Potty Training Help... - White Hall,AR

We had a similar problem with out little guy the same age at the time. We took him to a toy store and let him pick out whatever he wanted. After a long time he pick out a Star Wars spaceship. We did not buy it then, but we came home and made a 5-day chart; we drew a spaceship as the end goal, at the end. We explained that he had to earn a star for 5 days, then get his prize. Each day for the 5 days that he went in the potty, he got a star. He went everyday. Needless to say, he was trained...it just took a tangible goal! Good Luck!

My daughter kept having poopy accidents at day care, but was always perfect at home. I was very frustrated until I realized that she might just not be spending enough time on the potty. At home we read on the potty, and as soon as we got a plastic book for school she started going on the potty there as well. You might just try finding something to distract her while she's on the potty & maybe she'll realize that she needs to go while she's there.

I had the same problem with my son 12 years ago. He would pee but not poop. So one day a friend was over with her son and he went to the bathroom they were the same age. My son went in the bathroom with him and when he saw what his friend did that is all it took. I was like man I should of had a pooping party a long time ago. I guess he saw that it was ok for him to do it. Maybe it will work for you. i know it sounds weird but it worked.
T

Though my daughter never backslid with pooping, she did with peeing. My doctor said it had to do with the fact that I was pregnant at the time, even though she was really happy about that. Anyway, we did struggle for a long time (over a year) to get her to potty train and the last thing she learned was pooping. For her I finally figured out that she was not relaxing while on the toilet, so she really hadn't figured out how to go yet. I don't know if that is your daughter's issue, as she obviously had it figured out once, but you might try some relaxing activities on the toilet. We even did deep breaths on the toilet to get her to figure it out. I also read that some kids need to have their feet touching the ground to poop in the toilet, so if she is sitting on the big potty now, you may want to give her a stool to put her feet on.

Hi J.,

I went to a child develoment class at a Child Care Area Conference and I learned that 2 and 3 years olds have periods of development and then it just seems to dissapear. How they discribed it is "a window opens and information is rushing in then suddenly that window slams shut and a different one opens". She is making new pathways in her brain right now and may not be cognitivly able to process things well. Give her time. In my Child Care center kids do this all the time and it's like "What happened, you were just doing the bathroom fine yesterday". It only lasts a few weeks to a month or so.

It will get better.

Gina

Hi J.!

I think rewarding her is definitely a good idea but I'm not sure if punishing them is. When you take her dolls away, you're telling her she is not behaving and has done something wrong. With potty training, it takes a while and you may be pointing her in the wrong direction.

One idea is you can create a potty training chart just for #2. Let her come with you to pick out stickers and at the end of the week, depending on how many times she went #2 in the potty will determine her prize. This way, everytime she poops in the potty she'll know that she can add a star/sticker to her chart. Watching the sticker bounty accumulate will keep her inspired.

If you haven't already done this, some children respond well to just a pair of pretty panties. Like princess panties or her favorite character from a cartoon. They really don't want to mess these up so they'll make sure they tell you when they need to potty.

And one last thing, a drop of food coloring in the toilet bowl can make it more fun. Strange I know, but it may help. I'd say save this one as a last resort since dropping food coloring in the bowl everytime could be a pain.

Good Luck to you and congrats on your pregnancy. You should check out my website...www.thepitterpatterboutique.com

Hi, Here is what I did with two of my children. I bought the prettiest lacy panties I could find. A lot of them. I set them on her dresser, so she could see them.I told her when she quits potying and pooping in her ugly (training pants),
panties she could wear the pretty one. When she started to wear them at 18 months. I reminded her if she potty or pooped in them they would be ugly and I'd throw them away. It worked. She had one more accident at night after that.

I did the same thing with my youngest, except I used Barney underpants.Good luck! D.

Well, I haven't entered the potty-training stage with my son yet, but my husband wouldn't poop in the toilet up to age 4. He'd pee, then pull his underwear on and poop in the underwear. His parents handed him over to his grandmother, and the next time he pooped in his underwear, she made him wash it out. He never did it again.

Perhaps you could involve your daughter in the cleanup, so she learns greater responsibility for herself. Then she can decide whether she'd like to clean her panties every time or whether it would be easier to just go in the potty.

J.:

Your story sounds like my now 5 year old. When my 3 year old wouldn't go in the potty and kept going in her diaper at a certain time (so I knew she could control it, she was just avoiding the poop in the potty scene) WE had a long talk and found out what was bothering her. One thing that bothered her was actually how we reacted when she was successful; we were so exuberant we embarassed her. Also she didn't like the poop splashing (who does?). We talked through those. But still not real progress.

I am sure the imminent arrival of your new baby isn't helping her situation. Many moms have decided to not pursue potty training for an older child after a new baby, and I agree with that. HOWEVER you still have a little time, so try this trick:

I told her if she sat on the potty, with her diaper on and pooped, she would get a prize/treat/candy. That seemed ok to her so she agreed to it. I did this for a few times. Then I CUT A HOLE IN THE DIAPER just right so the poop would fall out. PUt the diaper on real fast, and called it a magic diaper, and did the same thing with reward. She pooped and we gave her the candy then pointed out the poop in the potty, which had fallen throught the diaper. She was so surprised, but happy. We did that for a few more days, then said she could poop in the potty (something about the magic working). She was fine after that. In fact as soon as she started pooping in the potty she gave up diapers entirely and stayed dry in her sleep. She just told me she didn't need a diaper anymore.

I also explained to her how i didn't like wiping up her poop, and even tried telling her she would have to change her own diaper. THat just made her cry ;)

Good luck!

A.

I think that sometimes that is normal for children, my youngest did the same. My pediatrician told me when I had my first child, not to rush the child that they would train when they were ready. Not sure how many people aggree with that but it worked with mine. I suggest positive re-inforcement, reward her when she DOES go in the potty, make a big deal about it. That seemed to help with my youngest.

hey I had this problem with my oldest...but we gave hima story book and he sat there like the Daddy does ( of course),lol....but it did the trick...good luck

I had the same problem with my oldest daughter. There are a couple of things that I did that finally worked. I put her training potty on a towel in the livingroom for her at first, and let her run around "nudie." Then I told her that if she poo-pooed in the potty, she would get to hear a "THUNK" sound. She (for some reason) LOVED making that sound in the potty! Then, after she had that mastered, I asked her if she was ready for a new sound. She got all excited when I told her that now, when she poo-pooed in the BIG potty, it would make a "SPLASH!" She loved it and would call out to me and ask if I heard that splash after she would poop. I know this sounds crazy, but it worked for me!

Oooh- the glorious days of potty-training! Sounds like you are doing well and probably nothing wrong either. Have you tried going to the bathroom with her- like you being on the big 'pot' and the little one on her own- kinda like a mother-daughter thing? I know from experience little ones love lots of praise when they do something that pleases mommy and daddy. I did this at times with my daughter- make it a point to say something like, "Hurry, I gotta go, I don't want to go in my underwear... Let's do this together..." It helped me and also helped my daughter get over certain obstacles in going on her own. I wish you all the luck! Keep us posted!!!!

Hi J.,I have heard many times of children 'backslidding' in their potty training, so it's not as unusual as you would think. I do know that punishing her by taking her dolls away will probably only make matters worse.

You mentioned that you are expecting again. I could be wrong, but my guess is that you have done a lot of talking about the new baby coming to prepare her. Perhaps she feels threatend by the new addition. Many times when parents are expecting a new baby, the older sibbling feels less important to the parents. New babies are exciting, and causes much attention which is some times drawn away from the one who, up to this point, has received it all.

I would suggest that you key in on the possitive actions your child does, and less on the problem. Give her a lot of praise when she does go, and if she has an accident, just tell her that she's such a big girl that you know next time she'll remember to use the potty.

Tell her that if she wants to, she can help you change her sister or brother's diaper since she's such a big girl... that helps her feel a part of the new baby without feeling threatened and at the same time re-affirms that she's growing up and gets to use the potty. (Sister or brother doesn't get to use the potty yet.)

Use every opportunity to let you child know how special she is to you and that no one will ever take her place. The accidnets will be less and less. Good Luck!