Pottytraining 2Yr9mo Old

Hello Mellissa. I had the same problem with my 3 yr old at that time he was also 2yrs 9 months old and I just had to discipline him. He started child care August 11 and every since than I have not had a problem with him.

Try just taking her to the potty on a regular basis. My kiddos are exactly 18 months apart, and my oldest now 2.5 years is completely potty trained (even through the night). He started showing an interest in potty training right before the baby got here, and I was afraid he would regress so I didn't push it. After the littlest was a few of months old we started putting the older one on the potty every hour. In no time he was telling me when he needed to go. I know it can be difficult while breastfeeding, because we had that same issue. I would just always make sure you take her to the potty right before you nurse. Don't stress out it about it either, she'll go when she's ready.

I started potty training my daughter at 18 mos old when I was expecting our 3rd child. It has been a very long process but the best tool has been our routine: potty after sleeping, before eating, before playing, when we return from going anywhere, etc. Our daughter got the poop part instantly but the initiating pee part takes longer and from what I understand adults may have to remind children for a while. We "skip, skip skip to the loo" instead of "go to the potty" and that seems to work the best.

I was in a very similar situation. My now 3 1/2 yo showed interest at about 2 1/2. She would never tell me when she needed to go. I just ended up putting on the toilet about every 2-3 hours and at least get her to try. It wasn't until after she turned three that she was really "serious" about potty training, then one week it just happened. Up until that point, I had done the stickers, rewards, etc. But nothing worked until she made up her mind that she was really ready. I'd say just keep trying, be consistent but don't force. She train when she's ready. Good luck!

Perhaps she tells her beacuse their are other children around doing the same thing?

Hi M.! You must be a very busy momma with your 2 little ones! I am currently potty training my 19 month old. (actually,she's pretty much doing it herself) Anyway, I got some great advice from a friend of mine who has run a day care for years. Put her in big girl panties! That way, when she wets or poops, she can feel it and understand what's going on. Pull ups are too much like diapers and absorb all the liquid to make the child comfortable. My daughter has been working on this for about a month and has been in big girl panties for almost a week straight. Yes there are some OOPSIES, but that'll happen anyway. That friend of mine said just stock up on panties, changes of clothes, and Resolve and she should be good to go in about 2 weeks! Good luck Hun!

Oh, does this sound familiar. My little girl is the same age as yours and like yours she would potty with daddy as part of her nighttime routine and he was sometimes even successful in making her go in the morning since she was waking up dry. A big feat I have heard since she is my first of two (11 month old boy).

The problem was the daytime which she spent with her grandma. She wasn't interested in using the potty or would already tell my mom when she had already done her business. Her dad would tell her "you have to tell grandma tomorrow and we will . . . the promises/rewards followed. She would flat out tell him "no only you". So we knew she could do it but didn't know why she wouldn't just go all the way.

We tried it all stickers,etc. He gave her one of those plastic watches she had previously misplaced and told her that it was a big girl watch and she could only wear it if she told us she had to potty. We let her keep it when she did and took it away when she didn't. I tried her with "panties" on a Saturday when I was home with her and we were okay as long as I was after her. Nonetheless, she had a accident on my sofa and I was done with potty training! I was just going to let her do it on her own time. Then Monday came and low and behold when I got home to pick them up from grandmas she announced she had told grandma she had to potty all day. I looked at my mom and my mom nodded yes. My mom had put her in a pull up that Monday. The reason I state this is because on days when she would refuse to let us know I would just put her in diapers.

I was super excited, as was she. We did have an accident that day but I was just thrilled that we broke through her stubborness and we were headed in the right direction. She stayed dry the rest of the week in pull ups no accidents, even at night. So Saturday I put her in panties once again and told her we would go buy more and she could pick them out.

That was it! Now she tells me when she has to go. She points to her watch and says "mommy it's poo poo time" and we go . . . There really is no magic trick. I think for us it was having her little brother. When he was born she regressed a lot. We actually had a first successful potty session at 18 months with her so you can imagine how long this has been off and on.It is like they all say. One day it will just click and she will start telling you. Sounds to me like that day is right around the corner for you. I wish you well. You are not alone and now to think we have to do it all over again!

It sounds like she is fine with being a big girl at school, but at home she still wants to hold on to her babyhood (perhaps she's a bit jealous of baby sister?). Try talking about how awesome it is to be 'big'--all the things SHE can do that her baby sister CAN'T do (including using the potty so she doesn't have to be messy or wet). Walking, running, playing, eating 'fun' food, drinking from a big girl cup--all the cool things she does that her baby sister can only watch. If she starts feeling like her baby sister is looking up to her, she may feel less jealous and more like being a big girl is a good thing--even at home. Good luck!

Do you have a reward system at home? If not, maybe try a sticker chart. As a teacher I have realized that kids will do ANYTHING for a simple sticker. Put a chart on the wall next to her potty. She gets a stickers for TELLING you she needs to go, another sticker for #1 & another sticker for #2. Just a thought.
Good luck & God Bless!
H. B

We started putting my child in pullups at age 2, and he would sometimes go potty when he felt like it. At 2 and 9 months, we decided it was time to try hard at home. His teacher at school would tell us he's staying dry all day long, so we knew he could do it, we just needed to dedicate ourselves at home to potty train him. We went to the store made a big deal out it, he picked out his underwear ( we bought a lot), and then went and looked at the toys. He picked out a toy that he could have if he stayed dry and clean at home the whole next day- he did it so we went and got the toy- making a huge deal out of it. He had a major issue with #2 and would go in his underwear and we knew this would be a problem so i bought things at garage sales and books and little toys and stuff he needed and would get anyway like curtains for his room and everytime he would go # 2 in the potty he got a surprise, it didn't matter what it was, he loved that he earned a surprise. When he went in his pants we didn't yell or criticize or take anything away, we just calmly talked to him about how he could have earned a surprise if he had went in the potty. He would be dissapointed and get excited and would say he would do it next time. it took about a week before he started going # 2 in the potty, but we kept him in the underwear, even when he would want a pull up. He will be three in July and is fully potty trained, we still cheer and praise when he pees or poops and will still give him the occational surprise or will take just him out to eat pancakes or something he really likes doing, we make it work and we also have a 19 month old. Good luck- make it fun, not a battle- because she will win if you do, keep up the praise, and stay away from negative consequences, this might discourage her.

My son will turn 3 next month and has been potty trained for about 5 months now. I didnt fully happen until I stopped letting him wear pullups.......It's something about the wetness that they dont like. With the pullups on, he never really felt the full effect of the accident. Once I got it in my mind that I was going to have to clean up a few accidents, we were potty trained in less than a week! Try that and see if it works. Maybe she just needs to understand that she is having an accident to "not" do it again. It will take a few times, but she will eventually remember.

most children will tell someone else before they tell you so it not that your not trying.My daughter will be 2 in april and she will go for everyone else but me.My baby goes to a daycare and i have been trying to get her off the bottle but when she goes to daycare she don't want it.See the thing is she sees all the other little kids doing it so she want to follow the leader if you know what i mean, but she will come around just keep trying and in the end she will do it for you.Good luck and hope the best for you and your children.My name is A.

Oh my goodness, I could have written your post a couple of years ago! The only difference was my daughter was in daycare and would say, "only at school!" I was so frustrated! I realized that she had LOTS of examples and praise when she did it at school, but no matter how much I praised, it wasn't the same. I finally had to take the emphasis off me and just say you do it all day at school, you can at home and didn't buy anymore pull-ups and just bought underwear. We made a big deal about picking out the underwear and that seems to work.

You do have a younger child who gets one-on-one attention when she gets changed, so your older daughter may see that and want the same. My daughter did so much better when I (and my life) was much more calm and I could give her a lot more attention. She was not completely potty trained until she was 3 1/2 years old. She could have been sooner, but it was really up to her.

I won't say we didn't have issues - we did a sticker chart for using public restrooms (yes, ick, but you have no idea how hard it is to shop if your child will only use the potty at home) and still have issues with automatic toilets, but she is getting better (I cover the sensor with my hand).

I have had friends that finally made their child(ren) clean up any "accidents" that were from not letting Mommy know. For some that made a huge impact.

Good luck!