I have read every thing I can get my hands on about potty training and I know the one constant advise is don't push they will do it when they are ready. I am at the point where I am wondering if I am dropping the ball. When she wakes up in the morning she is dry but asking her to go potty right away starts a tantrum. So I have begun giving her breakfast then asking her to go even then she is still dry. Sometimes she'll go and sometimes she'll refuse. When she goes we reward her with lots of praise, and we alternate sometimes stickers sometimes gummy worms. You can tell she is proud when she goes. So when she refuses even though I know she has to go. Do I push or leave her alone. Also she has never pooped on the potty she refuses. We talk about how she can wear "big girl panties" if she does and she is very excited about that she carries them around the house and tells everyone about them, but still no interest in pooping. She stays dry all day at daycare but she has most of her accidents at home in the morning. recently I have tried instead of asking her do you want to go potty I say do you want to use the little potty or the big potty that seems to work a little better. So my main to issues is how to deal with morning potty tine and pooping?
Why are you asking her if she has to go, she has control over you when you do that. I didn't ask mine, if they were dry, I put them on the potty chair and they went.
Of course, now since you aske her if she has to go, I don't know how she would respond to you just putting on the potty and waiting for her to go. She probably won't want to give up that control. Kids are pretty smart.
Good Luck
Hi H.,
We've had a tough time with our daughter too. She is almost 2 1/2. She would "pee pee" in the potty regularly at about 20 months but then right before her second birthday she began refusing to sit on the potty all together. We are now making some progress agian. We have 2 different potty chairs so she can choose which to sit on but not if. We tried pull ups but she thinks they are diapers so when at home we go without any pants and I tell her to go try every 60 - 90 minutes and she also always goes to the potty when she needs, only a couple accidents on the way to the bathroom. She isn't comfortable pooping in the potty yet, but will ask for a diaper if she needs to go and then we empty it into the toliet so she can flush... hopefully this will work... Good Luck.
About me: I am a 31 yr old stay at home mom and watch a couple other children a few days a week.
Hi H.. This is a hard issue. My first son was potty trained at 18months and my 2nd son was potty trained at 2 1/2 yrs old. What really seemed to help with my second son was telling him that if he wanted to go to preschool he had to wear big boys and not go potty in them. I told him if he could go potty in the big boy chair for 3 weeks then we would get him signed up for preschool. Sure enough the 3 weeks went by and then I took him to get signed up for preschool. He has never had an accident since. It was a lot of work. I took 2 weeks off from work just so I could help him focus. What helped us with the morning potty issue was.... I have both my kids in a pattern. When they get up, I start breakfast, the kids go potty, get dressed and then its time for them to eat. I do not let them come to the table until after they have done their bathroom duties. It sure helped us avoid any morning tantrums. Good luck!
What about recruiting the day care staff to help? My son was resistant to letting go of his pull ups until he heard me talking to his teacher about the issue and he over heard the teacher say something like "all the other boys are out of their pull ups by now". That was all he needed. My daughter...same thing....she did it for the freakin' babysitter. :) Our kids are tired of hearing us all day long, but a carefully choosen outsider who means alot to your child might help lower the resistance. Good luck!
Hi,H.! This is such a tough subject, and all kids potty train differently. In the AM I would suggest getting her into the routine of going potty 1st thing. Don't ask her if she wants to, just cheerfully tell her it's time to use the potty. :) If this doesn't work give her a choice: would you like to go potty now or after you eat breakfast? Giving choices works really well for a lot of kiddos. We also used books in the bathroom, and M&M's when he used the potty (more for BMs).
As for the rest of the day--I used to agree w/making them sit every hour...until I tried to PT my oldest. This may work for you so it's worth trying, but it did not work at all for him! It actually stressed us both out, and was more like training myself. Also, he was really excited about his big boy undies and the potty ring he'd picked out...but that didn't really end up helping at all. In the end it was all about him.
Like someone else said, one day he just up and decided he wanted to use the potty! He had 1 accident that day, and was great from there out. I couldn't believe it was that easy, but once I waited for him to be ready on his own (instead of pushing my pt agenda :) ) it really was THAT easy. As for the BM in the potty, some kids just take more time in that area. You'll just need to be patient.
Good luck!!
For what it's worth, my pediatrician told me (years ago) a child will potty train themselves by the time they are four if just left alone. Don't know about you, but I remember how many things I used to try to get my kids to do, just because I was embarrassed if they didn't. Oftentime we put our children (and ourselves) through unnecessary anguish, because of what "our friends" will think.
You're ok. Hailey's ok.
Mom of five adult children (all potty trained!!)
Do you let your daughter see you use the potty (toilet)? The disadvantage of the first child is not having siblings to emulate. She needs friends who poop and pee too.
Start taking her into the bathroom with you when YOU pee or poop. Then get to the library and check out:
Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi and Amanda Mayer Stinchecum
Once Upon a Potty by Alona Frankel
Once she has plenty of people around her peeing and pooping, she'll join the group.
My daughter didn't really get into potty training until she turned 3. A week after her b-day i took away all her diapers ( she gets a pull-up at night) and made her wear panties...and sit on the potty. In the mornings i have her sit on the potty and let out her "good moning pee", then she gets to pick out her panites for the day. IT took us about 2 months of accidents and me scrubbing carpets, but finally she caught on herself and started to ask to use the "big potty". THe poop thing followed quickly. I did try potty training when she was 2, but she wasn't ready.
I'm not sure if it will make a difference in your situation or not, but both of my children played around with it until they had a reason to work at it. My daughter's goal was that she wanted to move up to the big kid room at day care and she had to be fully potty-trained to do it. My son wanted to go to big boy school (pre-school) and had to be potty-trained for that. They both took their time with it but, within about a month of them really understanding what they needed to do to get what they wanted, they were both potty-trained. I do have to say, they were both around 3ish when they put they were fully potty-trained.
I still have trouble with getting my 3 year old daughter to pee in the morning. We have the little potty downstairs (our bathroom is upstairs), and I ask her every morning, "do you want to have your morning time pee?" and almost every morning she says NO. So now I say "When you are ready for your morning time pee, your potty is over there". That works better for her. (Everything needs to be "her" idea.....)
Good Luck!
I have a 3 1/2 year old daughter who sounds like she was similar in her approach to going potty. I tried every trick in the book with minimal success. Finally, when she seemed ready, she started to show more interest and effort. I know it's frustrating from your end, but keep in mind that she will do it!
its a big deal to a kid to have to take time out of playing or whatever to sit on the potty..
awesome that you have noticed that she is dry... and for having her try.
giving her a choice that has the same result is good (big potty or little potty) that gives her some control over the situation. also you could offer her books that maybe she only gets when shes trying to potty. (this book or that book)
good luck! this is the hardest thing about parenting. my son is 19 months and im just blow away by how much time it actually takes...
The best advice I got from other seasoned moms was, when they are ready they will potty train in a day. If you try to push it, you will frustrate yourself and them. I took it to heart with my first child, even though my husband wanted to push the issue. It happened just like my friends all said it would. My son did it all in a day when he was just a little over three years old. He had started using the potty occasionally, but wouldn't go consistently. When I noticed a little more consistence, we took him out, so he could choose his own big boy undies and then next day, it all happened. I would say, back off. My second child was born in January of 2006 and there is no way that he is ready for potty training.
That is my advice. They say that is the last thing children can control and generally they will win, so ease up on her and on yourself.
T.
She's running you in circles and you need to put your foot down! Put her in big girl undies, get the daycare to do the same. Take (don't ask) TAKE her ot the potty every hour. If she can remain dry all day, she can be potty trained. Don't give her a choice. If you listen at her daycare, they don't ask if she wants lunch, or if she wants to nap, or if she wants to potty. They will say 'Hailey, time for lunch' or 'HAiley, its potty time'. They don't give her an out, they just tell her its time nad do it.
Set a timer for ever 45mins or hour. When it goes off, its potty time. Put up a sticker chart and when she goes she can put up a sticker, and buy those big (like doctors office size) stickers for poops. Its ok to 'bribe' her right now, she won't need a sticker or M&M to use the toilet forever.
She's ready, you need to just give it a push. I think alot of parents sit around and wait for thier child to do it on thier own, but what do your kids learn without guidance and support? Not much.... so you need to help her. Be her guidance, teach her what to do, and be firm. You don't have ot push, but you do have to let her know that this is how its going to be, she will use the potty.
