Potty training touble.........?

Question

My daugher will be three on July 31st and I have been trying to potty train her since January. It was slow going at first, but then around May she really started getting the hang of it, or so I thought. She'll have 2 or 3 weeks of great success and I'll start thinking about putting her in regular underwear, but then she starts slipping up and will go for 2 or 3 weeks with no success. I've tried everything from letting her pick out her own underwear to putting her in regular underwear and letting her pee herself and nothing is working. Her doctor says not to be concerned because she is still young, but I am concerned. Any advice on new strategies would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

I once heard a child rearing expert (T. Barry Brazelton I think) say that "no bride goes down the aisle sucking a pacifier or wearing a diaper). Each child learns when they are good and ready and she already knows she's the one holding the power.

With my son, I let him go without underpants in the summer and that worked, but it sounds like you get her there, then she regresses which has got to be a lot trickier.

(I'm assuming when you say success, you mean she takes herself to the potty, not you taking her..which is more luck than success..if this is the case, put her back in diapers and try again in a couple of months).

I don't care for pullups. They just aren't very uncomfortable wet so there's no real downside to the child that wets them. I used old-fashioned training pants. You can also try tights which would add to the discomfort factor (note that the one child I had I used this trick on didn't care about the wet tights..sigh..)

You can also use some sort of reward system. You'll have to figure out what motivates her. Like maybe she gets a star every time she goes, a special treat for five stars, and a bigger treat for more success.

Sometimes a little psychology works like...I would like to take you to see that new movie (after she's gotten all excited over the commercial) but that's only for big girls and big girls use the potty and wear big girl panties....

Along the same lines..the shopping trip - let her pick really cute underwear she can't wear until she's dry (sounds like you tried this) or...how about dress up high heels..but only for big girls that have completely stopped wetting their pants.

And if all else fails you should put her back in diapers and ride it out for a bit. It's easier on both of you.

I have one daughter who we later found out has some mild learning disabilities. She was very frustrating as she just didn't care if she was wet (the one mentioned above). She was nearly 7 and it took a psychologist to get her dry and she still occasionally wets the bed at 17! There is nothing physically wrong with her either (all those tests have been done).

So...patience is your best weapon.

Answer 2

I have a 2 and 1/2 yr old if i put a pull up or underwear on him he will pee in them but if he has no clothes on he will always go to the potty it may look bad but it only took me 4 days to train him and the only time he is wet is in the mornings. just make sure if you are going somewhere make sure that she has just pottied and ask frequently if she needs to go while you are out

Answer 3

Three years is about the time your kid should be potty trained but I agree with your doctor. Patience is very important here. Don't use scare tactics. Talk to her and encourage her to ask to use the potty after meals and when she had a drink. Also after she has slept for a few hours at night take her to the potty and she would soon get the hang of it. Hope this helps you.

Answer 4

Unless she is dry over night then chances are pretty slim that she can manage to to be completely toilet trained. As a former preschool teacher, sometimes I saw children not trained completely until just up to starting preschool or even after. I agree with the others who advise to not use pull-ups. I think children have a hard time feeling an oops in those and it can be easy to get busy and forget to go. Part of toilet training is also training yourself as in ask her frequently to go and insist on trying as she may not be truly ready and can't feel or understand what exactly she is feeling and what it means. Don't force her to go to the toilet or make her sit for a great length of time - that can cause her to actually hold it and associate the toilet with negative feelings. We also bought undies in her favorite Disney character the Little Mermaid and she seemed to not want to get the Little Mermaid all messy which may have helped but it sounds like you may have already tried that approach. I suspect she just truly isn't ready or she is one who gets highly engrossed in what she is doing at the moment and it is difficult for her to pull herself out of what she is doing which may mean you may have to help redirect her to the toilet for quite a while to help avoid accidents.

Answer 5

Decide if you are going to potty train her take her out of nappies, she will have more feeling in just pant. reward her when she does go to the toilet we had a poster and every time my daughter went she would get a sticker or star to put on the poster, when she filled it up then she was able to get a toy that she wanted. But don't confuse her and go from Nappies to Pants etc.

Answer 6

this is a good idea it works trust me ok this is what you do , put her a calender in the restroom and buy some stickers and small candy like m&ms every time she goes potty she puts a sticker for that day and gets candy it works tell her what a good girl she is for going potty make it a big deal and shell want to do it again

Answer 7

What's the big fat hurry? She's just a baby. All kids will do things in their own time. So what if you have to wash her undies a few times. You, as an adult have probably wet yourself at times! Relax and let the baby be a baby! You'll miss her when she is all grown up!

Answer 8

my son is 3 and i was frustrated as well i found what best worked for me was those undies that are padded they sell them in wal-mart but take my advise "don't" put pampers or pull ups any more once you start training not even to sleep it will only confuse her it'll take 2 to three weeks but trust me she'll get the hang of it good luck

Answer 9

I babysit my great-neice and everytime she goes "big girl" potty we celebrate by clapping and making a little celebration to show how proud we are of her. She has an older sister and I tell her she's like her now, it makes her feel "grown up." She's just almost 3 also.

Answer 10

since she knows where to go potty at let her run around bottom less, i did this with my son when he would slip it lets them know hey i have to go potty and they will go, it really works my son has been potty trained for several months and hasn't once went in his pants or wet the bed