potty training tips?

Question

My daughter just turned 3 and I have tried alot of different things to get her potty trained. I tried a calander/rewards thing that worked for a couple wks then fizzed out. I tried regular underwear but when she peed in them she didnt care. I tried bare bottom but there where issues with that so we cant do that. Anyone have any other ideas? Plz help

Answer 1

Many children will resist using the toilet because it is something only they can control. If you put the “power” into her hands it should be easier to get her to use the toilet. Some children will soil themselves because they get attention for it. Never make an issue out of this. If she is not ready and has not shown any interest, wait. If she sees that this is an issue for you she will resist because only she has the power over this. If you feel you have gotten yourself into a power struggle over this, let it go for awhile.

Take your daughter shopping and have her pick out some “Big girl” underwear. If she has a favorite character she may resist soiling them. Have her use the adult toilet. You can get a cover to go on top of the seat for her to feel more comfortable. If she cannot get on the toilet without help, get a step stool. Here is a great stool http://www.thepottystool.com/ Count out the remainder of her diapers (or pull-ups) with her and say “15 more diapers left. When these run out you get to use the toilet.” When these run out, make sure she is in clothing that she can easily get on and off without your help. When you feel it is about time that she needs to use the bathroom or if you see her doing the “potty dance,” say “It seem like you need to use the bathroom” or “Guess what time it is? It’s potty time!” Do not push the issue or you will get yourself into a power struggle, a battle you will not win. If your daughter is successful, say things like “You did it by yourself!” “You must feel so proud!” “You used the potty!” These phrases are much more effective than extrinsic reward (Sticker charts, treats, “Good job!”). I am not one for incessantly rewarding children, but in some cases a big reward (Trip to the zoo, new tricycle) works to motivate a child to potty train. If your daughter soils herself, hold her responsible for as much of the clean up as possible. Simply say, “It looks like you need to change.” This way will put the power into her hands. She can take off her soiled clothing, rinse them, put them into a plastic bag into the laundry, clean up, and put on clean clothing. If your daughter is given as much control as possible, you will find that it is much easier to train her. I know it is hard to take a step back but if she takes care of this herself it won't take her long to learn it is much easier to use the bathroom.

Be patient and good luck!

Answer 2

The joys of potty training! My son's pediatrician recommended that you wait until close to 3 years old to start potty training boys. Girls tend to start a little sooner, around 2 1/2 or so. My son is now 4 1/2, and potty training was quite the battle. He has had a lot of constipation issues and withholding issues that he had to see a gastroenterologist for, which delayed potty training past the pediatrician's recommended age of 3. We used a reward system in the beginning. I had a container of mini M&M's. Each time he went pee on the potty he got 1, and each time he went poo he got 2. (The reason we gave him 2 for going poo is because that's where our battle was most of the time due to his constipation and withholding issues). He went to a babysitter during the day, and she wasn't really up for doing the whole candy thing, so he would get little stickers there every time that he went potty. Another big incentive for him was that preschool wasn't too off in his future, but we would tell him that he had to be going to the bathroom on the potty and not in having accidents if he wanted to go. So that really helped things. Also, bring fun things in the bathroom. With my son, we would bring books or his magnadoodle in there. We realized that sometimes we just had to get him to relax so that he could go. As a parent, you know the patience kids have is very small, so when they are just sitting there trying and have nothing else to focus on, they can get frustrated quite easily. It helps to put their attention somewhere else. Another suggestion is to just make a really big deal everytime that he goes. Unfortunately, there's no time limit on how long potty traning can take. Each child is different, and sometimes strong willed children can take a little longer. My son still has accidents occassionally, but they only seem to occur at home. He has never had an accident at preschool or out in public. We still have to remind that its time to try an go to the bathroom. Kids just get so sidetracked when they are playing or doing other activities. I know that when we were first starting out, we would have him try and go to the bathroom every hour or 2. Even if he didn't always go, he would at least try. Hope this info helps.

Answer 3

I am sure most people will not agree with me on this, but it's true. You can do all the things you mentioned already, plus you can bring your little one to the potty each time you go. You have to constantly reinforce the need and urgency of that child to go potty on the toliet. Now, here's where people will disagree:

Then you must wait for the child to be ready on his/her own time. I have had several children's doctors tell me that very same thing and it was true! Don't expect the child to just go one day on his/her own if they have not been introduced to it multiple times a day, but if you do what I mentioned above it will just click one day. Believe me, as a dad I have been there, done that!

I had a friend of mine that would beat his children when they soiled themselves. They potty trained very quickly, but imagine at what cost.

Keep pushing forward, and in no time, she will come around just fine!

Good luck!

Answer 4

it may be that she isn't ready for the big kid stuff. Its about control, its one of the few things kids CAN control so naturally they want to exert that as much as they can.

I would let her run raw, potty her often. Never scold for wet pants that isn't gonna help any and may take longer in the end. Do a little potty dance with her. there is a video big bear on the blue house that has a great peice of training. talk to her about it, let her watch you and when you are done tell her that you are a big girl and peepee on the potty.

However if she isn't ready, than she isn't ready. My daughter 3.5 before she trained and she was ready, she pretty much did it by herself, it was done very quickly.

The other thing you you can do is make the potty a FUN place to be, I set mine up inside a box that I made into a castly, was great fun for her. Supply lots of books etc etc and just be patient. I promise you, she will not be in diapers forever (though I admit it sure can feel like they may be)

Answer 5

definately have to put her back in undies. try ones with characters she likes so she WANTs to wear them. take her to the potty every 5 minutes until she goes. Once she goes, don't bother her again for like 15 minutes. this might teach her that you'll stop nagging for a while when she uses the potty. also, when she has an accident, make her clean up her puddle, change her clothes, and take away something for a little while. if she's watching a movie, turn it off until she successfully goes. once she does, resume the movie. this will let her know that life DOESN'T go on when she wets herself, only when she goes in the potty.

she's old enough to understand that this is what big girls do. you have to really be consistant. if she has an accident outside, take her home and cut the trip short. this worked for my son who hates to have to leave the playground early for any reason

Answer 6

I was going to say her be around the house with just underwear but I see that didn't work. That actually work for my daughter but also when she started pre school she was still having trouble with the potty training so I had her wearing pampers just in case, but after a while the other children in school started calling her a baby because she was still wearing pampers and after a while she learned on her own and didn't want to wear pampers anymore only underwear and started going to the bathroom on her own.

Answer 7

sometimes training the child to potty is more like training the mom to realize when it's time to potty. Just keep placing her on the potty at regular intervals and read to her for awhile. Some kids take to it and some just take forever. Normally, girls are quicker then boys. But my granddaughter took forever.

Answer 8

Stop trying so many things and wait until she's ready to go. Putting all of that added pressure on her will only scare her and make her less likely to go. When she gets up in the morning ask her if she wants to wear big girl panties or a diaper that day...just say ok to whatever she chooses and don't make a big deal about it....she will eventually choose the panties when she's ready. Good luck!

Answer 9

Have her hang around kids who are potty trained. Then maybe she'll see it's okay and want to be like the 'big kids'.

Answer 10

Don't over do it, it could cause life long effects, its called "Anal Retentive".