Potty training a girl?

Question

My little niece (about a year and a half) is actually scared of the potty. My mother got her to #2 in the toilet but after that she got scared. I think she's just not used to the feel of letting her waste go freely. Any suggestions to get her over he potty phobia?

Answer 1

The only right reason for beginning to potty train your child is that your little one has show an actual interest in using the potty. You will also find that when your child is ready, potty training will be much easier. If you have not seen a strong interest, then your attempts will be useless, and you may find yourself becoming frustrated and even angry that the potty training has not been successful. The key is to begin potty training when your child is ready, not when you are ready.

Before you can begin to potty train your child, you must first ask yourself whether your child shows signs of readiness. The top five signs of potty training readiness are:

1. Your child can stay dry for a several hours or even overnight.

2. Your child knows when he has wet or soiled his diaper, and knows what "pee", "poop", "potty", and similar words mean.

3. Your child shows independence by wanting to do things by himself.

4. Your child can pull his pants down and up.

5. Your child asks questions and/or shows in interest when others go "potty".

If your child has most, and hopefully all, of the above signs of readiness, you may be ready to begin potty training. Here is the method I recommend that parents follow:

Buy Cotton Training Pants
First of all, do not use disposable training pants (such as Huggies "Pull-Ups"). They are too much like a diaper and very absorbent, and tend to confuse many children. My recommendation is to use plain cotton training underpants. These training pants are similar to normal underwear, but they have a little extra padding in the crotch area. Usually you can find these in any store that sells children's clothing. I recommend that you buy approximately 9-12 pairs of the underpants. You should also purchase several pairs of "plastic/nylon pants", which will be worn over the cotton underpants.

The Big Day Is Here
Decide when you will begin to potty train your toddler. Make sure that when you do begin, that there is nothing traumatic going on in your child's life and that you can give your child and the potty training your full attention.

On the big day, tell your little one that he is going to start using the "big boy" or "big girl" underwear, or whatever term you like, and start having your child use them. I would recommend using the underpants with the plastic pants over them, but the choice is yours. The plastic pants will help to protect your child's clothing.

It is also important that when you do decide to begin potty training, that you are able to follow the steps in a consistent method. If you child attends preschool, make sure the caregivers understand the method of potty training you are following and require them to follow the same method. You should also make sure that you follow the method when you are away from home or when you have company.

Wetting & Soiling
Be aware that your child may wet the underpants and soil them. Very few children will be accident free in the early days of potty training. As a matter of fact, this may happen over and over again. Just remember to remain calm and patient.

When your little one tells you that he has wet his pants, take him into the bathroom and sit him on the toilet as you remove the wet underpants and clothing. At this point you may wish to explain to your little one that he needs to remember to go potty in the big toilet. Let him sit on the toilet so that he will get used to the feel of it. After you have removed the wet clothing, get the clean underpants and other clean clothing, if necessary. When you have the dry, clean clothing ready, help your little one clean his bottom. After this, you can put the clean underpants and clothing on.

Personal Hygiene
Another very important step is to make sure to have your child flush the toilet, even if they didn't "go" in it. After flushing, go together to your sink and wash your hands together. Again, the handwashing should be done even if your child didn't actually "go" in the toilet. With the toilet flushing and the handwashing, you are getting your child ready for the routine of what happens when you go potty.

These are the steps and you should repeat them over and over, in a consistent pattern, until your child is fully potty trained. If your child is terrified to be placed on the toilet, or if your child continues soiling the underpants for days, with no urination or bowel movements in the toilet, then your child is not ready for potty training at this time. Stop potty training for a while, and resume again when your child might be more ready.

I also want to remind you to enjoy this time. Yes, enjoy it! This is a very big milestone for your child and although it creates a lot of work for you, it will all be worth it.
http://www.rubyglen.com/articles/training.htm

Answer 2

Well there has to be signs of readiness first like does she hate to be wet? Does she ask to be changed? etc..

I'm a mother of 2, a boy and a girl. Believe me if you stick with a schedule and a routine and do not give choices such as "do you want to try potty?" she will eventually go

This is, believe it or not, normal. I suggest getting videos for him to watch. There is a video and book combo called "Once Upon A Potty For Her". They have it for boys too. Also get books on about the potty. After watching the videos and reading about it start training. Make sure you stick to a schedule. Don't ask her if he needs to go, just take her. You can even make a cute potty training chart for her with dltk-kids.com. I would take her every 2 hours. It'll be tough but stick with it.

Also, I do not recommend bribing him with stuff. My philosophy on this as a parent and as a teacher is that it will only cause problems. Ex. If everytime she goes potty you give him an m&m, she will expect that m&m whereever you are and you are not always going to have that treat which will cause more problems. I always used hugs, kisses, high 5's and verbal praise. You always have those handy.

I wouldn't get upset when accidents either, even though it is unpleasant. Take a deap breathe and just talk about it like "it is ok that you had an accident, you need to tell me if you have to go. It is ok. Let's try harder next time" etc.

Anyway, good luck. Hope all works out well for you. Remember everyone's situation is different. What works for one may not work for another. Eventually, we all pee and poop on the potty :)

Answer 3

Given that your little niece has gone #2's on the toilet then there is a good chance that she is very ready for toilet training.

Take her to the toilet when you go in there so that she sees you going and there is nothing to be afraid of. She will get the idea. Have her sit on the toilet after you and make sure you are always reassuring her that its fine and there is nothing to be scared of. She will get the idea eventually.

My daughter was never scared of the toilet which I am very grateful for, but she is now just turned two and fully toilet trained at school, home, when we go out and for her mid-day nap. I began toilet training at about 18-months. Its a long process at this age, but its so worth the savings in time and money and the rewards are so great. People are always commenting on how young she is to be toilet trained.

Good luck and just remember that its a process and its important to reward the good behaviour and reassure her when she has an accident that its no drama and to just move on with a clean pair of underwear.

Answer 4

I tried to get my oldest to use the potty early too - no luck. She wasn't fully potty trained until 3. My youngest is 22 mos and almost fully potty trained - go figure! Your niece will let you guys know when she is ready.
Once she is ready, I would definitely NOT use pull-ups. They are too much like a diaper and don't let the child feel the discomfort of being wet or dirty. When she is ready, buy her special "big girl" panties and plan on doing lots of laundry in the begining!

Answer 5

3 things can help

1. lay off the potty for a month or 2
2. little kids love to water and fertilized the law try outdoor potty training.
3. have a potty partner kids love company so get someone her age and potty train together

Answer 6

You can get a small potty just for her to make her feel safe from falling in the big potty. Or you can get a potty top for the big potty where she will feel that she is not sinking in. This is what I did for my children and then they went on there on and also get some pull-ups that also helps with potty training too.

Answer 7

11/2 is pretty young for the potty - I would keep it casual until 2-21/2 then keep the diaper off for extended periods of time - most
kids won't go on themselves withut a diaper. Then take them to the potty every 30 min. and reward with a sticker

Answer 8

wait until she wants to go on her own. My daughter had the same problem but she got over it because she wanted to be a big girl. If she is constpated and it hurts when she goes, this might be the reason that she got scared in the first place. She associated the potty with pain.

Answer 9

She is very young right now but it has been done.Maybe get the musical potty seat ,or give m&m's when she goes potty.She might be afraid of the sound of the flushing.Rewards do help but if shes that frightened I would wait a little while and try again.

Answer 10

My boy is really stubborn but I was able to potty train him in less than 7 days. I used this method I found online http://pottytraining.toptips.org