Potty Training - Columbia, MD

I'm the grandmother of 3-year old twins, I keep them two days a week while my daughter works. So, she's been potty training them. One was potty trained immediately at 2 1/2 and the other one still has many "accidents" What we tried: Rewards! After every success a treat - m & m's or a candy kiss. That worked for the first twin. What we are doing now for the second twin is - prizes! We fill a large bag with goodies from the Dollar Store. Some things are stickers, stamp pads, whatever they have cheap! After every success they can pick a prize but not look in the bag. This has been working with them, so good luck!

Take her to the store with you and let her pick out the potty she wants. I found that my daughter rejected all of my choices that had all the bells and whistles but for some reason found a basic blue potty in the store that she insisted on and then would actually use. It's funny how they have their own preferences that young.

If she's fighting, she's not ready. One of my daughters was close to 3 when she was trained; the other was over 3! Leave the potty where she can use it when she wants to, but don't make it into a big deal.
N. B.

My daughter never liked potty chairs so we used those seats that go on top of the toilet seat....she loved that because it was just like a big kid goes! I gave her stickers each time she would use the potty (even if she tried but didnt go).....I had a chart with several squares on it and she would put her sticker on the chart, once it was all filled up then she got a bigger toy, playdough or a puzzle or something like that. My daughter also loved Dora so I got her a dora potty book. That and lots of praise did it for us.
Good luck....just be patient and dont over stress her.

I am in the proccess of potty training my daughter as weel. I placed her potty next to the toilet in the bathroom, and we potty together. It seems to help when I sit next to her, she is more willing to use the potty. I also have a potty that plays music when she goes, I make a really big deal out of, we dance to the music, and she gets a sticker. Hope these suggestions are helpful! Good Luck!

Hi M.,

I have a daughter that turned 3 last month. She is our only one. I had the hardest time potty training her. I think mostly because she never cared if she had a wet or soiled diaper. She never cried about it, even when she was younger.

I first bought her a potty seat with the princesses last spring because I thought she would like it, and I felt that she was ready. She started sitting on it occasionally, but would not do anything in it. Then for some reason, she would refuse to even sit on it. Several months went by and she didn't want to sit on it. I tried numerous times to reward her with stickers and or candy if she would go in it. That did not work.

Then one day when I got her to sit on it, she told me that it hurts. I looked at her rear end when she stood up and she had 2 lines under her butt cheeks and it was red. I felt so bad. It was really uncomfortable for her. We went to Target to shop for a new one. She liked being able to help me pick out one for her. We bought one with a cushy seat. She could not wait to open it when we got home. Then she started using it maybe once or twice a day. She might skip a day or two from using it. She went back and forth that way. She liked getting 3 Jelly Bellies and a sticker. We would place her stickers on a calendar and I told her that when she had 10 stickers, we would go to the toy store and she could pick out a toy that was under $15 dollars. It took her a week to get 10 stickers.

Then we went on vacation to see my family in Florida for Christmas. I bought her the same potty seat there for her to use. She used it three times there and then didn't want to use it anymore. I was frustrated!

When we got home, I took her to Toys R Us. She turned 3 so I wanted to get her something that she liked at the toy store for her birthday, and we picked out a Dora potty seat that fits on top of the big potty. She really liked it! It was so much nicer, especially since I didn't have to clean it up after she was done like the other potty and she could flush and wash her hands. I gave her a couple of toys that I let her briefly play with in the running water after washing her hands. I had to ask my husband to help me out with taking her to the bathroom. Now she is able to wear just underwear around the house. She had 2 accidents where she pee'd before making it to the potty early on. I do not reward her with candy or stickers anymore, but twice a week I give her a small piece of candy just because. I still put a diaper on her when she occasionally takes a nap during the day and in the evening before going to bed.

It took her a few weeks before she would go number 2 in the potty. She was hesitant at first. But after she did it for the first time, we rewarded her by buying her a toy piano.

This is what worked for me. I thought that day would never come. It has been quite an experience. At times it could be very frustrating, especially when you see younger children using the potty, or when another Mom says, your daughter isn't potty trained yet!

Don't give up trying to encourage her. Your daughter will do it in her own time. Since she is fighting the potty right now, maybe just try it again in a few weeks.

L.

My children are older now, but what worked with them was using Elmo. I made sure that my kids were well hydrated and periodically I would say that Elmo had to go. I used a small measuring cup behind Elmo's back and let him use it. My youngest son thought this was the funniest thing, but it encouraged him to mimic Elmo. When I was not looking he started going on his own!

Hello M.,

My 23 months old granddaughter has a potty that she do not like. My daughter brought her the attachment seat that fits directly on the toilet seat. This make her feel more like a big girl and she has not wet a pull up yet. She has been wearing them now for the past 6 months. The seat was brought from Walmart for less than $10 bucks.

From T.

The way I potty trained my daughter was by adding blue food coloring to the water. When she went pee it turned the water turned green. She loved making magic.

This is the method that my Mom totally successfully used with all FOUR of her children (including me!) and that I used with my own son at 26 months, successfully! You do it in 1-2 days, it's amazing and the BEST way to go in my opinion. Get the book called "Toilet training In Less Than A Day."

Keep in mind that it was written in the 70s and the commentary is kind of silly/boring, but get past that and follow the method to a "T!" It worked BEAUTIFULLY with my son.

In the meantime, do not mention or try to get your daughter to use the potty before you do the potty training. I say this because, as the book (and my wise Mommy =)) explained, children are very capable and intelligent already at this age, and if you have them try the potty sometimes, and then not others, you simply confuse them.

The theory is that, if they display the signs described in the book that'll let you know they're developed enough to be trained, then you don't want to give them the wrong message that sometimes it's ok to go in your pants, and others not. I see sooo many parents do that and it just becomes a power struggle, and my goodness, you don't want a struggle over potty training.

Good luck! I REALLY am a believer of this method. Block off a whole day with just you and the daughter you want to get out of diapers. Let me know if you have any questions about my experience!

There is a great book out there called Once upon a Potty, I bought it and read it to my son which helped him to understand his body and the potty. Also, may I suggest that you use the potty that snaps on the seat and get a little stool for her to be able to do it by herself. Also don't hover over her on the potty that makes them feel funny but stand near by so if you hear her go, you can make a big deal about it. Sometimes they will still have accidents and that is normal, ask her frequently if she wants to go potty. Hope this helps.

Oh what fun! Potty training :0) I am a home childcare provider so potty training is very well known here. Here are a few things I do with the kids here. I never reward with candy or food - I have a chart that I created in Powerpoint that is very colorful with each day on the chart. The child's name is at the top of the chart and there is a column for each day. I start be putting the child on the potty every hour at first - I don't use a potty chair - I have the seat that fits over the regular toilet. I also put them on the potty a few minutes after drinking, before nap and after nap. If they go they get 1 sticker for pee and 2 for poop. They don't go no sticker this time. The first few times they use the potty - I don't care how silly it sounds call some very special people - daddy, grandma, etc... and let the child tell them they went in the potty - have whoever they call go nuts with praise. I think this part works best because it reinforces the behavior in a very positive way - they will want to potty again. At the end of the week I always give a special something to the kids if their chart is full. I also send the chart home every day so mom and dad can continue at home and I can give them praise the next morning. I have a video we watch too about potty and there are a couple of books I have too - Ruby's Potty is really cute. The important thing is to let them sit on the potty to get used to it - Don't just put them on wait 2 seconds and pull them off - give it a minute or two. You will end up doing laundry a few more times that week but don't go back to pull ups or diapers while they are awake (I still put them in pull ups for naps and bedtime) Also once you start keep at it - give it about a week and see what happens - my daughter was 3.5 before I finally said enough - she just didn't care about being wet or dirty. It took 3 days to get her going to the potty and then we were done. I was the one that was giving up to easily. My other child was 2. Some of my daycare kids have been before 2 some at 3.5

the best advice given to me about potty training was don't until there at least 2 years old. i am the youngest of seven girls and all my sisters had tons of kids before i even i had my first so they are all the best professional advice you can get,no book can tell you what these women have experianced personally.when my first was about 20 months old i was sure he was ready to potty trian because of course he was sooo bright and he did express alot of interest in it and would tell mr when he needed to go,but then when it came time to put him on the potty all hell would break lose.my sisters told me stop fighting it,he isnt 100% ready yet. basically the advice they gave me was "your are just potty training yourself instead of the baby if you do it before there 2" and low and behold i backed off him and waited till after he was 2 and he was potty trianed in less than a week.

I have four children and have operated a home based daycare. So, I have had lots of children at this stage. I do not potty train. I know it sounds crazy. But, I simply provide the chance to use the toilet. When they are ready they will do it on their own. It is a control thing. If you let the call the shots, it will happen sooner and they will feel very proud of themselves. If you push it, they will prove who is really in control of their elimination process. Children show signs of readiness for quite a while before they make the plunge. I call this the hobby toileting stage. Many of my kids showed signs from about her age to 2 1/2. I never had a child make it to three before they were habitual toileters
Good luck,
S.

Hello M.-

Don't fight it. I have found with the children in my daughters playgroup and others that the earlier you start, the more accidents and trouble you have. So, let her decide when she is really ready. It sounds like she is starting to get interested, but my daughter did the same thing and I just left it alone for a while and then she one day decided that it was the day. So let her lead the way, because in the end she is the one that controls potty, not you. And just a tip don't mess with Pullups. Go straight to panties, then they can feel the wetness. Whatever you do, don't let it become a struggle. Let it come naturally then she won't fight it and you will be happier. Hope this helps....

My son was a little older than your daughter when he decided he was ready. What really got him interested was that his best friend who is a couple years older than him was going potty (standing up). If you can find a girl that your daughter can look up to, a year or two older and totally potty trained that might help. Sort of like a potty mentor. My son was practically potty trained in a day or two. Pooping on the other hand is another story.
What worked for us was my mom bought him some special underwear (Spiderman, for us) that he couldn't wear until he was totally trained with no accidents. It still took a while and some messed up underwear, but it did eventually work.
One of my friends had another idea. She took her son to Cold Stone Creamery and let him make up his own concoction of ice cream (about a pint or so). They put whatever he wanted in it. Every time he went on the toilet, doesn't matter when it was (bedtime, first thing in the morning, right before dinner) he got a very small scoop from his ice cream. He was only allowed to have it when he went and no body else was allowed to have any. We used special cookies for my son.
The best thing to do is make sure she's ready. If she's not ready, hold off.
Good luck!
I have a 23 month old daughter that we'll be hopefully starting with soon.

My son was a late potty-trainer. I tried a couple of times when he was 2, but he was not ready. Boys tend to be later, but he was much later -- 3 1/2! However, in retrospect, I feel fine with it. For most people it takes months and months to potty train, and even after being trained during the day, the child still wears pull-ups at night. People said to look for signs that he was ready, but I kept wanting him to be ready. My son just wasn't ready. By the time he was finally ready, we went crazy when he first peed on the potty. He knew that when the day came, we would have an M&M party -- no matter what time of day. So, there we sat one morning -- on the living room floor -- eating M&Ms on that big day! He got 3 M&Ms. And after each time he used the potty, he got an M&M. I am happy to say that 3 weeks after that first time going on the potty, he was fully trained -- even at night. So, we never used pull-ups. And we only used the M&Ms for 2 weeks.

So, I know 3 1/2 is late, but it was honestly much less painful for all of us. Most of my friends started earlier, and they had very long periods of potty training with many months of pull-ups at night. Our daughter is now 22 months, and she talks about the potty, but I want to make sure she is really ready before we head down that road -- I don't want it to be a power struggle.

Good luck!

My son is the same age and has been using the toilet since he as about 16 months. Does your daughter see you using the toilet? It helps them to not think of it as anything unusual, just another part of the daily routine for all of us. My son loves to sit on his toilet when I am doing the same thing. And he thinks it is a special treat to get to pull the toilet paper off of the roll for both of us. We got our start by putting him on the toilet at times when I knew he had to go. A few minutes after he wakes up in the morning, just before his bath at night, etc. Before he started using the toilet I noted that there were certain times of day that it was predictable and started with those. It was almost like he got to thinking that something would happen each time and so he was eager to sit on the toilet when I encouraged it. We talk and look at books while he is on the toilet and when he is finished I let him empty and rinse his personal bowl by himself. He likes the sense of importance it gives him. I am always amazed at how much more he understands than he can actually verbalize.

Fisher Price makes a potty for about $25 that plays music when the child goes - a HUGE hit with my 20 mo old son. Also, take it in steps. First, have her sit on the potty with her clothes on. Few days, see if she wants to sit on the "cold" seat without her diaper. Then maybe she'll pee on the floor next to the potty for a few days. When I went on his potty and the music played, a lightbulb went off. He'll ask to go potty up to four times a day right now. He's really interested in pooping in the potty, but no luck yet. Now at least he'll sit and read books with me, not just jump right up after a few seconds. So take it slow and you'll see steady progress!

Mine was interested in her potty for 3 days, and then refused to use it again! I bought the seat that sits on top of the real potty and put it on at all times, along with a really fun step stool. Then, the toughest thing, was making her go every 15 minutes for the first 3-4 days = you have to remember that they are not used to holding it at all, they go whether they have 2 drips or a lot. So, if you take them every 15 minutes, they learn to hold it. THen every 30 minutes. One thing I learned, don't offer physical treats - try mental ones. THere is nothing worse than a child (mine!) that would dribble out 2 drips in her potty every 2 minutes and scream for a skittle, or would go successfully at Target, and then scream for her treat, when I didn't have one. Instead, we set a time for every 15 minutes, and when the timer went off, raced each other to the potty to see who could get there first and pee, and every now and then, I won to keep it exciting for her. Additionally, every time she went, her reward is that to the potty, we sang "Annie peepeed in the potty, peepeed in the potty" to a congo line tune and danced around. She thought this was GREAT, and while embarassing in certain situations, can be done at any time, without worrying about bringing anything special (Target shoppers are very understanding!).

Most importantly, when we went out, we just had to bite the bullet, bring extra clothes and pray. We peed before we left, peed when we got to the store, again halfway through, right before we left and as soon as we got home. Plus, while we were home on our hardwood floors, we roamed in just a shirt. Good luck!

We tried a couple of months off and on, and then it just clicked. One day 50 accidents, the next day all good.

The main ticket is that you HAVE to take them to the bathroom frequently, which is hard to remember. make sure you leave the light on all the time, the seat on and the stool set up, to make for quick speed. Not wearing bottoms for the one that waits until the last minute helps!

My oldest son (now 6) wanted nothing to do with toddler toilets, being a big boy meant going in the real potty, Mommy and Daddy's toilet. We did get him one of the those cushy seats that goes on top so they feel safe and don't fall in, but that was only used for a few weeks and then he was done with that too. Maybe she doesn't want a "potty" at all, just wants to use the big toilet.

I have a nearly 2 year old son, who shows interest in the potty and can tell me many times when he's gone in his diaper. He hated the first potty I bought him, so I asked around for a better recommendation. The standard Bjorn potty came highly recommended....no bells and whistles, just a standard potty with very few parts and a nice high back. n He seems more interested in it now!

Good luck!

Hi,
Different things work for different kids. My older daughter (now 5) was potty trained at before 2 with little effort on my part and few accidents on her part. I let her put stickers on the seat of her toddler potty (the one made by Graco) every time she went in it. Also, when her Grandmas were around, they gave her money (!) which she is very fond of. My 3 1/2 year old was more of an effort, less interested in the toddler potty, and was closer to 3 when she was done training. She's just less interested, and stickers and money didn't thrill her. It just took longer. However, she gets up to go at night, and the 5 y/o still doesn't. All I can say is to follow your daughter's lead, try different rewards until you get a real response (use whatever she considers a reward-daughter 2 likes a book on the couch- but I think it has to be immediate), and keep the little potty for the back of your car. Someday you'll be in the middle of nowhere with no toilet in sight and she will need it.
I also agree that you have to put them on the potty every 15 minutes at first-try to be home as much as possible for a few days. And the Alona(?) Potty time video was a hit here, too.
Good luck!

First of all, don't fret. If you do, it will become a control thing between you, and you will lose. She is very young for starting. She may be interested, but scared of the actual event.

There is a saying "You start potty training at 20 months, you'll be done by 30 months. Start potty training at 28 months, you'll be done at 30 months." Take your pick, 8 months of frustration, or let it go for a while. I started my daughter at two because I thought she was ready We had a rough six months or so. It really did click with her when she was 2 1/2. I sort of forced the issue because I wanted her to be potty trained for preschool (though it wasn't a requirement).

You might want to get a video of potty training, geared for kids. My daughter liked "Potty Power" and there is an Elmo one. We also had the potty in the family room for a while, so she could go while she was playing. That was a Godsend last year when she had diarrhea; she would just sit on her potty and keep on playing like nothing was wrong.

Good luck! Some kids are easy, some realize how much you want it and use it (or not use it) as a means to exert control.

M., I had great success with potty training my daughter at an early age. One big, positive influence was a library book that was geared toward adults but contained a cartoon style piece for children. When I read that cartoon with my daughter I saw a light in her eyes and a desire to be like the big girl in the story. There was another book we read together (Alona Frankel,Once Upon a Potty). Final thing, we didn't use the potty. I just took her to the bathroom with me or when ever she needed and held her on the actual toilet and or used one of those kids seats. Voila!

please keep sharing the advice :) I have a 26 month old DD who I believe understands, but still has no interest whatsoever - she will use the potty at daycare, but then again she is seeing everyone else in her 2 yr old class use it too - at home all we get is "no, i'm not doing that!" - we're going to visit some friends this weekend who have a 3 yr old DD who is potty trained - I'm hoping that will help her want to be like a big girl :}

This worked for me, hope it helps. My daughter cried everytime I put her on the potty chair until, I put the potty chair in the bathroom (my moms advice). Everytime I wanted her to use the potty I would also sit "mocking" that I was also using the bathroom. I would sit with her and waited until she was finished. After a couple of weeks she started going on her own. Good luck.