Getting Ready for Potty Training

Ur goin to laff at this but i have a 3year old that has been potty trained for about 8 months or so right be for she was 3 and not she Love this .. u no when u clean the tolit and they have this tablet that u can but in to keep the bowl clean ?? well i got one the other day to keep it clean and my daughter saw that it was BLUE and when she pees it changes to GREEN she was so Happy that when she peeed that she made the water change to Green she called her father and her Grandmother ... Try it its like $1-$3.. Nothin Big but it was really cute so now she wants to pee all the time to see the water turn blue and make it Green ... Hope that might help...

J.

I thought my son would be the only child in kindergarten in diapers but one day it just happened. My daughter however was far easier. I truely believe letting her come into the bathroom with me helped her get aquainted with the whole process. By 18 months she was showing intrest in going potty and was fully trained a little after 2.

I suggest you take it lightly, make it a pleasent thing to do. We started by taking her after meals then increased it to before and after naps. Soon she was asking to go on her own even if she didn't go everytime we still made a big deal out of her trying.

When it was time for her to get her big girl undies we let her pick them out all by herself... of course she picked spider man and bob the builder and every single boy character that she knew her older brother liked but i let her have them hoping that she wouldn't have accidents and she didn't!

We used the pampers pull-ups with the feel wet liner and those seemed to help make her aware of being wet at least.

Beware though... once she realizes that stores and restaurants have bathrooms she will want to go when she is there all the time!

Hi B.-

Wow! Congratulations on your large family... triplets, what a (wonderful) handful!

I'm also potty training, though very casually so far. My daughter is just under 25 months old. I'm sure moms will give you some great tips, and I look forward to the answers so I can learn from them too. But I'll tell you about my experience so far....

My daughter is interested in the potty to an extent. But so far, she has been reluctant to use it when she has to go. We take her diaper off for about 4-5 hours a day so that she would feel the pee instead of it going in the diaper. And as soon as she peed, we'd go put her right on the potty. But she doesn't like it (the pee on her legs) for some reason it freaks her out.

So one day she started saying "Mama, diaper, diaper!" She was holding herself and the pee in. I realized what a big step this is, she is recognizing what it feels like to have to go, and also controlling it so she doesn't. Very big steps.

I've learned a bit from others, it can be a piece of cake, or it can be a long dragged out battle of the wills. Just be patient, and let your daughter go at her own pace. The less she feels pressured, the easier it will be. Don't ever make her feel ashamed or embarrassed for bed wetting or accidents. Make potty time fun. Good Luck! I look forward to what other moms have to say, I have a LOT to learn! :-) K.

We're not quite potty training yet (our daughter is 25 months old) but one thing that's worked shockingly well for non-combative diaper changes has been the sticker chart. I was skeptical because it's soooo cliché, but it has really worked - she asks to have her diaper changed just so she can put a sticker on the poster. I think a big part of that was that she was involved in the poster-process from the beginning - I let her pick out what color of posterboard to buy, I let her draw all over it first, and then she helped me put it up in the bathroom.

My two children both responded differently to different techniques, so finding what works could be a work in progress. What seemed to help for both was reading books and videos about potty training. Seeing other kids go through potty training seemed to motivate them, or put them at ease about losing their diapers. Both of my kids also responded well to a small reward (one mini M&M) for when they did use the potty. We also used stickers, and letting them run around diaperless. Good luck with your training. I hope it goes quickly.

We just started training my 22 1/2 month old... and I have a daughter that is 20 now, who was trained by 2 years and a month old. Seems girls are faster at this process, my boys were 3 and 4 by the time they were trained!!! Gina finally "went" twice two days ago when we happened to sit her there, and we made a big deal, gave her an orange tick tack each time she did it, and we all clapped so she'd know we were all thrilled. Bribery works pretty well I find... when Crissy would go (18 years ago!) we'd give her 2 M&M's each time she went on the potty, that seemed to make her want to go on there more. Good luck! I'm doing the same thing now, bribery and praise, and persistence and patience are the key!

Hi B.,
My "baby" is now 17 so I had to think back! I never did the pull-ups because he noticed how "yucky" it was to have an accident in big boy undies.(You might want these when you go out though.) I would bring him to sit on the potty for a couple of minutes every 1/2 hour and of course jump up and down clapping when he went! I also had the ____@____.com bribes! Have her sit on her potty next to you when you have to go (even though I'm sure you don't ever get peace and quiet anymore)! With both boys, they were completely trained in one week and not quite 2 so I think I was one of the lucky ones. Just make sure not to have a tickle fest until AFTER she's gone potty!You'll also have to remind her to try when she's really interested in something because they'll forget. I'm just looking ahead for you to see 3 potty chairs lined up...(:
I didn't like using the seat on the big potty because they can't get up there themselves. Shorts or dresses will also make it easier for her to go on her own when she needs to. When you're out, sit her on a regular toilet backwards so she can hold on better and not be scared of falling in. Keep us posted. When do you sleep by the way?!

Hi. My youngest was the easiest, by far, to potty train. At the end of two weeks he was going pretty consistantly. He did have his accidents but got mad at himself when he went in his "big boy" undies. I tried taking him into the big potty but he was so afraid of it he would just cry and not go. I finally tried the potty chair in the bathroom next to the big toilet but he still wouldn't go because of the big toilet. I finally put his potty chair in the living room and let him run anound in just a shirt while entertaining (distracting) him with cartoons. Like I said, at the end of two weeks he was more comfortable with the potty and was going consistantly. The first week I praised him EVERY time he went and made it a big deal. The second week he would celebrate first and loved being "the big boy!" I know some people would disagree with how I did it (cartoons) but it worked. I hope this helps, even a little.