Potty Training! - Stringer,MS

When my daughter started, she was scared too. But when they introduced it at school, I tried to do the same thing they were doing at school at home. I put a little basket of short books in the bathroom and we would read. Also, when she saw the kids at school potty, she wanted to do it too. Talk to her teacher and get suggestions. Katie's teachers were a huge help to me.

Don't rush it!!! She will let you know when she is ready. The more you push her the worse off you will be.

Hey J.,

We started at 14 months introducing the potty. We would just take our little one with us when we needed to potty and would sit her on her potty with the lid closed and while she was fully clothed. We kept the process gradual and by 18 months we would still take her with us but now she was sitting on the potty not the lid and undiapered. She did make potty a few times.. this was random and not scheduled and the time on her potty was short. Then we did the whole flush and say goodbye, wash hands with soap on tops bottoms and thumbs, and dry on the towel.
She is almost 2 and has the rest of the routine down pat. We have never forced the potty issue and we ask her if she needs to potty. Sometimes she says yes and then once on she wants off... so we do as she wants. We also check her diaper every morning immediately after waking... as by 2 your child is most likely having a dry diaper overnight and will urinate shortly after waking. And every morning the first thing we do is sit her on the potty. Initially it was only when she had a dry diaper but after 3 months of this we do it every day. And she almost always pees in the potty. As a reward she gets a sticker on her calendar for a visual and one for her to wear and play with. I picked the calendar up at the dollar store for a dollar and the stickers from the party store for cheap too. She only gets the stickers when she makes potty. And sometimes it is alot of work getting her undressed, sitting, nothing happens and then washing up.... but we never make it a big deal. She is learning to feel her bladder filling up and bowel movements coming on and we want her to continue to tell us. We change diapers all day too. But she has continued to improve and actually likes to go to the bathroom as she really enjoys the handwashing part. What ever you do... never force them to sit there until they go. You can not control a child's bodily functions and you will teach them to unintentionally regress by forcing the issue. So get some stickers of things she likes, a small calendar and attempt the potty every morning. The first time give her a sticker for just sitting on the potty.. and then after that only when she makes you potty. It is a low cost incentive that will reward you too.
Best Wishes
-MB

My son was potty trained thanks to daycare, he saw the other bigger/older boys doing it and wanted to be a big boy himself. 1 idea for girls is after you start to have some success, but the frilliest panties you can find and when she wears them, talk to her about not messing up her pretty big girl panties. My son was stubborn at home, I tried where I took him every 20-30 minutes from the time he woke up til the time he went down for nap or bedtime, daycare was the biggest help with my son b/c with me he wanted to be a baby and at daycare he wanted to be a big boy because they got to do more fun things than the toddler room.

If she's scared of it, I would want to do it rather than have daycare staff do it. Also, show her by example. Show her by doing it yourself - for real, don't just sit on it - and also have her sit on your lap.

If she is scared of it, I would suggest you just take her to the potty with you when you have to go. Talk to her about the potty & the process (use the potty, wipe, flush, wash your hands). Have her potty next to the big potty or in front of it. Invite her to sit on her potty just like mommy, but don't push too hard.

Daycare and seeing the other kids go will be a big help. Right now my daughter (will be 3 in Feb) can stay dry in her panties all day at daycare because she listens to the caregivers and goes when the other kids go. We are still working on her at home... she always refuses to go!

Just try to get her into the routine of when everybody normally goes to the potty. First thing in the morning, after eating, before bed, etc.

Good luck!! We sure need some with our stubborn daughter! haha

I just introduce the potty to my daughter by sitting it in my living room and letting her sit on it with her clothes on, then once she was more comfortable I moved it to the bathroom and encouraged her to use the potty. One thing I did with my son was I got a bubble gum machine and filled it witht mm's and everytime he went potty, he got a penny to get mm's out with. It worked great.
Having worked in a daycare for several years, my experience has been that if the child sees other children going potty, they start to feel less scared and will try.

The most important factor of successful potty training is: the CHILD'S readiness. Do not introduce potty-training unless she is showing signs of readiness: initiating sitting on the potty herself, pulling her pants up and down, taking off her diaper, telling you she has to go potty. The indication that a child is ready to potty train is not given by a number (for example, how old the child is) but by her readiness. When you are the one ready, and the child is not, it will never be successful. Hope this helps. M.

If she is scared of the potty, I would definitely wait. You could have her come in the bathroom with you and let her see that there is nothing to be afraid of, but it mostly boils down to waiting until she is ready.

A. :)

You could read what John Rosemond has to say about potty training in "Making the 'Terrible' Twos Terrific!" He gives ways to know when your child is ready, and also recommends keeping things really low-key: when she's ready to be potty trained (a "big girl"), then she'll do so. Forcing the issue for adults' sakes makes it a protracted battle. I've found his advice very helpful in other areas, though my son is not yet old enough to go potty. But he does see us use the toilet and we say what we're doing and at 17 months he helps us flush the toilet.

J.,

I have an almost two year old son, who will also be moving into the 2 year old class at daycare next week. I have decided to not start p[otty training at home until the weekend before they start him at school. I've talked to his teachers and this is what they have suggested. I figure once Cy gets into the class and sees everyone else going to the potty and all, he will want to do it too. (Hopefully, of course). I'm not making a big deal out of it. The only type of training we have done so far is to help him differentiate between "wet" and "poo-poo". I figured it was useless to try to train him at home if daycare wasn't doing it too. So....here we go. Good luck to you.

ETA: I bought the Elmo Potty Training DVD yesterday and will probably introduce that soon too.

I adopted a daughter at 48 and that was very different from potty training two boys. She was completely potty trained at 24 months,day and bedtime. I did not even attempt it until she woke up several mornings with a dry diaper. Then I would take her straight to the girls room. She would never sit on a child potty chair. She was HORRIFIED of it. Never figured that one out. She was so tiny she had to actually stand backwards at the large toilet, and lift herself onto it. I thought she was going to fall in because she was a premature baby and was so tiny,but she never did. She was just ready to get out of diapers. She never even had an accident in her panties.

Remember, all kids are different and do things at different ages and levels.

Good Luck
S. Miller

You'll need to ask the daycare providers exactly how they "introduce" the potty. Is it just that pottys are in the room and children are encouraged to begin using them? Or is it that the teachers in the room are actually going to spend time training the child?

Children are really only "ready" when they want to be. That doesn't mean you can't start discussing the topic with your daughter...but if you push it, she might get stubborn and refuse to do anything, or she might revert back to old ways down the line. When she's ready to use the potty, she'll let you know. On average, girls tend to be potty trained around 2.5 years, and boys around 3.5 years.

I used to work in a daycare and worked in the transition room (2-3 years). We never forced potty training. We had toilets in the room, and it was more with the child began to be interested in them that we would start asking if he/she needed to use the potty. The only major requirement is that your daughter will need to be potty trained before she moves on to the next room, typically the preschool room.

But keep in mind that observation is key here: she may suddenly become really interested in potty training because her friends from daycare are doing it, one of her friends moves up to the next room because of being potty trained, or because she suddenly understands what you are doing.

Good luck!

don't push it, and it will happen easily, in about a year. an i personally wouldn't let someone else potty train my child. who knows what their methods are??

Potty training is one area where day care can actually be a big help. I'm sure they won't pressure your daughter. (expect the first week or two in the new room to be a little rough as she adjusts to new teachers, friends, and routing.) BUT they likely have time every couple hours when they take all the kids to the potty to at least try. Her being able to watch all the other kids have a turn on the potty and being praised and cheered for trying/going will be a great teaching tool. Seeing that all kids use the potty will most likely have her wanting to mimic them very soon.

Now whether she is ready and able to hold her urine and go at the right time - that is a totally separate issue. But the first step is definately interest in the potty and willingness to try. Day care can help with that.

I don't feel it is to early.My grandson is 1 years old and he has being using the potty.My sister keeps him during the day,and she also have about10 more that she keeps.So when the older boys goes to the bathroom they take him with them and sits him on the potty.
I also have been teaching Pre-K for 21 years and I feel that maybe the daycare could help you out.I have children that are 3 to 5 years old and some that wasn,t potty train.I worked with them and now I only have 1 that I have to continue to work with.
Since He won,t let me no,I take him about every 30 minutes to the bathroom.So talk with the daycare to see if they could work with you in getting her potty train.

We have a daughter that turned two dec. 28th and we started her potty training about three months ago. She is a very independant girl. I think you would be fine to start the potty training now and it could not hurt to let the daycare help with it. The more she uses it the more she'll understand what its for. Hope this helps, God bless and good luck.

There are lots of web sites out there you can go to to find out the signs she's ready. At 2 yr's old she might start showing some interest soon. Especially if she is in a room with kids going and getting lots of praise for going.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_potty-training-readiness-chec...

http://www.parentingtoddlers.com/pottytraining.html

http://www.webehave.com/potty-training-readiness.htm

I think I'll play devils advocate. Child Care Workers have tons of experience with potty training kids. Think about it, 2 teachers, 8 kids each, and how many times a day do kids go to the potty? I bet they have had kids terrified of going to the potty. Usually the toilets are miniature size for the little ones, the teachers have patience and time to wait on the kids, and their job is to do this all day long, day after day, after day.

Plan to take some time on Monday and talk to the teachers, find out what their plan is, they may not even plan on going right into potty training. They will, most likely, give her a chance to adjust to the room before they start asking her if she wants to go.

My son is 2 and a half and he has JUST started getting interested in the potty. You just have to let them show you when they are ready. You can always encourage her, but if she's scared of it, it will do more harm than good. When she gets to daycare and sees the others going potty she will more than likely start doing it too. Don't worry It will come.