I am having trouble with potty training anyone have any suggestions?

Kira - posted on 10/03/2011

The best investment I made when training my daughter were vinyl pants, the ones that you would use to cover cloth diapers. She hated being wet, so I would put her in regular underwear, even at night, and put a pair of those over her underwear. she could feel the moisture this way, if she had an accident, but her clothes, bedding etc, would not be soiled. I had already exhausted everything else when I tried this, and it seemed to be the magic fix. She was staying mostly dry within a week or two, and trained in a month.

Maminya - posted on 10/02/2011

u can try to tell this to her, "if u dont wanna pee now, i wont help you when u must pee." n with this training, dont use any kind of diapers again coz it wont help her to understand why she must go to the toilet to pee n pup.. coz it's proved to all of my 2 years students at school.. u may try it..

Kirsty - posted on 09/25/2011

Wow! this is exactly like my daughter was a year ago guess what we did? Put her on the toilet one afternoon every 30 minutes, she cottoned on straight away. Some kids don't like pottys esp if they see you on the toilet they cnt work out y they have a potty. Hope that works :)

Rachel - posted on 12/27/2008

There has been an awful lot of advice posted already but my story is that I began training my son at 18 months. I have a great picture of him standing at the bjorn potty at 21 months with his hand on the wall infront of him, like his daddy! Hilarious.



I put the potty in the bathroom and started putting his dirty diapers in there and telling him about it. When I used the toilet I talked about it.



Then I invited him to use it if I saw that he was ready to eliminate. He became diaper free during the day with very few mishaps, When he did we talked about "that's what happens. It's uncomfortable when you wet your plants." and "You tell mommy when you need to potty and I can help you get there."



When we where somewhere new or when someone came over I always pointed out the location of the bathroom.



We let him wet at night and he was sick of us turning on the light, changing his jammies and bedding in the middle of the night. Then we would talk about it in the morning ."Wow, wasn't that hard to deal with having your sleep disturbed? I think you can wake up and go to the potty if you need to. Ask you body to wake you up. That is what I do."



I hope this helps. He was done wetting the bed at 2 yrs and 4 months. He used the little potty a few more months and we repeated the cycle of showing how to put the waste in the toilet. By then we talked about how big boys used the toilet.



I told him I was going to take the potty chair away for a week before I did and he protested only once. Good luck!

TRACY - posted on 12/27/2008

girls are so much easier try leaving panties on throughout the day and keep asking her every hour if she needs to use the bathroom girls are fast learner she'll catch on.//

Sarah - posted on 12/27/2008

Since you already received so much advice covering just about every method I can think of (we went with the total removal of diapers at 25 months old and straight to underwear) I will just add that instead of a food reward we used tattoos. My daughter got a tattoo on her hand whenever she went pee (they come off pretty fast so we didn't end up with too many at once) but did have to succumb to a cookie for poop because it terrified her at the beginning!

Jenny - posted on 12/27/2008

I think the thing that worked best for me was...stay home for a couple of days. Take away the diaper during the day and put her in panties. They don't like the wet feeling that the panties will give her. Diapers are made to absorb the wetness and they really don't feel the cold, wet sticky feeling.

User - posted on 12/27/2008

just keep putting them on the potty, and don't let them flush unless they pee. The kiddoes like to flush the toilet, so it will be a good reward, and save on water. Make sure they wash their hands either way. They will get the hang of it.

Wendy - posted on 12/27/2008

Two is definitely not too young. If she's keen to sit on the potty that's great. i used to read stories to my daughter to get her to sit on the potty for longer- something will eventually happen and that's when you can lavish her with praise and she will quickly get the idea. Summer time is best- my kids had a go at the potty from 18 months old and showed some success this early. if it's summer, let them run around without pants outside and have the potty handy- when you see the signs of them wanting to go to the toilet then just put the potty underneath so they know what the goal is. Also if there are older children, (not too old obviously!) you could get them to demonstrate the use of the potty. My three year old did this for me when my son was learning to use the potty, and he wanted to do whatever his big sister could do. Good luck!

Jackie - posted on 12/27/2008

My Daughter was also VERY STUBBORN!!! We tried everything with her! My son my literaly over night and my daughter-NO! We went and bought her the "fancy" panties, and told her she could not pee or poop in them. That worked for about a day, then she didn't care! Both my kids were 29 months and then they were trained. We also set up the little potty in the bathroom and I made a huge deal out of it, when I had to go, and then she would eventually go. It was quite a party! Good Luck! it is not easy, but it will happen it takes patients! (I had none until I trained our daughter)

Lita - posted on 12/27/2008

If you think it is right then do it. Keep trying, she will get it. As one other person said, Training pants the toweling ones. If they wet them keep them on for around 5 minutes with the pee then rince them out and let them dry. If they do it again wet the dry pants and let them feel the wetness. It does work as my 4 yr old would not sit on the potty as he was to active.

I made him wear wet pants and he soon did catch on. You may have to take potty with you to shopping so she can go there and then. Some ppl look at you funny but they seem to forget that, that was once them or their mum. IU also found that i used to out in my sons pant when we went shopping a lady tenna pad the one that hold hardly anything, just so I could keep a check pon the amount of the accident on the floor. This may help you it may not.



I have started my 1 yr old girl on getting her to sit on the potty and rewarding that fact as she is too young to get the whole idea. It does help when you make the whole potty experience a happy time. That is what i am doing know with her, showing her that it is ok and that she gets big hugs and kisses for sitting on it. Once we was lucky enough to get a wee but the reward did not change she still got her big hug and kisses.



I hope that you little girl warms to the potty. Good luck.

Trisha - posted on 12/27/2008

This is what I learned. It's going to be a mess but I stuck my boy in underwear and within a couple of days he just starting using the toilet instead of having being wet and poopy in the inderwear.....Ask them constantly if they have to pee or potty! Hope this helps!!!!

Casey - posted on 12/27/2008

be consistent, wear pants that can be taken down easily; practice- have her go potty every hour at first. We had a potty party with cake and a present to get her motivated. We also did a "potty dance and song" every time she went. we watched videos, read books... we did the whole nine yards!

Amy - posted on 12/25/2008

I have a little girl that was difficult to potty train as well. I trained her at 2, she is now 7. What I did with her is I came up with the idea of using a simple maze of her favorite character, (at the time it was Dora) along with stickers.



What I did was tape the maze behind her potty seat, every time that she went potty she got to put up a sticker to help Dora get through the maze. When Dora made it to the end of the maze, she was greatly rewarded. (she wanted to see Dora-Live!..so her and I went on a special mommy & me lunch date and to the show)



Just an idea...below are links for some simple mazes...

Merry Christmas! Amy L.



* http://www.nickjr.com/printables/all-sho...

* http://familyfun.go.com/printables/games...

* http://familyfun.go.com/printables/games...

* http://www.free-coloring-pages.com/maze....

User - posted on 12/24/2008

hi im a mum of one girl i pottyed trained her in the summer best time. well she used to hate the potty so i used the toilet n it help so much cause she seen me doin it. yerh u have acidents it takes awhile and i was dreadin it but my little girl is dry durin the day. she has to learn when she wants to go but i take my littlen to toilet b4 we go out n when we leave. cause they cnt hold it lol. good luck there easyier then boys

Sandi - posted on 12/24/2008

we didn't use nappies or pull ups during the day when we started potty training Jakk. we put him into underpants and coped with the wet patches for a little while. we had him trained within 2 weeks too, much faster than our others

Lucy - posted on 12/24/2008

Me too am thinking of potty training my daughter, any tips would be most helpful

Catherine - posted on 12/24/2008

Try using cloth diapers and plastic cover pants, I've always use these with my girls and they've been potty trained before 18 months.

Leslie - posted on 12/24/2008

Don't put diapers on except for naps/bedtime. If you are constantly putting the diapers on throughout the day it will confuse your daughter and she might start holding it until the diaper is on. I would skip the pull ups too, I had no luck. I bought a ton of underwear at Wal-Mart and just let my girls get the hang of it. The underwear helps because then they can feel what it's like to really be wet. My oldest (she's now almost 5) was potty trained fully in a month. My younger daughter (is 2 1/2) and was potty trained before her 2nd bday. She still wears diapers at night, but no longer needs them for naps. It took her a little longer to get used to pooping in the potty (about a month after turning 2), but eventually she got the hang of it. Oxy Clean works wonders on stains :-) Hope this helps!

Leanne - posted on 12/24/2008

whew, i feel for you-- potty training was the single hardest thing i have ever done!!! the only thing i can say for sure is that when they understand [truly understand] what they're supposed to do, it's like flipping a switch. they just "get it" from that point on.

we used a trip to the circles [target] as an incentive for a day of no accidents and then again for poopies in the potty. in a two week period, we must've gone to target 10 times!!

keep trying, she'll get it eventually. sounds like she's close...

Rebecca - posted on 12/24/2008

I have an older son who has special needs. It is not uncommon for children with Fragile X Syndrome to potty train at 7 or 8 years old. He would not sit down to have a bowel movement at all. He was so scared! His teacher had an idea that she tired a couple of times, but didn't keep with it, so I tried. I brought a portable DVD player in the bathroom. I made sure to choose a movie that wouldn't get him too excited. Someone had mentioned Elmo's Potty Time and that is a great movie! It worked! It took the stress and anxiety of sitting on the toilet to have a bowel movement. Eventually and slowly, we took it out. We never let him sit more than 15 minutes at a time. Good Luck!

Rebecca - posted on 12/24/2008

Thankfully my girl was my easiest, but I did this for her...First, I made sure to have enough of her favorite drink. If she has a full bladder, she is more likely to realize she needs to go. Then, I set the timer on the microwave for 15 minutes. If she wet before the timer went off, I set it for less time. We made a big deal about the timer going off and running to the bathroom. We did the dance, rewards, etc when she was successful. You have to be willing to dedicate the weekend or what ever days you want to hit it full force, at the house and not go running errands/shopping! Make it a stay at home day. Another trick was letting her pick out her favorite panites and telling her that Dora didn't like pee or poop on her. I would say, Don't pee pee on Dora. I have a couple more ideas...

User - posted on 12/24/2008

I started my oldest son with the training process at 2 and tried EVERYTHING (I am not kidding-I really thing we tried every strategy out there). One of my friends at work finally sat me down and told me that I was simply trying too hard and that to an extent, they will do it when they are ready. Sure enough, the minute I relaxed and mellowed out a bit, he became a pro at it. Go figure. I guess my point is, you have to find what works best for you and causes you the least amount of stress. You will find a gazillion experts out there all with different strategies and opinions but really, keep in mind they won't always be 2 so enjoy that and the rest will work it self out. Good luck!

Kate - posted on 12/24/2008

just keep trying and showing her the potty and dont get angry if she does it in her knickers as long as there is a potty aroud shell soon get used to it. my daughter was bout two when she was trained during the day. after bout two weeks of wetting herself one day she was just on the potty and that was it and she also loved stickers after each wee and 5 after a poo. and she was done at nite by two and a half

Sharone - posted on 12/24/2008

Hi Ann-Marie! Well, what I did with my 2 year old son is that i bought him some training pants, the Gerber kind that are kids underpants, but thicker. What we did was once we thought Alex was old enough to understand the potty, we put him in the training pants, but that was it, no diapers, no pull-ups, and you have to be committed to it, no going back and fourth or else that would confuse him. But we did put him in his regular diapers during nap times and bedtime until he was able to hold it full time. As soon as he woke up from his nap and/or bedtime, we put him back into his pants. We gave Alex lots of juice throughout the day and put him on the potty every 15 minutes, and when he went potty we gave him one M&M, and two for going poop. He learned real quick to use the potty when he had an accident in his training pants, he didnt like the feel of the pee going down his leg, I know sounds gross, but it worked! We still put him in diapers at daycare during the day because daycare didnt accept training pants or pullups, they had to be trained, so as soon as we brought him home, we took him to the potty then put him right into his training pants until it was bedtime. We kept that same routine and he was trained within a couple of weeks. Good luck to you, and I hope you find this useful! :-)

Cristina - posted on 12/22/2008

Hi Ann-Marie and Michele.. I too am a mother of two kids and i found it more dificult to potty train my son Juliano than my daughter Vanessa...he was more laid back and vanessa didn't want the diapper anymore..u need to be real patient..and they will tell u that they no longer need a diapper..my son use to wet his bed until he was 3 and never again...my daughter wet the bed once and she is 4yrs old ans get's up in the middle of the nite ...not all kids do that at they're age....

Candace - posted on 12/22/2008

I put underwear on both of my daughters and skipped the diapers/pull-ups during the day. There is a bigger mess to clean up when there is an accident, but it worked like a charm, my youngest daughter was potty trained by the time she was 2 1/2 years old. There is no set age on potty training it depends on the child and 2 is definitely not too young.

Tara - posted on 12/22/2008

The ELMO POTTY TIME video really helped me. It worked when nothing else did. My son loved it and it honestly it got him going on the potty. (I found it at WALMART)

Mariam - posted on 12/22/2008

she isnt ready yet i think. my girl at 3 years went to the toilet by herself without me even knowing! now shes fine itried at 2 but she did the same as yours

Jaimee - posted on 12/22/2008

This sounds heartless, but it works. Several of my friends have done it. You put them in regular cloth training pants, not pullups, and when they potty, make the child rinse them out and wear them wet. Most children will quickly get it.

Angela - posted on 12/22/2008

I have a 3 year old daughter who will soon be 4 and she was very easy to potty train. I just asked her when she had to go to the potty and I would walk into the bathroom with her and put her on the big potty with the smaller ring on it and I had made a chart with 5 blocks in each row and about 6 rows and everytime she went to the potty, she would get a sticker to put into that box that day and when she filled up 5 boxes with stickers at the end I had put a picture of the reward she would get for example: a puzzle, a new book, new playdoh, a treat at McDonalds.. etc. This is what seemed to work for me, good luck, it is amazing how fast they grow up!

TNell - posted on 12/22/2008

I almost forgot... almost without fail, once a kid was "completely done" potty training they regressed for a time. Each kid is different, but I have found it goes much quicker if you don't make a big deal of it and just say, let's clean it up, and praise them for going in the toilet like when you were potty training. Once they get past this point they are pretty much done! Merry Christmas!

TNell - posted on 12/22/2008

If you think your daughter is ready to train, what I have done (based on experience as a Pre-K teacher, surveying parents, my own kids, and helping friends) is to put them directly in underwear. It is messy at first so be prepared, but that helps the child to realize when they are going. (pull-ups at night of course lol) Also, if you want to keep her in a pull-up or diaper, literally dump what she did in the toilet out of the diaper and say " (this) goes in the toilet." Then flush the toilet saying "bye!", or let her for the first few times. Most kids like to flush the toilet and wash their hands so as she gets more into the whole scenario say, only if you (do this) in the toilet (potty). Even if they go in their britches if they do ANY in the toilet praise them tremendously and let them flush the toilet and wash their hands. Huge praises for doing what you want them to do will do wonders too! Good luck!

Linda - posted on 12/22/2008

I found it easy to have a potty in the living room, and when any of the kids were running aroung naked, as soon as they went to go a toilet I'd simply place them on the potty. I found with my granddaughter that she didn't like the potty she preferred using the toilet so her mum bought one of those kiddie seats for the loo and every now and then especially after a meal or drink she'd put her on the toilet seat. Any wish you luck

Jennifer - posted on 12/22/2008

Hello-

I am a mother of three, ages 7, 5 and 3, two girls and one boy. Let me tell you that potty training them presented me with all kinds of challenges - each one different. My last just completed training, and she was the toughest. We did everything that was suggested above. I began training her at 2 1/4, she was interested and for the first time I purchased a "potty chair", one that sits on the floor that you have to empty yourself. With the others the ring on the "big potty" sufficed. Anyway, soon after the initial excitment she became totally uninterested - to the point of stubborn. I tried everything, only changing her in the bathroom, dumping her bm into the toilet, explaining all the steps of toilet use to her - making it fun, even to the point of small rewards (stickers, stamps, an occasional m&m) all to a total loss. She DIDN'T want to use the potty, and that was it. So we took a few months off, let her get it out of her system, started back up just before her third birthday. It wasn't easy, she still seemed reluctant no matter how cheery and positive I tried to make the experience. Then one day, just like that, she trained. She decided it was time - on her own terms - and began using the potty like an old pro. She has barely had an accident since (except for the occasional car nap). Anyway, my point is, you definitely have to trust your gut, and read your child. yes at two they might be physically capable of potty training, but maybe they aren't mentally or emotionally ready. I know for us my daughter kept on telling me she didn't want to be a big girl - she wanted to be a baby, and I believe she convinced herself that that wasn't going to be the case if she was trained. So, take your time, trust yourself and gives lots of love. Good luck.

Dana - posted on 12/22/2008

Oh, forgot to say that we are still using pull-ups at night. When he gets #2 down and starts waking up in the morning dry, we'll try underwear at night.

Dana - posted on 12/22/2008

Hi, I have a 3 1/2 yr old son who is just getting trained. I think he was probably ready at age 2 1/2 but I was pregnant and due in a few months. Everything I read said don't do it if a big event is happening in your life, like moving, having a baby, etc. So, I put it off until about 2 months ago. I decided, this is it, no more diapers no matter what. I had to get my mom on board because she watches him during the day. I basically put him in underwear and took him to the bathroom every 30 minutes until he went. (I have gradually pushed that out to 1 hour and 2 hours based on what he drinks.) Yes there were accidents and I will get my carpet cleaned! :) Luckily a Chuck E Cheese's commercial came on and he decided he wanted to go. The deal was, you pee in the potty all week and we'll go. He did it and we went to Chuck E Cheese's. There have been very few accidents since but now we are working on #2. I wish you the best of luck and I hope this helped!

Jamie - posted on 12/22/2008

Potty training at two is not too young. I would suggest starting then because sometimes it takes a little bit longer to get potty training down. I have a 3 year old girl and I potty trained her at 2 and she did very well. I had her pottry trained in about two weeks and she didnt wear diapers or pull ups. She even had no accidents at night. I would just say start of by explaining what the potty is used for and take her to the bathroom every half an hour or so. Also dont use diapers. I also think pull ups are not helpful either because they are a diaper as well. She isnt going to like the feeling if she has an accident in her underwear. I think potty training is more of a repetitive thing and you just have to keep up with her and the potty and remember to praise her whenever she does something in the potty. Remember to have patience because if you become frustrated more than likely your toddler will to. Good luck.

Connie - posted on 12/22/2008

#1, girls are born with the ability to be potty trained, so you're in luck there. Boys actually have to have a specific muscle mature to the point that they are able to do so. Sometimes that never happens and requires surgery before boys can control it. The general consensus is that 29 months is the ideal age to begin potty training for most children.
#2 This is the first time in their lives that children KNOW that they have complete control. Don't force it. You won't win. Encourage, but don't over encourage. Let your child know that this is just what big kids and grown ups do.
#3 In that regard, EVERYONE sits on the potty when they wake up, before meals, before going away from the house, and before bed. Make it a routine. If she isn't dry after night or nap, then she isn't really ready. If she is dry, these are the best times for success.
#4 Verbally describe EVERY action necessary to use the toilet/potty chair. This is a learned behavior. Act like a teacher. Don't assume she knows what's going on. Do the same when you go and let her watch and listen, hand you the toilet paper, flush.
#5 Never ask if she needs to go. Say, "Time to go potty." Simply the suggestion, as you are finding, is enough to make them lose control.
#6 Accidents are normal. Even more so once they seem potty trained, because the newness wears off and they no longer find it worth their while to stop playing. I try to send them to the bathroom every 2 hours.
#7 Remember that all children are daytime potty trained by the time they go to school. All of them unless there is a medical reason. Make it a routine and she'll catch on.
#8 Move all diapering activity to the bathroom, and put all poop that you can in the toilet, with her watching, so that she gets the idea that this where it all happens. Have her bring you the diaper/wipes and start making her responsible for her own toileting needs. Have her stand up and bend over for wiping like she will once potty trained. At 3, I have them begin to wipe themselves, change themselves after accidents and have complete responsibility. (Yes, it can create a mess, but you'd be surprised at how quickly they potty train when they have to deal with the mess. Especially when noted what other "fun" stuff they could be doing instead of cleaning up.)
#9 If still doing diapers, get the feel-and-learn, or just place a strip of paper towel in them so that she gets to learn to read her body's signals.They KNOW that pull-ups are the same as diapers. Once you have some good success, go to underwear/plastic training pants.
#10 Dr. Phil has a great, printable, Potty Training Bootcamp info sheet that you may want to try. I think it goes best when you can devote an entire weekend to the child being naked on a tarp with a potty chair, toys and tons of the yummy liquids they shouldn't really have, but that they will drink with abandon just for that weekend.
#11 Don't try to potty train if YOU can't stick with it. I had a mother who got her son completed in 2 weeks, then went on vacation and needed him to use diapers much of the time. It set him back nearly 2 months.
#12 Have an extra potty chair in the car. When potty training, if your child says she needs to go, SHE NEEDS TO GO, if you want to encourage success. Pull over and do it.

I've potty trained nearly a dozen children. They are all different. Parents are all different. Let your child lead in this and keep it low key with good encouragement. If you get frustrated or angry, your child WILL regress and it WILL take longer. This is her first major independent accomplishment. Let her have the responsibility and the pride.

Ashleigh - posted on 12/22/2008

I have a 3 yr old son. I started to potty train him at 2. Don't push her too hard. The thing that worked for me was taking him with me. Every time I would use the bathroom i would take him in and sat him on his potty next to me. I would tell him "it's time to go pee pee in the potty" I stopped usiong diapers except at night. Then one day i took him in and he did it! We clapped and danced and made sure he knew he did a great job. I even reassured him when he didn't know that maybe he would next time. I used M&M's as a reward. One for every time he used the potty and a sucker when he started to poo. Hope it helps!!! Just remember to stay calm and be paitent!!! Let us know how it goes!

Melissa - posted on 12/22/2008

I can give you all sorts of advice on this. Ive been pottytraining kids for 8 years. (daycare provider) 2 years old is NOT too young. it is perfect. Listen to your mom gut. Its never wrong. Message me if you want some advice.

Tina - posted on 12/22/2008

2 is to young!! Don't give into the pressure of people saying "isn't she potty trained yet".

Wait until summer when they can wear shorts that are easy to get up and down. You can try all the tricks: sicker charts, prize baskets, M&M jar ect..... but until thier ready your just gonna be beating your head against the wall. Wait till closer to 3. When they are older and can recognize that FEELING that they have to go it will go much smoother. At 2 they don't have the ability to remember long term either. Give yourself a break try again in 3-6 months.

Monica - posted on 12/22/2008

Hi mom Ann-Marie and mom Michele..I just answered about this problem in the twins communities.

I will copy and paste it here..



I'm an italian mom of three children, Davide 6, Luca and Lisa twins of 28 month...I'm in the process of potty training too..they are doing good. I have started 1 month ago and it wasn't easy in the beginning...it was difficult for them to realise when they needed to go. And when they had several accidents.. I left them wet so they could realise that it's not a pretty feeling! The important thing is to never give up and never get angry...don't use diapers anymore. I use them only during the night, at this age, their body is still too immature to reliably wake them up in the middle of the night just to go to the bathroom.

And when my kids go on the potty..I clap my hands and i jump of happiness!!

Good luck...buona fortuna!!

Merry Christmas and a happy 2009

Michele - posted on 12/22/2008

Me too, please HELP!