My daughter seems to be ready to potty train. She says potty and uses the word poopoo everytime she goes in her diaper. But I can't get her to use the "potty". Any suggestions?
You may want to put the potty in the bathroom and take her when you go so she can understand what it is all about and then reward her with M&M's if you don't mind her having candy. She may still be a little young.
You can encourage her to "play" on the potty. Take her in there with you when you go, you can even bring the potty into the living room and let her play on it there. If she likes dolls you can even put the dolls on the potty. But, don't push the issue. And don't stress out over it. With my daughter, now 3, I used to just encourage her, but never pushed. If she said no, I just said okay. I started with her around 18 months. Around 2 years I got her some panties and showed her they were there and even let her try them on. But she still wasn't completely ready. It takes a while for kids to learn to control thier bladder. To make a long story short, my daughter was finally completely trained about 8 weeks prior to her 3rd birthday. She did it on her own. She just decided one day that she wanted to wear her panties and that was it. I feel like since I didn't push the issue, it happened in her own time. We never had any struggles over it. Just let her take the lead on this.
Good messages - if your daughter does wake up dry, great start trying. Don't react no matter her behavior. Ignore tha resistance. If she is resisting, she doesn't want to and then you get into a battle of wills and there is no good resolution, even if you get what you want. Instead, if she is dry after naps, point out the things she wants - for example, if she wants a barbie princess bed set, she can have it when she uses the potty because it is too pretty to get wet etc. Reward every positive statement, thought, behavoir...catch her being good. If she looks at the potty..over do your acadamy award acting with enthusiasm. Let her go with you/watch you as much as she wants, can. Get the silly baby potty, tell her all her friends, relatives etc use the potty. If she wants to do certain things, she can, when she uses the potty. Reward, no punishment. If she is not ready, don't fret. They almost all are potty trained by the time kindergarten starts! Remember this though, the part of the brain that controls bladders during the night, that sends the stimulus to the brain to get up and go to the bathroom doesn't finish developing until children are about 12. So, if she is wet at night/nap time, and is a deep sleeper, obviously, she will be ready to use the potty and not a pull up when she is 4! Or earlier! The more you react strongly to her not wanting to do this, the more you are developing a pattern of behavior that she gets to see you explode which she finds very entertaining and so, for entertainment purposes when she is older, she will know how to push every button you have. Ignore her silliness, make her clean up the messes she makes, and let nature take her time. No pants/pull ups/etc during a warm weekend with a back yard and access to a toilet is a good incentive. What ever you do, you can only control how you behave, not what your daughter finds exceptionally entertaining!
I potty trained 2 boys @ 24 months, so I don't agree w/ the old "Girls are easier than boys". I think it comes down to your ability to set aside 3 - 5 days and that is your job - potty training. We didn't go anywhere so we could concentrate on the task. Summertime is easier. I used the backyard technique w/ lots of water/juice etc... I used a timer - set for 5 minute intervals & increased the time inbetween as we progressed thru the day. Don't use pull ups for training - Use Big Girl pants. Let her choose them and explain diapers are for baby girls - point out newborns and how big she is now! I also recommend books and videos during this time. REally get into it and your child will follow your lead in being enthusiastic and keeping it FUN! Accidents happen, but make sure you get your little one to help clean up too! This worked for me, you will find what works for you and yours. Best of luck and don't give up!
When you find out, please tell me!!! Mine is 2.5 years old... AND changes her own stinkin' diaper! I've tried EVERY THING! On the week-ends.. I put panties on her, give her juice, water, popsicles, watermelon (anything with water in it)...sit her on the potty every hour.. sing songs, offer prizes etc. etc. etc... and she will actually HOLD it all day long. Then I put her in a pull up to go to sleep and before she is even in bed she wets it! Then wakes up DRY! Put her on the potty first thing in the morning and she just smiles, laughs and says... 'no mommy.. I not pee pee in the potty'!!! arrrggghhh.... and the more frustrated I am the funnier she thinks it is!
Hey M., i have a 5 year old and it was hard to train him at first, but i started rewarding him ( not anything drastic), i used stickers. In the bathroom, i put a fun poster on the wall, and i told him everytime that he went to the potty, he could pick a sticker. He seemed like he had to have those stickers, but i didn't give in, i only gave him stickers for the bathroom. Before we knew it the poster was full and he was in the habit of going to the bathroom without incintive. That worked really well. The only hard part is not giving stickers for no reason, that will defeat the whole purpose. Also i found one of those little toilet seats at wal mart that fit on top of the big toilet. It makes them feel like a big person. Good Luck. P.S. Be patient, it will take lots of time and patience.
I HAVE A TWO YEAR OLD SON WHO I AM TRYING TO POTTY TRAIN MYSELF, BUT THIS MAY HELP U. THEY SAY GIRLS ARE EASIER THAN BOYS.. I WENT AHEAD AND BOUGHT MY SON UNDERWEAR AND TOLD HIM HE COULD WEAR HIS "BIG BOY UNDERWEAR" AS LONG AS HE WOULD TELL ME HE HAD TO GO POTTY AND OF COURSE I WOULD GIVE HIM SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR DOING A GOOD JOB!!
A good way to know if your baby is getting ready is if she wakes up from naps with a dry diaper.
My grandson is two & we knew when he was ready because my daughter-in-law read a book that said childend are ready when they do not have any accidents at night if they wake-up dry then you know they are ready and sure enough my grandson wasn't peeing at night so we got him some underware and in 3 day he was fully potty train you dont want to leave your home give them time to get use to the potty like where it is remember after they eat wait about 10 min and after their drinks no drinks after 6:pm good luck keep in touch J.
