Potty training woes

Amy - posted on 01/14/2010

My son is 3 and refuses a diaper but needs reminding most of the time and incentive or else he will put off going to the potty until it is too late. An Aunt suggested I offer him an m&m as a reward every time he went successfully and it has worked (I use semi sweet chocolate chips but anything would work as long as it is something they really want). I dont have to make him sit on the potty when I offer him a treat as a reward, he will do it by himself, though I dont feel very good about giving him candy. We have been doing this for about 2 months and he is using the potty nearly every time, and has begun telling me when he needs to go. Also, sometimes I have to read to him to get him to stay on the potty. It helps him stay still long enough to do his business. Maybe soon we will wean him off the candy.

Claudine Jo - posted on 01/12/2010

I'm still potty training my 2 1/2 yr. old child and I think the key really is readiness. I started potty training when Brandon turned 2, and it was very challenging then because he wasn't ready. Everyone was asking me if he's asking to go the bathroom yet and he wasn't. I think that's one of the signs to tell if they're ready. So I just put his potty in the living room and put big boy underwear on him during his waking hours. and kinda watch for signs that he wants to pee since he never tells me. I will gently coax him to use his potty, sometimes he'll go voluntarily, sometimes he'll fight me. I also used rewards for a while but mainly just encouraged him with words and praise when he pees in his potty. I started not stressing about it that much and just been consistent about not putting diapers on during waking hours and just underwear when he's home. I recently started letting him pee in the regular toilet (about a month now) and he seem to prefer it over his potty. And just about 3 days ago, he actually started to tell me he needs to pee. I never thought I'll hear him say it! So, i think potty training is different for everyone, just watch out for the signs of readiness. And the thing about them staying dry longer is a definite sign of readiness. 6 mos. ago is a total difference from today. Lately, he's been staying dry longer during his nap time, so he's definitely learning how to control peeing better. NOw, i'm still potty-training as I've said, the nap time and night-time peeing is my next challenge, he still wears pull-ups during his sleeping hours. The pooping is also a diff. story, this is still a challenge right now, he won't tell me he has to poop, most of the time it's already too late :( Just be patient and be consistent and ask her if she wants to pee and just watch for the signs, coz they will say they don't need to even if they obviously look like they need to. I read somewhere about timing them and taking them to the potty every hour by the hour, i tried that and that was the most stressful thing ever. Very unrealistic i think. I just kinda watched him and see if he's squirming and doing the pee-pee dance and that's my cue. Good luck!

Jessica - posted on 01/12/2010

Try using big girl undies and let her pee/poop her undies. But in all honesty she will go when she's ready. I knew my son was ready when he knew where he was supposed to go potty after he peed his pants. I then put him in big boy undies and let him pee/poop his pants and let me tell you it only took 2 weeks and he was potty trained during the day. We're still working on night time potty training but big boy undies worked for him.

Brittany - posted on 01/12/2010

my cousin did this.... she got some poster board and went to walmart and picked out some stickers hers just happened to be frogs... everytime her son peed in the potty she let him pick out a sticker and put it on the poster and wrote the date next to it... this worked really well for her... maybe you should try it!

Anna - posted on 01/12/2010

I took my daughter to the potty every half hour or so and put her on the potty. If she went wonderful and got plenty of praise, if not I told her it was ok and we'd try again later. She eventually understood the concept of going to the potty when she had to go that's what the potty was for.

Jane - posted on 01/12/2010

do you give her a reward? candy or stickers? some incentive can help. it all depends what's going to work for her, a book at the end of the week. you really have to keep at it w/mentioning it, "grandma potties, she doesn't use diapers anymore." mention her cousins or friends who are young that are potty trained. it's tricky, you don't want to pressure them but you need to be consistent about it.

Pranati - posted on 01/12/2010

I did get big girl panties for her, and she is happy to wear them. But she doesnt let me know when she has to go or use the potty herself. She wets her clothes, and asks me to change them. I got her an Elmo potty time DVD too. SHe enjoys watching it, but still doesnt want to use the potty! I dont know what to do.

Jane - posted on 01/12/2010

we found a great book/dvd. "the potty book for girls" that's what got our daughter interested. i would read her the book at night and then watch the video in the morning, just in passing, not making a big deal of it. she started making references to it and then a few months later we've started. she sings the song now when we empty her potty into the toilet. make it fun and praise her when she get interested. set aside the same time every day, put it into your routine.

Anna - posted on 01/11/2010

Don't push her, start slow and gradually work into it. I started my daughter by taking her shopping with me and looking at big girl panties. She wanted them so badly cause of tinkerbell and minnie mouse that after a few times of her going we wnet and bought her a package as a reward. It encouraged her to to go more. We still have days where if I'm busy with the other children or if she's really into playing and forgets to go and has accidents. Some days she gets frustrated and wants to be in pull ups casue the accidents frustrate her. I just go with the flow. Let her wherte pullups for a little bit and than encourage her to try again.