Potty Training Help Need Advice

how old is your daughter? it sounds like she is regressing, which is 100% normal. my son did it, and they just do it, i don't know why but they do. I used to have my son clean up his mess, go and get the paper towels, but i would wipe it up, he would get the spray, spray it(with supervision) and wipe it. after a day of this, he didn't like that he couldn't watch his tv, or play his toys cause he was cleaning all day! lol. i hope this helps some

My twin boys did the same thing...one more than the other. I agree with the mom who used a lot of positive reinforcement, as you seem to be doing. My guys get an M&M every time they go on the potty. It's important not to be too upset when accidents happen...I usualy say, "Uh Oh, potty accident. It's ok, but big boys need to remember to tell Mommy when they have to pee, so they can use the potty and get a treat." However, if its clearly done intentionally (one of my twins was and is still occasionally famous for that) it's a Timeout and help cleaning up. I think it's a control thing with these kiddos. Hope this helps

When potty training my son and neice, I found that positive reinforcement made a huge impact. I would make a big deal about them being a big boy and big girl and they would get a special treat that they chose such as candy (aka fruit snacks) or taking a trip to the toy store (dollar store). Accidents are bound to happen but letting them know that they do happen did not discourage them from trying to get to the potty in time. My son was a lot easier to potty train than my neice and I was told that girls were easier than boys.

I am a mother of four (three of which are potty trained). It is normal behavior to have set backs after a few weeks of good. She is testing you. Kids are lazy and if the novelty has worn off then it was easier when diapers were around. Don't give in. Keep her in panties and start making her clean up the mess she makes with papertowels. That will get old too! Like I said, it is normal behavior. Just make sure you accent the positive and don't reward the bad with attention. Say "oh that is so sad that you peed on the floor, go get some towels and lets clean it up" and then don't say anything else that would warrant this a big issue, and don't berate her. I know that it is hard - done it three times, but I also didn't do it right all three times and it took longer with the one I got mad at instead of not letting them see that it bothered me. Just as a side note, make sure that there is nothing else going on in her life that is causing emotional trauma. Good luck!

Hi A.,

It may be that your daughter just doesnt want to take a break from the "action" to go use the potty. Maybe the novelty of using the potty has worn off, and there's just too many interesting things going on that she dosen't want to miss.

If you have a portable potty chair, I'd reccommend moving it closer to to where you and she hangs out, so she doesn't have to "miss" anything.

Use lots of praise, and maybe add a goal for her sticker chart that she can reach by bedtime (or maybe even just for making it through the most problematice part of the day), so everyday is a new chance to reach her reward.

When she does have an accident, do be sure to have her help you clean up. You might casually comment, "gee, this sure takes longer than just using the potty." or "Huh, I'd sure rather be (doing x) than cleaning this up, wouldn't you?" I'm not convinced that she can do the cleanup all by herself, and for my kids that always felt like a punishment and shame (why won't Mom help me do this?...she helps with everything else), but doing something together in a matter-of-fact spirit,IMHO is better.

We are having similar problems. I'm also trying to figure out what to do next.

Just make sure you don't yell at her when she does it. Keep encouraging her to use the potty. Regression is part of it, this I know. Check out my question from the other day for some ideas :)

And good luck to you!

I found that minor changes affected my daughters potty training. Like getting a kitten. I thought it would be positive, but instead she starting having accidents. It helps to make sure that you're still giving her the one-on-one time she needs. I had to go back to the timer. We sat on the potty every hour. It help to set a routine and then it wasn't such a "big issue." I also found that putting her in her favorite outfits helped. If she had an accident in her favorite dress, she didn't get it back till the end of the week because it had to have "special" cleaning and it took longer than normal laundry. Dresses are really important to her right now so it made a big impact. I agree that maybe a bigger prize she can earn at the end of the day may help. When we had our set back I told her that if she didn't have an accident all day than she could help me make dinner. She loves to help cook. Good luck!