Pottytraining - Horton,KS

I say do nothing. Lay off for a while. She will do it when she is ready not when you are. The more you push the more she will refuse. My 6 year old daughter was a breeze to potty train. She was fully potty trained by 2 1/2 years of age. I started reading Once Upon a Potty for girls when she was 18 months old to her. I have a 19 month old son and started reading the boys version to him, but not actually training him. I am just getting him prepared. I also put out a potty chair and he goes and sits on it and says potty, potty. I will start actively working with him when he is 2 years old and will never push him. I will back off if I see he isn't ready and try again at another time. I did the exact same thing with my daugher. If she had an accident I would tell it was okay. I never made her feel bad for having accidents.

I have to say, I have had 2 girls and a boy. They are not any different. They were all trained by 24 months. The thing is their attitude. It's up to the kid to want to do it. I have heard and seen how the earlier you do it, the easier it is. My friend waited, because she thought her daughter was to young and she was in pull ups until she was 5. Yes, 5. I would just make a big deal when she goes and make it a fun happy time. Don't stress. It will happen. Good luck.

My daughter just turned 3 and we are 3 weeks without poopy panties!!!! She was harder to train than my boys were. I kept a jar of skittles on the counter and gave her 3 everytime she peed for me. Keep them in the bathroom where she can see them. I also kept smarties for poops. She will ask everytime still, and I am almost out! She has gotten interested in seeing the bathroom everyplace we go, but she always goes! It will come, just give it time and be consistent. Ocassionally let her know that you do not like to change dirty panties, that one really got my daughter. As I was griping and cleaning a nasty mess, she says "you mad at me?" I told her no, i am not mad at you, I just dont like cleaning stinky messes, it is gross. Please poop in the potty. From there on, she made more effort, and we have arrived!

Good Luck!

I know how you feel. I have a 3 year old boy and he's beginning to get the hang of going in the potty but we have problems with him going poop in the potty. As for what we do we tell him in order to get a treat he has to go pee pee or poo-poo in the potty before we give him the treats

Personally I don't think that pullups work, I would either have her in underwear or diapers, because the pullups do the same thing as the diapers - catch the mess and don't make her feel it. She may need to feel it and decide it doesn't feel good, as when she's wearing panties. Perhaps her body isn't mature enough - all kids develop at their own rate. You might also need to go to the doctor to rule out any physical reasons why she isn't ready.
Good Luck
Jenn

All great stuff! My youngest is also three, and both my son and daughter were potty trained by now with ease. They each decided one day they would just do it. But not my third!

However, I don't want to do the pullups, and the thin character panties are an issue as well. Just a smidge of tinkle and we have to change underwear and pants. So, I found some of those thick cotton training pants. They seem to be helping. She gets to have the big girl underwear with out the mess.

The trick was finding them, most places don't carry them because of Pull-Ups. However, I've heard Baby's R Us has them. I finally ordered some from Amazon.com. Yesterday we had one little tinkle, but didn't have to change the whole outfit, and she felt it and went to bathroom, so while they seem outdated, I think they'll work for us and might work for you too. GOOD LUCK!!!!

S.

My daughter was way harder then my boys I gave up on pull up right away she would stay dry in underwear but would wet her pull ups. You have to take her to the bathroom until it becomes a habit continue to take her every 20 minutes whether she has to go or not then after a couple of days start telling her to go by herself but make her go every 20 minutes she is not going to want to because she will be doing something else but she has to stop and go potty as soon as she is done she can go back to playing. Another thing I use to do is I would take my kids potty get them on the pot and then tell them I had to go check something and I would be right back when I came back if they had not gone I would tell them I will be back in a second and leave again. She is just to busy and thinks everything else is more important then going potty. Give her time she will use the potty on her own by the time she is 30 some kids just take a little longer.

I know what you are going through. I have a 2 year old daughter that I am in the process of poty training. I have a similar experience where some days she wants to go on the poty and some days where she doesn't want to go. A lot of patience and time is the key. What my husband and I are doing is about every 20 to 30 minutes we will ask her if she has to go. If and when she says no, we wait just about 5 minutes and then we usually have her go and sit on the toilet. So far it seems to be working for us. Our daughter's daycare is also doing a similar deal with my daughter. I have also heard the same thing about girls being easier, but I do believe it does depend on the child. What I have found that help us at least getting started and noticed is that we looked in the Farmer's Almanac. We have notice that on those days that are good to wean them of diapers/pullups, is those days that my daughter is more interested. I know that it sounds silly but it helped us.

It has been awhile since Ive dealt with potty training. But I do know that you HAVE TO STICK WITH IT and dont give in. Sometimes being a baby of family that is hard to do...believe me it was for me with my son. But the fact is that they do grow up and we have to NOT let them fall behind in life by not sticking to it and you might have to be stern but dont give in. Walking away is a big sticking to it and be stern mode. But another thing of help is that you yourself have to show you really want your baby girl to grow up and join the preschool world if she is there yet and show her that to be a big girl you have to do big girl things. Candy and gum arent always the answer you can incorporate it with this idea. Go to walmart and let her pick out for herself a box of fruit snacks of her choice of character. That will make it HER BOX ONLY and that she was a big girl to pick it out herself and a big girl gets a fruit snack ONLY when she potties and when fruit snacks are gone then she picks out another prize only for her only when she potties. If she doesnt potty she doesnt get anything from that box no matter how much crying, whining, or begging she gives you. I wish you luck and hope all goes well with you. Just remember she can rule you or you can show her who the adult is and that this is a life choice and that she will be a BIG GIRL with cool panties. Even let her choose her panties too all by herself (of course with your help with size)but that will help her learn ownership too.

I'm in the same boat. My daughter is almost 3 1/2, and today was the first day she has worn big girl panties without having an accident all day. I have 2 girls and 1 boy, and my son was DEFINATELY easier to potty train. My oldest daughter was about 3 1/2 before she was completely potty trained, and my son was 2 1/2. I don't want to bother with the pullups anymore either, because they are more expensive and she doesn't see the difference between pullups and diapers anyhow. Just give it time. She'll get it at her own pace, even if it makes us moms want to pull our hair out from frustration. Pushing them too hard will make her not want to do it. I have learned that the hard way. Praise her when she does it, ignore it when she doesn't. Stand your ground and refuse treats when she has accidents, otherwise, she won't learn that having an accident is not good. I'm still working on getting my daughter to poop in the toilet. She doesn't seem interested in that. That's frustrating, too. But I know my daughter and if we try to force it on her, she'll stop doing it altogether and we'll be back at square one. Someday, someone will have the magic answer to have kids potty trained instantly. Until then, we have to lose some sanity over it. Good luck!

M.,
I know with my girl, the only thing that worked was hard love and no underware. It might seem bad and hopefully doesn't mess up your carpet to bad. But once she actually got wet a couple of times, she didn't like it and started going to the bathroom. I still (and my husband) still had to take her, but with lots of tough love and her not liking to get wet, she did finally get the idea. Now to let you know, we did this on a weekend starting on Friday night, clear through Sunday night (we both work full time). By Monday she was a champ at asking for help and no more pullups!! Just make sure you plan nothing else that weekend, and make her your priority, which might show her how important it is.

K. M.

I say the same thing to every post I see regarding potty training. Try not to force, rush or pressure your daughter. Let her do this in her own time. That may require a train load of patience. If you pressure her she could turn it into a battle of wills and you'll be filling a Miralax prescription before you know it. Relax. Try as many different ideas as you come across, but try to incorporate them casually. If all else fails, let it go for a month or so, then try again.

I'm sending you a ton of patience vibes!

Hi M., sounds like you have a girl with a mind of her own, I have one just like it only now she's 15. I personally think boys are easier, my oldest is a boy, now 19, was alot more agreeable about the whole experience and my youngest, which is a 5 yr. old boy, was easy too. I think it has somthing to do with the fact that they can have a little fun with it for obvious "visual" reasons.They can actually see themselves do the job and make it a messy playtime. Yech! Just hang in there and be consistant, that's the key. It will pay off in the long run and remember they won't do it until they are good and ready. Much to your dismay. :) So don't get too discouraged, Good Luck!

M.

My mom told me that boys were easier. she had one of each. If you stay at home I would put her in underwear all the time. more messes but she will learn that it is exceptable. Also she probably won't like the feeling. Make sure you are not giving her the treats without going potty. Make sure she knows that she has to go potty by herself in order to get the treats also. Otherwise she will go when they are offered. Really praise her when she goes. I have read that disciplining can slow things down. But to really praise your child when they go by themselves. keep a record of when she usually goes and try to make a pattern of it. Hope this is helpful. Good Luck

I have a 5 year old son and a soon to be 2 year old daughter. My daughter was easier to train, but I don't think that it has as much to do with gender as the general attitude of the child. My son refused to sit on the potty at all until just after he turned 3. I have noticed that it seems easier to potty train in the fall/winter as there are less outdoor distractions that your daughter would want to stop what she was doing and go inside to the bathroom. With my son we did the candy as well and sang songs and danced around if he went in the potty. He really loved the spray air freshner, so if he went (poo or pee)then he could spray. I had a friend that went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of cheap toys and wrapped them up, so eveytime her son went he got to open one of the presents. If there is something that she is really into you could have her put a marble in the jar everytime she went and when it is full she can have that item. I have found that buying the item in advance and setting it up on a high shelf where they can see it keeps them more motivated. Good Luck!!
PS. temporary tatoos worked well for my daughter

Hi M.!

Ny name is Tara, however I have not begun to do the potty thing yet, but I cansay let her tell you when she is ready. If she goes when you take her that is GREAT! However she apparently isn't truly interested in it yet. My son is 2and a half, and I know when he is ready he'll do it with out a problem. Today's world unfortunately has made us think if our hild is not doing something by this mark, there is something wrong. I don't beleive that. I think our children will tell us when they are ready to do something different. I also know if we force them into it ...it will not go well, and be stressful for everyone. I hope find comfort in this and know there is nothing wrong with being late. If you are really bothered with her not doing it take her to the doctors and see what they have to say. Please tell me how it goes, since I will evewntually facing ti down the road.

Take care, Tara

I don't necessarily think it's a sex thing. My daughter potty trained at 2 yrs. and my son is almost 2 and not even close! I don't know if it is an option for you but we made sure one of us was at home for about a week straight (including weekends). We kept her in the back of the house (uncarpeted) and let her go bare from the bottom down. We made sure there were toys, books, activities etc. so it wasn't a negative experience. We had a little potty there and switched off between it and the big potty. After about 2-3 times of peeing down her legs she got the picture. Poop took about 2-3 full weeks before she got the hang of it. (We gave peanut m&m's for treats and we hardly ever give candy so that was a BIG deal). We never used pull-ups or diapers at night. Again we probably changed the bed sheets 2-3 times a week for about 3 weeks and that was it. I guess what I'm saying is make a full routine out of it for about a week and then after a couple more, it will happen on it's own. Just be consistent, if she sees you're not giving up then neither will she. Good luck!

M.,

It sounds to me like your daughter is having a hard time feeling the little tickle that happens that lets you know you need to pee. It might be helpful to talk to her a little more about the biology behind peeing. Like that her body needs to be clean, so the icky stuff goes into her pee pee and there is a little cup inside of her called a bladder that gets full. When the cup is full, her body tells her it needs to be emptied with a little tickle.

I think, in general, girls are easier, but that doesn't mean that for your specific children that will be the case. It may just be that she isn't quite ready yet. Maybe you should take a month off of the potty training and come back. Every child develops differently, as you know as an educator, so timing can be everything.

It also occurred to me in your post that you may be running out of patience with her. She will pick up on that and it will become a power struggle, if it hasn't already. So keep taking her to the bathroom and sitting her on the toilet. Sometimes, you have to do that for a long time. One thing we did was print out a blank table in Microsoft Word and the kids got to put a sticker in the square everytime they actually put pee in the potty. When they filled up the squares (I think we did twenty-five boxes) they could get a big treat. The son's was a Rescue Hero and the daughter's was fake food or a baby doll thing. Basically, anything they wanted that was less than $10. So if they had an accident, I didn't, or tried not to, yell. I just said, "Oh no, you don't get to do a sticker for that one."

And don't worry...most kids don't head off to college in Pull-Ups, and there will be a day when you barely remember changing diapers! Good luck!

Hi M.. I feel your pain. I have twin 2 1/2 year old girls. I have been trying to potty train them for a while now. I would put them in the thick cotton training pants with rubber pants on top. It got them used to feeling when they had to go. What made a big difference for me is we made a potty chart on poster board. I let the girls color them & we made a big deal over the chart. Every time they use the potty they get a sticker. I let them choose the sticker they want & put it on the chart themselves. I also went to the Dollar Tree & bought a bunch of cheap toys and books. Every time they used the potty they got a sticker & a toy which I wrapped in paper to make it more exciting. I also think that the diapers & pull ups absolutely don't work. What I started doing is letting them run around bare bottom during the day. Now when they have to go to the potty they go in the bathroom by themselves & tell me when they are done. Then they get a sticker. I have stopped doing the presents since they were having so many successes & it was getting expensive doing this for two at the same time. They still pee if they have panties or a pullup on so we are not totally done but its a start. Good luck.