Potty training nightmare. Any suggestions?

Maybe I just need a fresh idea.

...or a fresh kid??




(kidding, BTW. I'd never actually suggest for realzies that you trade in your kid.)

When I was 7 months pregnant with baby 3 I was bound and determined to not change two butts in the house and spent almost a full 60 hours straight at the potty in the bathroom with my daughter who was almost 3 (other than night time and meals of course) we read some books, drew cartoons and talked a lot as well as potty danced to some music. There were a lot of tears and she hated me for a while, as well as my back and butt killed me after all that time on the floor preggers but it worked, after she knew she could do it and that IF she did it we could all get back to normal. We then went out to the mall and she got to pick out a new pack of underwear to replace the ones she had erm made accidents in.... I do think boys can be troublesome in their own way but man are girls more stubborn about it!

Good luck!

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

Both my girls were potty trained before they were two. When they got old enough to tell me they had a wet/dirty diaper instead of just crying, I started potty training. And I bribed them to get them to do it. New clothes, new toys, small stuff, but they got something new for every week they went with out accidents. I also asked them every four and half minutes if they needed to go potty, until they got to the point they told me with out me asking.

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?

Videos. It sounds like the easy way out and the songs will make you insane, but they work.

I'm so glad to be past that phase with my kids :grumble:

If she knows it is important to you and you want her to do it, she might want to use that control and NOT do it. Some kids are like that. Act like it's no big deal. Never let her know it bothers you. she will do it eventually. Just keep the potty out and ask from time to time.

despite my best efforts, my kids (one girl, one boy) would not do it until they wanted to.

All the books say to wait until they are ready. We tried that for awhile, but then finally just decided to force the issue with our son when he was 3. If we hadn't, I'm confident he would still be in a diaper. He's now 4. He is stubborn and doesn't like change.

We sat him on the potty every 15 min at first, gradually increasing it up to an hour. We also bribed him....candy, stickers, etc.. Whatever it takes to motivates him. There are a lot of naysayers who will say to not use candy as a reward, but it wasn't a big deal to us. It's only for a couple of weeks.

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%.

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.

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

Elmo's Potty Time is great brain-washing.

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.