My little girl is 2 1/2 and is not potty trained. I think she knows exactly what she is doing. How do we motiv

Question

How do we motivate her to use the potty. We don't want to bribe with candy, etc. We have tried praise and even telling her she is a big girl now.Help!

Answer 1

Every child is different, but here's my experience with my two girls ... I'm a father of 3yr old twin girls. They showed a little interest in toilets when they were 18 months old, so we were thrilled that we might have them out of diapers early. Such was not the case. They preferred to use their diapers and we decided not to make a big deal about it. Quite a while later we started to talk about 'being big girls' and how that included 'big girl panties'. We just continued to have these kinds of conversations now and then until they decided that they wanted to be big girls. It was pretty much a quick adjustment. Every time they went to their potty we would just make a HUGE deal about it .. call each other over, hugs & kisses & clapping. That was the only 'rewards' we used. I think my wife and I must have been quite a sight hopping around the bathroom! It became a fun game for my girls and they would often try to race each other to see who could 'go on the potty' first. We kept them in diapers at night for another couple of months. They both had a couple accidents during the day and night, but not too many and not for too long.

So, from my experience, Don't Worry too much about it. Don't do any of the negative stuff .. I don't see how it's really productive, and it seems just a bit on the mean side, to me. It never really made sense to me, Why make your children feel bad? or uncomfortable? or dirty?

They _will_ learn .. just let them do it on their own time with lots of encouraging words and actions from you.

Answer 2

Do not under any circumstances bribe this child. I have three daughters, and they all were trained by the age of 3 or earlier (depending on the child) The more you put pressure on her the less she will want to go. We know from reading that toddlers are rebellious. If you have introduced her to the potty and what its for..she will get it. When sits on it (she doesnt have to go) praise her..act like its the most amazing thing in the world. She will eventually go by herself. My 3yr old (just turned 3 in dec.) was sort of interested, when we left it alone she started making a big deal of going. Within a week of stop pressuring her, she was going on a regular basis, and we stopped buying pull ups (so that she knew that was no longer an option for her) Now she is proud that she can sit on the toilet and not fall in ...she has already retired her potty seat. Take it one step at a time..before you know it she will be running things.

Answer 3

I started out by buying a simple white potty that looked the closest to a regular toilet. No bells n' whistles. Then I got her the "Feel N Learn" pull-ups which are great because when they are wet, they feel wet to the child. Then we had a "sticker" program. I would put her potty in front of the toilet and we would both go potty together. Every time she was successful, she got a sticker that she placed on the bathroom cupboard beside her potty chair. That way she was able to see the rewards of her efforts. And I also made a big effort to praise her really dramatically! Then we'd both empty her potty into the toilet and wave and say "bye-bye peepees/poopoos, thanks for coming out!" She'd sometimes just sit on the chair and "pretend" to potty just so she'd get a sticker! But she quickly figured out that she needed to produce visible results... It took about 2 months. Then I took her shopping and let her pick out her own underwear (Dora). She was so happy to wear them and very, very proud. She had a few accidents but I never made a big deal out of them to her. It got tricky when we went out because it's important that as soon as said she had to potty, we had to pull over right away. I was sure NOT to fall back on the pullups just because we were out. It just prolongs the process. She was able to wear underwear during the day and a pullup at night. Then, eventually she lost the nightime pullup and I woke her at 2am and took her to the potty - every night for about a week. And then that was that.

Every child is different tho - the key is to make a big fuss when they go and not make a fuss if they don't. Good luck with it.

Answer 4

I have 5 kids, and I have always used the same successful method on all of them. I know you said you didn't want to use candy, but perhaps here is one for you to consider. I got a very beautiful shiny bowl, and filled it with very special candy... not a kind that they are used to getting (like suckers or jelly beans), but one that they don't get often and LOVE. I called this "potty candy". Put it up high where it is clearly visible, and they will understand right away that if they go potty, they can have a piece. You are absolutely right, she knows exactly what she is doing, but why bother? Sometimes you have to give it some sweet incentive :) All of my kids were potty trained before they reach their 2nd birthday with this method. It really works!

Answer 5

the most important things are patience and consistency and lots of it she will when she is ready is what i have always heard you can encourage her with praise and incentives such as a sticker chart or the like when my son started showing interest in the potty i kept a little piggy bank in the bathroom and a bowl of coins and each time he used the potty he got to add to his piggy bank which he loved and if they are not excited about the money tell them that once a week they can add up their coins and buy their own prize and the more they use the potty the bigger prize they can buy good luck

Answer 6

Sorry, but you'll have to use bribery this time. It's the only tool that will work. don't have to use candy, could use a week long present. Like say a new dollie, "If you can stay dry all week, you can have this present." don't forget to wrap it. To track her dryness record, get some foil stars and draw up a grid. Each time she goes potty, let her have a star to put on her chart. That sometimes is enough reward. But I like celebrating the milestone. For mine, it was GI Joe's!

Answer 7

you as a mother need to go in the bathroom take her in there with you and show her how it is done and then let her do it and if she does reward her with stickers and set a limit on like 50 stickers a week if she goes to the bathroom then take her out for an ice cream cone at the end of the week or the toy store for like a 5 or 10 dollar toy, it works i potty-trained my niece like that,it took about 2-3 weeks

Answer 8

finally- someone going thru the same as I , but mine is a 3 yr old boy! we have tried so much, even have him check out his big sister(she is 4) and tell him what a big kid does. we have heard Dr. phil's way about getting a baby doll that pees when you give it water and let the child see- and then throw a party- a big party - ( party hats , the noise blowers) and the whole time during thi you have them in their big kid underwear and drinking alot so when they have to go- you get them on the potty- and then throw them a party like you did with the baby doll- anyway me and hubby gonna try this on Sat. I think this plan is on DR.Phil's website too-- Good luck!!

Answer 9

give her time to want to go potty children master things at their own pace my husband's little sis is 3 and is just now getting the hang of it while my little girl is 2 1/2 and has been going potty for a while

Answer 10

It's so distinct for all children. The secret's to comply with their lead and anticipate that it would take a at the same time. Sometimes, if it isn't going good, you have to take a holiday and return to diapers altogether. Also, keep in mind that when they are potty knowledgeable, they're going to most likely nonetheless have the occasional twist of fate. Oh, and being potty knowledgeable for the period of the day doesn't suggest they will keep dry at night time both. With my oldest, we purchased a bit of potty and began speakme approximately it round 20-22 months. However, we did not particularly begin potty coaching till 26-27 months (after our summer season holidays have been over). She used to be most of the time potty knowledgeable by means of her third birthday, however persevered to have the occasional poop twist of fate till nearly three a million/two. She additionally wasn't dry at night time till approximately four a million/two. My more youthful daughter peed at the potty for the primary time at 15 months. I persevered to place her in pull-americaconsidering the fact that I figured she used to be too younger to be real potty knowledgeable. On her second birthday, I discovered that she used to be dry all day lengthy nearly day-to-day, and I eventually switched her to underwear. She used to be dry at night time beginning round two a million/two. My son used to be absolutely potty knowledgeable by means of his third birthday, however I are not able to keep in mind after we began. He's now five a million/two and nonetheless demands pull-america night time considering the fact that he hardly ever remains dry.