in her crib with clothes she can't remove. I've heard people have to go so far as putting duct tape on the diaper. Put her in full length pajamas backwards- so the zipper is in the back. You can just cut off the feet of the jammies if they have them. This is only a phase. Once she realizes she can't take off her clothes and she needs to take a nap, she'll stop fighting it so much.

All of my kids were very resistant to potty training until they were 3. It wasn't worth all the frustration. I have a dd that will turn 3 in one month and she STILL doesn't want to potty train. I didn't let it get to me this time. I try to help her every couple of weeks, but if she's resistant, I stop. In about a month or so, I will be more forceful, but to me, it's not worth the frustration when they're not ready.

Good luck,
J.

Hi L.,

I have an adult daughter and son from a previous marriage and 10 year old daughter by marriage which I am in the process of adopting then our baby girl (21 months) together plus 3 grandchildren and my suggestion is to take her to the bathroom everytime you go. I potty trained my two girls in a weekend and I am planning on potty training my 21 month girl real soon. Dresses make it easier too. Make a game out of it. And LOTS of praise jumping up and down when she does use the potty. Make a BIG deal out of it CELEBRATE! But don't get upset when she has an accident - just keep trying. Maybe even put star stickers on a chart of some sort then after she does it so many times give her a reward. If she was a boy I would suggest putting fruit loops in the potty and letting her aim at them. That is what worked for my son. The thing is they have to want to do it and if you make it fun or there is a reward they will. Don't worry she will catch on, I promice. Some just take a little longer than others.
Hope this helps. I will be going through it again myself real soon. So wish me luck too.
N.

Hello L., I have had the EXACT same problem. My daughter turned 2 in March and I got so tired of washing sheets and everything more than twice a day. My daughter can get everything off no matter what clothes I put on her, she even gets out of onsies. The only thing that worked for me was getting some FOOTED PJs, cut the feet out and put them on her backwards that way she can't reach the zipper. I'm not sure exactly I'm going to do once it starts getting hotter out, but for right now it is working GREAT! I hope this helps you and if you find something else that workes even better please let me know. Let us know if this worked for you. Feel free to contact me anytime.

I'm not an expert, but in my opinion you are trying to do two of the hardest toddler challenges at once. Potty training and a big kid bed all at once are a huge deal. You've gone from having your little one in diapers in a crib to pull ups in a toddler bed all at once. It seems to me you should try some easier transition.
I think a lot of other parents would agree with this, but it's easier to focus on basic potty training while the child is awake and playing. Once that has been mastered, I would then work on potty traing during nap time and bed time. I think it's a little too hard to expect your child to potty train and remain in a toddler bed all at once. If I were you, I would try mastering one thing at at a time, and then moving on to the next.
Also, if you want your child to keep their diaper or pull up on during nap and bed time, the only thing I found that works is to cut the feet off of the p.j.'s that have feet and zip up the front. Once you've cut the feet off, put the p.j.'s on your child so they zip up the back. That way there is no way they can get their p.j.'s off to take off their diaper.

Does your daughter understand what is happening when it comes it to her biological functions? If not, one thing you may want to try is just putting her in a pair of "big girl" panties and send her outside to play. When she has to go "pee", she'll pee on her foot and things might start to click for her. She will start to understand what is going on. That's what I did with my daughter, and it worked.

Good luck.

It could just be a little too early. There is no rule that you have to potty train at a certain age. If you introduce it and it doesn't go over, wait and try again.