Potty Training & Day Care

Hi, I agree alot with what CR has to say here below.

I am having the opposite problem with my son---he does great at daycare but then doesn't want to sit on the potty when he is at home. I think the routine at daycare and all the other kids participating helps him follow along.

I know at my daycare they will participate in potty training if and only if the parent is doing this seriously at home. Otherwise they "offer" the potty to the child. Even if they are potty training the child along with you, they still cannot make the child pee on it if they do not want to use it. And if your child doesn't want to use it at the potty time, they also will not make exception for your child to put them back on alone in another hour, but at the next group potty time. That said, they also do not let the child sit in dirty dipes if they are messy, that's common sense and decency to keep the kids dry.

Try working with the daycare more and find out their routine and see how closely it matches yours. Kids also will start to potty train and then will start to balk, and go back and forth for awhile (2 1/2 is still early for most boys)--- so I think putting him in underwear to force it wouldn't really help anyone. (My son one day hated the underwear because he felt pressure---so we had to stop training till he got comfortable again.)

Hi S.,

I have been in child care for over 23 years and I will not do the every hour also. When a child a is put on the potty every hour many of us call that potty timed not potty trained. I do every 2 hours which has always worked. A child is not allowed to come in underwear until they have gone 48 hours without an accident. This does not included night time. If they do come in underwear and have 3 or more accidents during the day I will put them back in a diaper because this shows they are not ready. For many of the children it takes a little longer to become potty trained at daycare because they are so involved with their friends. I always suggest that the parents start potty training over a long weekend to set the ground work. I work with the parents as much as possible, but I have to take in consideration all the children in my care and what works best for everyone. I will use sticker charts, candy rewards, etc. if that is what the parent is doing at home. The only real 2 rules I have is how often I will put your child on the potty and when they are allowed to come in underwear. As for pull-ups I also do not favor them. The children learn very fast that they are like diapers. I do tell the parents when their child is only having an accident here and there the pull-ups are a good transition to underwear. Instead of demanding your child is put on thepotty every hour make yu could talk to the teachers and work out something everyone is happy with. Maybe every hour for the first week to set the ground work and then every two hours after that. Your son will get potty trained just remember it can be a long process and it is not when your are ready for hime to be potty trained it is when he WANTS to be potty trained. I thought my daughter was going to be in diapers when she got married, but she did eventually get potty trained. Best of Luck!!

I know that the daycare where I worked, those in diapers were changed every 2 hours and those working on potty training were taken every hour. I don't know how often potty trained 3 yr olds are "asked" to go potty. I would suggest looking into other daycares in your area, see how often they take the little ones potty. 2 hours seems like an awful long time, esp if you're still learning the signs of needing to go potty.

I would not send him in underwear, UNLESS he's also in plastic protection over his underwear.

As far as being harsh, he's your child, if he's doing good on potty training at home I would say he's clearly ready. If the daycare staff is not willing to work with you, perhaps he's at the wrong daycare.

I work in childcare and I hate pullups!!! What's the point? Anyway I would do both I would ask them to take him every hour until he has a good hang on it and I would send him in underwear with lots of extra clothes. If the teacher is good she will go along with this and my feeling is who wouldn't want one less diaper to change!! I hate changing diapers on kids over 2 21/2! Good luck keep us posted
H.

Hi! I have a 2.5 year old daughter who I started potty training 2 weeks ago. She also is in day care 5 days a week. A few months back, she was really interested in the potty, and one day inisted on wearing her underwear to school. Of course, she had an accident, and the teachers tried telling me that she should just wear pull ups everyday, which prompted me to ask, "So, as long as she's in day care, she cannot be potty trained?" They kinda looked at each other like, hmmm. well, no. So I talked with her teachers & the director also happened to be there that day & just told them that I assume that this is a normal age appropriate development for many of their kiddos, and that accommodations will need to be made to get them to the potty every hour- if that's what they need. It will lessen over time, as my daughter can "hold it" for an hour or two now, and she is starting to get the whole "tell Mommy when you need to go" concept. I know it's hard on them, but I do think it is your place as a parent to request a little special attention during the next few weeks. My kids go to daycare at a high school, so if she has to go, they have to leave the classroom & walk up to the bathroom- huge inconvenience, I'm sure, but they do it b/c they want her to be successful with this, too. And it's one less diaper change for them in the long run:)