Potty Training Issues - Milwaukee,WI

I am having issues as well with my little girl but I did find a handy trick from our daycare provider for the "big" toilet troubles. Daycare tought our daughter to sit backwards on the toilet facing the tank and she loved it. Thought she was pretty cool. It is perfect because she can not fall in. She got over her fear of the big toilet in a snap and got on the toilet herself with a step at the side(not front) of the toilet. Good luck, I still have a lot ahead of us with my little spit fire!

Lots of good questions. For # 1, I would start putting her down for her naps without a diaper, and see what happens. From the way you describe things, it sounds like she is waiting to poop until she has a diaper on. You can buy thick "training underwear" for naptime, if she isn't already wearing them. Have her sit on the toilet right before naptime, and ask her if she needs to poop. Also, limit her liquids for 1 hour before naptime.

If she wakes up with poop, have her help clean it up. It doesn't have to be humiliating, just have her dump the poop in the toilet, rinse her underwear out, and change. No shouting, no yelling--just make it her job to deal with. When she realizes it's less work to just go on the potty, she will.

[To protect her mattress, buy a waterproof mattress cover. Top it off with a "pee pad", a fitted sheet, a second pee pad, and a second fitted sheet. Double-sheeting the bed allows for quick clean-up if she wets it. You can buy pee pads at pet stores--they are actually for housetraining dogs.]

She may still need a diaper for quite some time at bedtime. Some kids pee in their sleep and can not help it. Her naps w/out diapers will be a good test.

For # 2, I would just replace her potty chair. Sitting on the toilet will come in time; I wouldn't push that issue.

For # 3, set a timer (egg timer, alarm clock, or your cell phone) and when it goes off, it's potty time, and that means you, too, Mommy! Even if you just go in the bathroom, close the door, count to 10, flush the toilet and come back out, go potty before she does. Kids don't like to be singled out, and the peer pressure of everyone else in the house using the potty at set times can be a good thing. Also, with the timer technique, the timer is the one telling her to go potty--it takes the responsibility off of you.

Good luck.

I would start a reward system if you haven't already. I do inhome daycare and when I have a child that resist sitting or gets mad when I ask them I give them one small candy (1 M&M or skittle) each time they sit, then eventually only when they make potty, then only when they go poop, until they have it done and then they just get praise. My own now 4 year old got a reward for almost a year b/c it was easier to give him that one peice of candy then to fight him and have accidents, plus one bag of candy lasted more than a week so I don't think he was getting too many sweets.

Also if she is more comfortable on the little potty then let her use it. If your is leaking it might be worth it to invest in a new one. You can get them for under 20 at walmart or target.

Have you tried putting her on a schedule. When I first started training my son, I kept him on a schedule. I started with every four hours (keeping the times the same everyday is the key). Now, that he is trained, he is still on a schedule (as soon as he wakes up, before bedtime and before bathtime), other than that he now tells me when he has to go. He still wears a diaper at bedtime.

A.,

These are things that resolve themselves over time. Some kids wear diapers at night for years. Sometimes they outgrow it quickly. You can't train them at night like they do in the day. Just have her go pee before bed and don't have her drink a lot right before hand.

If your potty leaks, either find the leak and repair it or get a new one. My oldest daughter used the "little" potty for months. Then she transitioned to a "little" seat on the regular toilet. I think she had been potty trained a year before she would sit on the regular toilet like an adult.

If it was me, I would let her make some of her own choices and learn to live with the consequences. Don't nag her about going to the bathroom. She either makes it in time or she doesn't. If she doesn't, she gets to spend her playtime cleaning up the floor and the dirty laundry. Her problem; not yours.

Be patient. These things will resolve themselves with time. You were smart to do this well before baby #2 comes.

Congrats on baby #2 and good luck,
S.