Potty training nightmare. Any suggestions?

CassandraBurgos83

This may be wrong, but my daughter was 2 yrs and two wks old and completely potty trained with min reese's cups. She knew every time she went to pee or poop she was rewarded with her favorite candy. Sugar you say is bad, but I say it saved me in diapers cost.

Ninkyou

My daughter went pantsless for a while. She didn't like the trickling down her leg feeling one bit.

Yes, it was messy. I must have shampooed my carpets hundreds of times.

I also kept a potty chair close by. Our bathroom is on the 2nd floor, so it was pretty far away for the "OMG she's peeing right now" moments. So as soon as she started going, I plopped her down in the middle of the living room with her potty chair.

To be honest, I didn't wait for her until she was ready. I started training her a month before her 2nd birthday. It took 5 months to train her 100%.

calico_cat

Offer rewards. We would offer 1 candy for peeing in the potty initially, and later 1 or 2 for pooping. Offer her the best, most favorite candy she likes. You might even want to try new ones. If she loves chocolates, try new varieties.

mas_unlimited

I am sorry to hear you are having such problems. I have two girls and one boy. I must say for me the boy was harder. But what worked for me, and believe me I have tried several different things, is to buy underwear with their favorite cartoon on them or at least a cartoon they like, like dora panties. Take a weekend, In the morning, take her diaper off and make a big deal over these Dora panties and that she is a big girl like Dora now and she can't get the panties wet but when she has to go to tell mommy and you will help her on her little potty chair. She will wet them and won't like it. The first time she wets them, take her to the potty chair and set her on the chair while you are putting the dirty panties away and getting a new pair of Dora panties. Wash her up and tell her to try not to get her Dora panties wet. Don't give in to any tantrums as it will make it worse the next time. Each time you give it, it gives the child control over you. You just need to guide her and remind her that she is a big girl now and big girls don't wear diapers. Don't resort to pull ups as those don't work either, I tried it. They need to feel the discomfort of wet pants and that will cause them to give in to using the potty chair. You really need to use a potty chair when you first start training as they need to be able to sit on it without your help. Try to encourage them to use the potty before bed. Depending on situation, I have used a pull up at night just to avoid an accident in the bed. But after a few days, you shouldn't need that at night either. I read some of the other posts. I could not afford to allow my daughter to choose when she was going to be potty trained or I would still be buying diapers until the cow came home. Expensive. That is what I did anyway and it worked on all three kids. My boy was more resistant but the first time he wet his underpants and no diapers in the house, he got the message and that was it from then on.

MagJam2004

We let ours, a boy and a girl, pick out a new glittery sticker from a sheet and stick in on the potty every time they used it. Is there anything specific that she loves to do that you could use to incentivise potty use?

I AM GOING TO START THIS TODAY AS SOON AS I BUY SOME STICKERS!!!

My daughter had just started using the toilet when my son was born. The desire just stopped right then and there and now she wants to be babied. She turned 3 not long ago and my wife and I are tearing our hair out trying to get her on track. I'm of the mindset that I can't force her to do it, but I will try whatever I can to sway her. Her and stickers = obsession...this just might work.

SonicDeathMonkey80

Offer rewards. We would offer 1 candy for peeing in the potty initially, and later 1 or 2 for pooping. Offer her the best, most favorite candy she likes. You might even want to try new ones. If she loves chocolates, try new varieties.

MFP post in 20 years:

"My candy addiction started when I was being potty trained. I was rewarded with junk food every time I peed/pooped, and it carried on into my college years. My friends would laugh because they'd hear a toilet flush and then a candy wrapper crinkling immediately after. I see candy as a reward and here I am eating 1200 cals a day and JUST CAN'T LOSE WEIGHT OMG HALP!"

Internet/joke

HelloAmbie

Don't make it traumatic for her, let her start when she is ready. Don't force her to potty train if she isn't completely ready. Be patient keep trying, but don't be crazy about it.

likitisplit

Elmo's Potty Time is great brain-washing.

mas_unlimited

Even better, take your daughter with you to the store and check out all the big girl panties and let her choose some that she likes and get her all hyped up about going home and trying them on....oh what a big girl she will be.

askeates

I am in the same boat.... My first 2 children were pretty easy.

My oldest, she absolutely hated diapers from a young age... as soon as she started walking, we would take her to the bathroom with us any time we had to go, and sit her on her own little seat. We would read books and while she sat on the potty she could have a dum-dum pop. When she actually went to the potty, she got a couple M&M's or a sticker of her choice. And the BIG bonus was she could wear her big girl panties. She was actually just under a year old and she didn't wear diapers during the day, but nap time and night time she had a pull-up.

My middle child, he was pretty laid back and really didn't care one way or the other so we had to work harder with him. He didn't like the little potty seat, so we put him on the "big boy" toilet. Pretty much the same drill, any time we had to go we would take him with. His reward was M&Ms. He didn't really give 2 hoots about stickers or the "big boy" pants. He was almost 2 when suddenly it all just clicked for him.

My youngest, she goes in spurts. She will be 2 the beginning of April, and I have done the same with her as I did for the other 2.... as soon as she could walk, she goes to the potty when we go... Initially we tried the dum-dum pops to help encourage sitting on the potty, then went to singing songs, then tried reading books. She was doing it for a few weeks, not consistently, but at least a couple times a day. Then she just stopped. We would take her in with us, and she would do anything she could to NOT sit down. We have now tried the naked baby trials.... let her roam around with no diaper or pants on, keep the potty in the corner of the living room so if she needs it she can sit. We don't make a big deal out of it.... yea, hasn't worked yet. She loves being naked, but could care less about having an accident. We decided to take a break for 2 weeks and try again, and this past weekend she decided that she wants to start trying again. Still only a time or 2 a day, but it's getting there and she is showing a lot more interest in it.

Good luck! Each child is very different.... but they will definitely let you know when they are ready.

smujambo

http://www.jamieglowacki.com/

This woman potty trains for a living. I used her book when training my child and it was AMAZING. I can't say enough good things about it or recommend her enough. She also offers online and phone support which comes in very handy. She debunks a LOT of myths surrounding potty training and points out that it's a developmental thing and to approach it that way.

Good luck!!!!

kat05317

My daughter's favorite cartoon was Dora, so we got here some Dora under wear and told her if she got her wet should would be mad.
She was two and a half, it worked. (plus she hated being messy, blessing there)
My son is almost four and being incredibly stubborn. I've tried the Thomas the train under wear bit on him... not much help.
So, like everyone else seems to be saying keep trying till you find their "thing" that works, that at the proper time should work.

kimosabe1

my son was HARD- 3.5-at the store in an aisle-no joke! He was an only child so he didn't have examples. Other kids are great examples......

susie3g

This may be wrong, but my daughter was 2 yrs and two wks old and completely potty trained with min reese's cups. She knew every time she went to pee or poop she was rewarded with her favorite candy. Sugar you say is bad, but I say it saved me in diapers cost.

This is what I did with my son and he was fully trained in 3 days, except we used popsicles instead of reese's cups. The extra fluids made my son have to go pee more often. So he got in a lot of practice, and practice made perfect. Also, we didn't do pull-ups or anything like that. He just wore the flimsy terry-cloth undies around the house, and we made a big deal of it every time he went in the potty. He was 2 years old. My daughter is 20 months now, and I am NOT looking forward to training her. I've been told the same thing.. that girls are easier to train. But my daughter is a lot more strong-willed than my son. I wish you luck!

pamt1999

Don't give her diapers anymore. Undies cold turkey.

This

BamaBreezeNSaltAire

Stickers and a potty chart. And her favorite candy she can ONLY have when she goes potty. Worked like a charm!

Sovi_

Candy, TV, and persistence. Also celebrate like a MO when she goes.

calibriintx

She won't use the potty but will she wear underwear? If so, take her out and let her pick out some fun undies. Put her in them and if she wets them, which she likely will, explain that big girl undies can't hold pee and she has to hold it until she gets to a potty. Or it could make her hate undies and want to stay in diapers.:laugh:

The above worked for us but I've heard the opposite from others. The other thing that worked for us, which our ped recommended was letting her pick out a potty (we did NOT want one of those little potties; we just wanted a seat for the regular toilet and a step stool, but little wouldn't go for that) and putting it wherever we spend most of our time. So she picked out a pink potty, covered it in Sesame Street stickers, and it sat in our living room on a towel. We weren't crazy about the idea but it worked. She was so busy that she hated going to the bathroom and having the potty close by solved that. Only took 2 days of training for her to master it and then she was all for going to the bathroom b/c she didn't want to have an accident.

Other than that, try not to push her. Start referring to pee/poop in her diaper/pull up as accidents, but don't shame her for them. Just say something like "accidents happen. Lets see if you can make it to the potty next time. Good try." or something like that. She might look at you like you're crazy b/c she really wasn't trying but it'll start too click and she'll catch on. Good luck, mama.

ETA the most important part. If she tries to go on the potty (even if it doesn't happen) and especially if she actually goes, or even if she stays dry for a period of time, celebrate, celebrate, CELEBRATE.

DawnieB1977

I've potty trained my daughter recently, and it was pretty easy. She'll be 3 in May. I started off months ago just letting her have a wee in the potty before her bath and getting her used to it, and then recently we just told her she was wearing knickers now, no more nappies, and that was it! She had accidents for a couple of days, but after a few days she started taking herself off to the bathroom, having a wee, pulling her clothes back up and washing her hands! She'll happily have a poo too. She's had a few nights without a nappy, but we decided to stick to nappies at night as she was waking up some mornings and wetting herself.

My son, who's nearly 5 now, wasn't potty trained until just after he was 3, because he wasn't ready for it. It didn't take long though, as he was ready. He still wore nappies at night until after he was 4, and he was still asking for a nappy when he needed a poo until after he was 4.

My third is due in 5.5 weeks, so it's nice to have a few nappy free weeks lol.

da_bears10089

I backed off and let him decide when he was ready. Once HE was ready, we hardly had any accidents.