Potty Help?

Question

I am fed up! it may sound rude but my 2 1/2 year old is not progressing w/ potty. It bothers me that she can use it, knows how to say pot, toilet, bathroom, boo boo& pee pee. last night right after getting off the potty into the tub, she boobood & peed in the tub!!! Whats fustrating is:
1)introduced potty at age 1

2)has a routine> uses 1st thing in morning, after eating,drinking

3)no drinks after 7pm

4)tried books on potty, tv on potty, eat on potty

5)go with her

) she will sit in a soaked/booboo pullup and not say anything until i make her go

6)reward her, throw potty parades( march around & clap when she uses it)

6)u name it, all advice from family since in our family she is "late"
what makes me upset is that i am expecting, she will be 3 soon, she speaks well and asks for food, juice etc. doesn't ask for potty. I know some say at this age give her time, but i need advice because I feel like i have tried so much, what else can i do when i feel this fustrated a

Answer 1

It sounds like you’ve gotten yourself into a bit of a power struggle. She knows you really want her to be trained and is refusing because it is something that she has power of. If you insist, she will resist. She is the only one who has control of this. Let it go for awhile.

She is a bit young to be expected to be potty trained. Usually children are not fully trained until they are 3. I would consider holding off until the arrival of her sibling. Children often regress with potty training with the arrival of a new sibling. It may help her to take an interest when she sees that her new sibling is wearing diapers. She may want to be the big girl and not want to be in diapers any longer.

When you feel that she is ready, count out the remainder of her diapers. Say "After 7 more diapers, use get to use the bathroom." Make sure she is in clothing that she can get on and off without any help, including some "big girl" underwear. If she cannot get on the adult toilet by herself, get her a step stool. When you see her doing the "potty dance," say to her "It looks like you need to use the bathroom." Give it no more attention than that. When she is successful, give her a hug and congratulate her, no need for extrinsic rewards or a potty parade. If she soils herself, hold her responsible for the clean up. Say to her "It looks like you need to change." She can remove the soiled clothing, rinse them out, put them in the laundry, clean her body, and put on dry clothing. She will soon learn that it is much easier to use the toilet. Hope this helps! Good luck and congratulations

Answer 2

Hi, God bless you! I am experiencing the same thing with my 2 1/2 year old. Her older sister didn't become potty trained until she was 3! I was also pregnant at the time. My oldest just didn't show any interest, and she hated the potty. The day after her 3rd birthday, she changed and began to show more interest into using the potty. Unfortunately for the both of us, it sounds like our 2 1/2 year old daughters aren't ready yet. I know its frustrating. But don't force her or scold her, because then she'll just be scared of using the potty. Try to make it a fun experience. My husband has recently tried putting the potty chair in the den, and our little one seems to use it more that way. We also sing "way to go" songs and reward her with stickers and other small items. It sounds like your on the right track though. I wish you the best of luck with your little one and your one on the way. God bless!

Answer 3

You may be setting yourself and your daughter up for failure at this point. No child can be sucessfully potty trained until she is ready physically, mentally, and emotionally. A large number of potty trained children will revert back to going potty in their pants when a new baby arrives. So, even if you manage to get her going in the right direction, after the new baby gets here and you are very busy, you may find yourself back to square one with her. I would suggest that you make this potty business a "non-issue" for a few weeks. Keep her in a diaper and change her when she obviously needs it, but make it very business-like with no negative comments. Don't bring up the potty, but if she does, then help her go if she wants to. Let her know you are proud of her when she does go, but don't make a huge deal of it (the potty parades are a little unneccessary unless it is something she instigates). Ignore what other people are saying about your daughter and the potty. When people make a negative comment, simply say, "Thank you for your input." Then change the subject to something positive about your daughter or away from your daughter all together. She needs your support, guidance, and consistency. Keep things in the bathroom kid-friendly for her. Does she have her own potty chair that sits on the floor or a potty seat that sits on the toilet? Most kids need one or both as sitting on the big potty often makes them feel unsafe (the hole is big and their bottom is small). If she is using the big potty with or without a seat, make sure she has a stool for her feet - dangling feet make most kids nervous and they need a little security. Keep some extra underwear and pants in the bathroom so any accidents can be cleaned up quickly and without a big production of having to go to her room for new ones. Don't belittle her or chastise her for accidents - that is all it is, an accident. I would also suggest to get rid of the pull-ups and go right to big girl panties. I have been a mom for 27 years and have provided daycare in my home for 20 years. I have helped potty train about 50 kids. I found pull-ups to only be useful for nap-time, night-time, and long trips. I have also found that it is the exception and not the rule, for a child to be potty trained before age 3. Most of my experience has been that between the age of 3-4 most children will be day time trained with night time training being accomplished between 5-7, although some will struggle with bed-wetting until they are older. Offer a potty-reward if you feel the need, but keep it simple like a sticker on a chart or a couple Skittles or M&M's. Don't promise large and long-ranging prizes such as "You can ride the school bus when you are potty trained." or "We'll go to Disney World when you are potty trained." If there is a special toy that is her motivation (it was a My First Barbie for my middle daughter) then buy it, let her play with it when she is dry and clean, but it gets put away when she doesn't use the potty. Your daughter senses your frustration. Depending on her personality, she may become frightened or may become strong-willed and turn the potty into a power struggle. She will continue to need your guidance and help before she will be fully competent to go to the bathroom on her own when she has to go, use the potty, wipe, pull up her pants, flush, and wash. Look for this to happen between 4-5.

Answer 4

The potty parades are also what got my kids first enthusiastic about going in the toilet.

My first-born was obsessed with Thomas the Train. The first time he went on the toilet, we took him to the toy store. We told him he could have anything he wanted. He picked some Thomas trains. The next few times he went, he got additional trains. After that point, he was not allowed to play with the trains unless he went potty on the toilet. He was going to the bathroom by himself just before he turned 3.

With my second born (2 1/2 years old), we are doing the same thing. The first time he went, we took him to the toy store and interestingly enough, he also picked a Thomas the Train toy. Now, he only gets to play with Thomas toys if he goes in the toilet. Seems to working with him, too.

Not sure if this same method would work for girls. I'll be sending you a message when we start potty training our 3rd (she is 5 mo. old now).

The other thing that worked with my boys was putting the blue toilet tabs in the toilet (or even blue food coloring). We told our boys they could turn the water green by going pee in it.

Answer 5

I dont really have an answer, just wanted to make you feel better...My son is 3 yrs 4 mos, and Refuses to even try!! I am also at my wits end, and it is so gross to change diapers on a child that big. Also, I have to endure the comments from my inlaws about him "going to kindergarden in diapers" I am a very patient momma, and I dont punish him. I am just trying to tolerate it until he changes his mind. I might try the potty in the living room & letting him be naked thing. That is the only thing I havent tried. I thought Elmos Potty movie wouldbe a sure bet, but....anyway, Good Luck!!!

Answer 6

I was amazed when even though I tried everything, with little no no lasting results. Once I got a potty seat for the big commode, my daughter loved using it. It was her little potty on the floor that she did not like. Try it, it may work.

Answer 7

What my wife did for our daughter is she kept the potty in the living room and kept her bottom bare. This actually worked. When she had to go she just went and sat on the potty. After that she just started telling us when she had to go. Also at night we also kept the potty in her room so she could get up at night and use it. She was very good at wiping herself

Answer 8

The average age for girls is 3. It's hard, but be patient.
What we did to get my daughter to go to the potty (I was fed up too) was we took her pull-ups off (she would also set in a soiled one as long as you would let her too), and only put dresses on her for two weeks when she was outside, then we transitioned to bare bum with a dress on in the house for two weeks, then finally put on panties.
We tried it outside first, because I was afraid of her wetting in the house, but she absolutely would not go without anything on her bum. (We tried just going pull up to panties, but she would wet as soon as anything was on her, so we had to go slower.) That was this summer, and now she goes by herself. The only way I know sometimes is she can't get her pants back up!
Good luck!

Answer 9

Sweetie, have some patience - she is only 2 1/2 - that is still a baby. Just keep doing the routine and try and understand when she has accidents -- she WILL have them for a while.

Answer 10

the only other thing I can suggest is what my son's Dr. told me, it's gross & I DID NOT have to do it, but he said when all else fails let them run around the house nude , they will not want to make a mess on themselves & they
will be sure to get to the potty on time. good luck !