Unsure About My Potty Training Techniques??

Potty training is hard. My advice would is to be consistent with children especially it can be confusing to learn somthing new. One of the most harest things to teach your child is potty training. Stick with it don't give up she will get it. Remember also that 15-20 minutes after children drink something they have to use the bathroom. Something else helpful is to make like a game or make it fun. Rewards with sticker everytime she goes sucessfully works. They feel like they have acheived something. Sing songs or something fun that you know she likes. Watching the time and getting up in the middle of the night helps her learn how wake up at night a pee and not wet herself during her sleep. I have trained all three of my girls with these same techniques. Some got it fast some were a little slower. But they got it. Good luck

Keep with it. My son is finally potty trained as of mid December. He was 41 months old. He was very resistant. We tried all of the methods. He was the "king" of holding it.

We kept with it. Kept putting him on the potty every so often. Finally, one day out of the blue he walked into the kitchen and said, "Mommy, I have to pee." I told him to get to the potty. He did. From that day on he was potty trained as far as urine. About a week later, the idea of how to poop on the potty came to him. It was literally as if someone had flipped a switch in his head. One day, the ability to use the potty was off, the next day it was turned on.

We tried incentives. I think they helped. We used Hershey's kisses. One for urinating on the potty. 3 if he urinated and pooped. As I said, I think they helped. However, something had to be just right for him.

My best advice is to take a deep breath and know that you are not along. This is one of the most frustrating processes. To be honest, when I went through it with my daughter (now 8) I was never sure if she was ready or not. I went away for the weekend with my husband. She went to stay with my twenty something sister and my Mom for the weekend. My sister potty trained her in 2 days. The difference was that she wanted to do it for my sister. My sister created a potty training diary for her. They decorated it together and each time she used the potty, they wrote in the book. If she had urinated or pooped, they decorated the page with stickers as well. When I picked her up, after using the potty for 2 days, she wanted her diaper on. I refused. She resisted for a day or so and had a couple of accidents but within 3 days, she was wearing underwear all of the time (she was about the same age as your little one).

There are different websites and techniques for potty training. I did a search of the web. One uses a baby doll and shoes how the baby doll goes on the potty.

In case your little boy is younger, I have to say my friend's technique really worked for her and it could help you with your daughter as well. At about a year old, she started sitting the child on the potty for a couple of minutes after each diaper change. 2 out of her 3 kids were potty trained by about 18 to 22 months of age. If she is the older one and sees her little brother on the potty, she might get a little jealous and a little competitive to be the first one to use the potty all the time.

Anyhow, I hope my ramblings are helpful. I know it probably doesn't seem like anything is working but hang in there, it just takes longer for some kids (like my son) to finally get it. But when they do, it is not long before they are accident free almost all of the time (he has accidents occasionally when he isn't feeling well). I'm going to try my friend's technique for number 3 (he is 5 months old now). ;)

First of all, just because a book says she "should" be ready, doesn't mean she is ready.

Second, take her personality into consideration and try to work w/ it. Is she Miss Independent? She may prefer to do things at her own pace and in her own way.

Third, RELAX! Kids will PT when they're ready. I can guarantee that she won't be walking down the aisle in a diaper! Sometimes stepping back is the easiest way to move forward.

A lot of kids respond to pullups the same as a diaper. They're used to it, so it's a "safe" place to go. More moms seem to have better results w/ regular cotton underwear or training pants. If/when you decide to use underwear, be consistent - at least during the day. Yes, you'll have some messes to clean up, but it'll be worth it.

Hi E.. My daughter turned 4 in September and I remember having the same stress. Is she ever going to get this? But I did not pressure her and when she was ready, she did it. It was probably a little after her 3rd birthday and we talked about it everyday and tried everyday, but I didn't put a lot of pressure on her. We tried the rewards and all other crazy incentives, but she really wasn't interested. I did leave the pull ups on her so that she wasn't going all over the place. When she was ready, she did it all the way, within a couple of weeks she was dry through the night and we haven't had a pull up on since.

I have 2 boys, and potty training is very time consuming. I was a stay at home Mom with my first son, so what I did was put him on the potty every 1/2 hour or 45 mins. I know that it sound crazy, but after a while you get used to it. I'd give him a book, and let him sit for about 5 mins., sometimes longer. I always praised him when he went, like you.. a sticker. I honestly never liked pull ups only because to me it was still a diaper, so I took him to walmart and let him pick out underwear. After a few sucessful tries, we went to the store and I let him pick out sheets for his bed....It was a big deal, he was becoming a big boy...and after awhile they don't like the wet feeling in their underwear. I wish you luck!

She may or may not be ready for potty training. One thing that works well, is a schedule. You must stick with it. I set the timer on my stove for every 20 minutes at first and would take mine to the bathroom and have them sit for a few minutes. Once they start actually going in the potty and not their pants, you still need to time it to get them there, but you can slowly taper the time back to 30 min...45 min.... etc....

If you are going to be at home, then I would have them wear underwear most of the time, and pullups for overnight. But, I did find that the pull ups with the "cool" sensor could help trigger your child to know when they need to run to the potty (I can't remember what it's called, but when they start to tinkle it turns cold)

Someone said they stayed home over a weekend.... I agree... If you can stay home for a good 2-4 days and keep to a schedule, that is half your battle. when you run errands while trying to potty train, it's very hard on both of you!

Best of luck, but you have to be diligent when training.... she may not be ready, so don't force it, and stick to a schedule when you do try to train!

HI E.. I can totally relate to what is going on in your life. I can tell you that you are doing all the right things. My daughter turned 3 this month and we are still fighting the PT fight. I have been a sahm for the last year and a half and I am now back to work. Which makes the training somewhat harder. I would suggest trying as another mom suggested going to the store as a reward and picking out special panties. My daughter si doing better now that she is excited about wearing her Dora panties. The PT is holding back my daughter from going into the 3 and 4 yr old class at daycare so I understand. Hang in there and keep taking her to the potty consistently. also keep the evening drinks to a minimum. that has helped us from leaking at night.Good luck to ya. I hope some of my words will help.

I just potty trained my 34 month daughter in November. I picked a weekend when we had no plans and my husband was home to handle my one yr old. We started Friday morning by taking off the diaper and I never put one back on. I just let her run around with no pants on. My sister-in-law does the technique where you set the timer for every 20 minutes and make them try. I just asked her every hour or so and if it had been awhile I just made her sit there. She definitely had accidents but she HATED the pee down her leg so she started to go on the potty. I rewarded with reese's pieces and swedish fish. If she went poop, she got a something bigger like a cookie or brownie. I couldn't get her to poop on the potty at first. She held it in for two days and I knew if I put the diaper on she would have gone. But I held strong and eventually she went in the potty. I did put a pull-up on at naptime & bedtime but made sure I took it off right when she got up. It was a long weekend and I think that we were both sick of each other and being in the house. But it worked. I think the thing is to just take the diaper off and go with it. She had an accident last week but you just have to expect those things will happen.

hi there!
i have a 2 1/2 year old boy. he is potty trained now and i have to tell you he really did it on his own. i think this is because i made it available and did not pressure him.
do you have a small potty that can be put in whatever room she is in? i did that and i also made it part of his daily routine. when he got up, before nap, before bed. whenever works best for you.
i, too, started by putting him on the pot when i knew that he was pooping. after a short while he began to give me a look and i would know that he had to poop. a little while later he began to tell me.
i don't know about other moms, but we had an easier time with pooping. as for pee, well, if you have hard floors and can let her be naked or wear something you don't mind washing, that worked great for me. i have hard floors and i let my son go naked. i think it was a good reminder for him. if you have carpeting, however, this may not be a viable option.
ultimately, it sounds like you are overwhelmed. and who could blame you having two kids so close in age! if it just doesn't seem to be time yet, then don't worry about it. i've found that the books don't know OUR kids. i know that i do not have a "textbook kid," do you? and i have so many friends that said they didn't push it AT ALL and one day their son or daughter was just ready. make big girl undies an option for her and i'm sure when she's ready, she'll let you know. after all, do you know any 18 year olds still using pull-ups? :)
just as a side note, if you are feeling stressed and can get a little time for yourself, there is a yoga studio in forest city. yoga can be a great way to destress. it might give you a little bit of clarity and help you change your perspective. just a thought. it's called studio be. for more info call studio 511 at ###-###-####.

good luck!
tiffany

I know there is a difference with potty trainning boys and girls, but who knows still might be helpful. I started PT my son a couple months before his 2nd bday. We bought him a potty and he would watch daddy go potty. It made him feel like this is what big boys do. that may be too much info for you, but children learn what they see, so potty time was shared between father and son! lol It still took him awhile to totally catch on. He did well for a couple of months, then he went back to going in his pull-ups (guess it wasn't fun anymore). We showered him with praise when he did go, and let him no it wasn't okay for him to go in the pull-ups anymore, and that big boys use the potty. But I think what really made it click for him was when we went au natural. He had no where to go, but the potty. He knew it wasn't right to go on the floor, so he would run to the potty. Yes he had accidents, but they came fewer as time went on. he just turned 3 the 16th and for the last 6 months he has been in nothing but underwear. And at night he wears pull-ups but RARELY, and i mean rarely, soils them. I know this is long, but I just wanted to share my experience. I hope it has helped.

Don't feel so bad. You are doing your best. Maybe it would help if you wrote down the times that she messes in her diaper and then get her in there before. Unless of course there is no particular time.
My son was a bugger trying to potty train him too, he was also good with everything else. I guess they just get used to going in their diapers and getting the attention when they get changed. My son finally started using the pot, when my friend took him to change him and told him he's too big for it. It think he was embarrassed and that encouraged him to go on the pot after that.

The way I have gotten thru is just letting them mess themselfs and then making them clean it! Of course I still clean most of the mess.. but I let them know while there cleaning up that this is very very dirty, and yucky, and only BABIES wet/poop there pants... and after they would clean it a few times of praising them for just sitting on the potty and trying they got it in there little heads that thats where they were to do pee/poop! I know this wont work for everyone, and yeah that it is a little mess and stressful, but unless you have a child that cant stand to be wet/pooped and screams to have there diaper changed potty training isnt going to be easy!! Just to let you know I am now a Nanny to 5 children under the age of five!! I have had to potty trian 3 of them! Good luck!!

Hi! E., potting training takes patience and consistancy! And yes you might sound like a broken record, but trust me. if you dont stick with it til she is trained, it is only gonna be harder! My daughter has 3 girls, with the oldest soon to be 4 and is working on her soon to be 2 yr old with potting training and I keep telling her to be consistant and in no time she will be trained! And sure she will have times where she doesnt always make it to the potty, but that too takes time! I hope my advice helps!