How do I get my stubborn 3 year old to potty train?

Question

She knows what to do (did it once or twice already) she just doesn't want to do it. She also doesn't talk much. I have asked her if she has gone and she says no even if she has. I have already had her tested and she is mentally fine, just very stubborn. Anyone have any tricks to get her to go on a regular basis other than no pull up and stay home all day? I have tried all kinds of rewards, the cold alert pull ups, making her sit on the potty all day.....nothing has worked so far. Should I give up and try again in a few weeks?

The reason I am asking is because I want to enroll her in a daycare close to me but she has to be potty trained to attend. Otherwise I wouldn't really be trying so hard. Thank you for the help!!

Answer 1

my sister wanted her 2 and a half year old daughter potty trained so she could go into daycare like you and i found a dvd called ELMO's potty time last week and gave it to her. It's brand new, it just came out end of august and my sister's kid loves elmo and only after a week, she is peeing on the potty cuz of the DVD. Not poopy yet but at least it is a start. Hope this helps

Answer 2

Buy some potty literature, books and movies. The bear in the big blue house has a good one and there is a potty elmo doll. Be patient and give her some level of privacy, it helps more than you think. Sticker chart, dolls that potties that she could teach. What helped with my daughter alot, I had a girlfriend who needed a babysitter a few nights a week for her daughter that was pottytrained. I did it for free and used the other child as an example and gave her rewards for using the potty and in less than three days of watching the little girl we were pull up free during the day... good luck and she will do it when she is ready.

Answer 3

i would just let it be, we tried with my neice forever it seems she turned 3 in June and something just clicked with her about 2 weeks ago and she started telling us when she had to go. She is still wearing pull-up, for some reason she is terrified of big girl panties but i told her mom just to give it a little while longer and then transition her over, since she is still going to have accidents. We like you tried everything, i babysit her while her mom works and tried having her drink water while sitting there, would take her back to the potty what seemed like every 10 minutes or so and nothing.... she would go hide in a corner after all day of this and pee herself, we had the little seat that sits in the big one, the royal potty and the fisher price learning potty, finally i gave up and told her mom i didn't know what else to do and like i said, she just did it on her own.

Answer 4

My son was VERY stubborn and difficult to train. I just let him run around with no bottoms and let him use the potty when he needed to. I found asking him or trying to force him to sit just made him not want to do it more. In the beginning if he sat on the potty I gave him a treat (his left over halloween candy) and a sticker for his sticker chart. He caught on to this very quickly and was in underwear full time in under a month!

Answer 5

Potty training is never something you should push on your child. When she is ready then have her do it. You should never push children to potty train or it will be harder. My suggestion is to stop potty training for a few weeks (don't talk about it, don't have her try it, etc.) and then a few weeks later start up again. If you want her to potty train then you need to get her excited about it. Get her a plastic potty that goes on the floor and let her decorate it with stickers. Write her name on it also to make it more special. Let her pick out her own underwear and tell her she can only wear them if she goes on the potty. Let her pick out her own rewards as well. Always give her lots of praise and it should be easy to get her using the potty. Good luck and God bless.

Answer 6

oooooh this sounds familiar....

I have a little 'un of a similar persuasion, and apparently she is mini-version of me some 30 yrs ago...

Even now as an adult, I have to confess that I have this terrible desire to do the opposite of whatever anyone tells me is GOOD or NORMAL for me.

I reckon at some point in the future we (the human race) will find a (chemical path?) in the brain that differentiates us 'stubborn/ wilful' ones from people who are less obstreperous. And maybe we can develop parenting techniques to inform that kind of personality.

But for now, maybe you have to accept that your wee bairn has not only this tendency, but is a very intelligent little thing and realises just how much all of this is stressing you out! And that she is fascinated to see your reaction. My 2 yr old greets me with 'Cry!' whenever she sees me, her daddy or her grandma, - it sounds weird but I have finally twigged that she LOVES seeing a big, scary grown-up having an emotional reaction to such a wee thing as her...it makes her feel strong and in control....

Back to poo-ing and wee-ing - our little one has always said 'No!!' every time I say 'did you do a poo?' even when she patently has crapped on the floor! Its like she is saying 'don't rush me through this - will do it when I want to OKAY??!!!'

Funnily enough though - she tried to pull down my husbands pants today whilst we were out walking around town, just the way I inspect her pants saying 'did you do a poo poo?' She shriekedl 'Daddy did PooPoo!!!'. I am sure that Daddy DIDNT do a poo-poo (!) but I think that this demonstrates this is all about CONTROL and if your little girl thinks she has NO control about such important developments - and that you are rushing her to do this, she will try the opposite tack......

i.e. - I never dreamed we would get her in her own bed but this is the 3rd night running away from her cot, and only because we both kept saying 'oooh there is a lovely big girls bed upstairs but you wont want to sleep in that until you are much older hey?' She just declared 'me sleep big bed nite nite'

Good luck and Good Patience!

Answer 7

Fierce is full of it. People with attitudes like that raise out of control brats.

My wife says I was wrong to do this, but it worked. When my son was sixteen months old, I had had a freakin nuff of the diaper crap, so I would plop his behind down on the toilet until he crapped or peed, whichever was next in coming. You feed the kid, so you can figure pretty well when these events should be taking place. Keep an eye on the clock, march her into the bathroom when the time is right, and make her sit there until it happens. Make sure this isn't lovey dovey play time.....you need not be cruel, but don't make it particularly pleasant either. She needs to realize that playtime will not resume until she has done what she needs to do. A couple of days of this will convince her that it's in her best interest to comply.

Answer 8

wait till 4 yrs old -- before u panic,,,,

and please dont force her...

and sittin in the potty whole day is a punishment
the child will be confused.....

the best way is to wait...

whenever ur child does potty in her nappies..
take her to the toilet and clean her...
correlate potty with toilet....

during the day ,, keep askin her if she is having stomach "ache"
with lots of sign language..
whenever she says yes..
take her to the toilet and make her sit on the potty..
for 30 min or a little more..
if she has really done it -- give her a reward...
if she hasnt done it -- dont do anything
just put on the pants and aske her 1 hr later if she is having the stomach ache.....

best of luck..
potty trainin will come one day automatically
dont worry

Answer 9

I'm going through some what of the same thing. My almost 3 year old doesn't to talk. She's only said one sentence ever. The doctor's and speech therapists' say she'll do it when she's ready. If you push her, the more she'll resist.

Answer 10

why is it so important, if she senses its is imparative to you, you have a power struggle here, and child is winning. Give up for a while, when child is ready it will happen. Punishment is a bad idea