So my daughter is now 27 months old and still not potty trained. I realize that she is in the 'normal' age range for not being potty trained...but here is my dilemma. She takes off her freaking diaper and smears poop ALL over. When she first started this at about 24 months I thought that we would try potty training and at about 25 months I took a week off work and really focused on it. (it was the 3-day-potty-training method)..ummm, yea..we pretty much got nowhere, so we went back to diapers for another month. Since I also have a 10 month old son, I just can't have my eyes on her every single minute, as much as I try. She waits until I am putting baby down for nap (maybe 5 minutes) and will take off her pants, go behind the chair, take a poop, then take off her diaper. If I'm lucky she will leave it there. On a not-so-lucky day it is smeared on my wall/chair/you-name-it. I've since wisened up to this and when putting baby down will put her in her high chair so she has to wait to poop. I've also started taping her diaper on (since she just pulled her pull-ups off) so she has to ask me to change and not just initiate it. My hope is that she will get sick of asking me and instead ask to go sit on the potty, but the way things are going this seems to be highly optimistic. I do still have her sit on the potty before and after naps and bed and whenever I see her head for a corner, but there has only been marginal success with this. Some days I feel like she fits all the 'readiness' signs and other days I just think she's not quite there yet emotionally. Just at my wits end. My game plan is tape her diaper for another month or so and then give training another valiant effort. Guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has had a VERY active, curious child like this and at what age you potty trained and what method worked best for that child? Any advice at all is appreciated since I'm at a loss :/
Update: The first few times I just acted disappointed, like the 'books' said. After about the 5th time I said screw this, made her help me clean it up (after I cleaned her up) and then go in a time out, and then we would talk about how she should not smear poop on mommy's walls! Sometimes this produces tears, sometimes she seems like she couldn't care less...She would always give me a very convincing 'okay mommy'...and then would do it again...
12/24/12 - Still not potty trained...but with some handy duct tape she has stopped taking off her diapers and after a month has no longer tried! Still gonna wait awhile until attempt potty training again.
Read her the everybody poops book. My daughter liked to paint with poop too. She started doing that at 15 months, and did it off and on until she poop trained at 21 months.
You need to just be vigilant about watching her and getting her to the toilet. Is she waking dry from naps? If so, then she is more than ready to be trained.
Use tape and put her in clothes like one piece overalls backwards if you have to so she can't get them off. Do the same with pajamas and make it so she can not get them off. We even put a pin in the top of zippers if where the child can't reach the pin. That will at least stop the messing in the diaper. Then when ready to potty train her start and don't go back to diapers or pullups and mean business and stick to it. You have to be in charge. There are many posts on here from past questions about potty training and you might read them when ready to start. I potty trained most of mine at about 2 years 8 months old. It seemed to work best around then and they understood exactly what they had to do even if it took work on my part too. I set aside a day and that was all we did. Set a timer for every 15-30 min at first and even though they won't go they get the idea to go and you won't let an accident happen as easily. I potty trained my 8 children this way and some had charts with stickers each time they went, some got a small marshmallow when they went, one picked a small toy at the end of training and so on. I trained one of our grandsons that I babysat in one day when he was about that age and he had said he would never go in the potty. He did it in one day but you must be firm and in charge. I got a potty chair that played music for him and he really liked that. Wait a bit with your daughter maybe and then start when she's just a bit older and let her know this is it.
Ugh, that is just so gross!
I agree that she is not ready. Your idea of waiting another month, is good. I would also go back to diapers and do whatever you have to, to make sure she can't get them off!
~My only advice is to wait till she wakes up from her naps or in the morning dry more times than not. That is what I did and all 3 (2 boys, 1 girl) of my kids were completely (night & day) trained at or around 2y/o, it is a good indicator of where their bladder capacity is. When you do try it again, you really do have to watch her every minute...the success of potty training is really more on the parents part than the childs', IMO. We are the ones that have to watch for the cues and make sure the kid makes it to the potty on time! I also bribed the heck out of my kids, Dum-Dum suckers were my go-to bribe, they are the perfect size and my kids all loved suckers! And LOTS of BIG praise, clapping, cheering and high fives all around!
Hang in there. It sounds to me like you have got it under control and have a good game plan! Don't stress, it will happen and she is still fairly young, so you have LOTS of time!
She will use the toilet when she is ready. Verus: She will use the toilet when you are ready.
If you are patient and don't push her, you will save yourself a lot of heartache and irritation. Just let it go.
Believe me, when she is ready, you will know.
Both of my children began using the toilet consistently at around 3 and a half. Yes, it was probably later than those children who were "trained" starting at ages much earlier than they were prepared for. But there were no tears, no punishments, no bribery, and no issues with constipation.
Is another couple months, or heck, even 12 moths more of her in diapers, really the end of the world?
I promise and swear, you will regret it if you let this get to you. You will not regret letting things take their own course.
Barring developemental and emotional delays that prevent children from using the toilet, rest assured she will get there on HER timeline. In my opinion, your role as the parent is to be there for her when she's ready.
As you already know, duct tape works great.
lol I admire your creative solutions. Putting one of my sons on the toilet every half hour worked pretty well. Perhaps your daughter needs a creative outlet, like finger painting. Painting with chocolate pudding is fun.
It sounds like she isn't ready yet. Sounds like she just "isn't there" yet.
I would go do 2 things: first go back to diapers then try the potty training again. You can try the 3-day-go-nowhere potty training technique then.
PM me if want the details. Give hersome time.
It seems like nobody's mentioned it, but is it perhaps a reaction to having a baby in the house? No good advice, either way...other than to make sure you're paying *good* attention to her--with my kids, it seems that the good attention can prevent them wanting the bad quite a bit. That may not be the case; maybe she just thinks it's fun, but that is the first thought that came to mind, and nobody else has said it yet.
You didn't mention if you punish for the smeared poop. I'm sure you do, but if not, I'd give it a consequence for sure. Also try having her help you "clean" it. that will help drive home consequences to actions. If it were me I'd keep taping and give it some time.
