potty training
By angelface23
@angelface23 (2494)
United States
June 9, 2008 11:33am CST
I had started a discussion about this before but here goes again. My daughter just turned two yesterday. She is not potty trained yet. Maybe that is my fault though. We started a while back maybe at 20 months or something. We got a potty and she loved it she even went in it twice. Now that we live with my gram we start and then stop which I know is our fault. But there will be times when we put panties on her since it's hot out now and then she is good at letting us know when she has to go. I take her to the potty and she pulls her own panties down and sits down for like 2 seconds and then gets back up. She will repeat this a few times and then after I while I forget and then she has an accident. Other times she won't even come to the potty and gets upset about it. I don't know why she won't sit still for more than a second. Has anyone else had this problem?? We even got her a book about the potty.
1 person likes this
8 responses
@vidhyagowri (1973)
• United States
9 Jun 08
I think you guys take it easy. She is just 2 and she will be ok when she turns 3. I have twins. One of them learned very quickly (at 2 and half) and the other one had some problem with potty training. At that time, i was like you and was asking all my friends for advice. But after a while or say after 4 months, she started trying by herself and now they are 4 and are not bedwetting at all.
@Gemmygirl1 (2867)
• Australia
10 Jun 08
We have something similar - my twin nieces were great on the potty - the older but much smaller & less developed one was potty trained around 2 1/2 but the other one is forgetting to go & ALWAYS having accidents - they'll be 3 in about 2 weeks so some kids just aren't ready or just take a little longer to grasp the whole concept!
@highlyclever (1111)
• United States
10 Jun 08
I have to agree with everyone else that says not to worry (and not to rush) the potty training process.
One thing that we did with our kids to keep them on the pot was to give them the junk mail catalogs that come in the mail to look at. We keep a stack on the back of the toilet, and we actually even order them - especially from places like Oriental Trading, etc.
We even delayed sending our oldest to preschool because of the potty training issue, and later on, in talking with the preschool teacher, she said that many kids come in un-potty trained, but through watching the others - they somehow or other "figure it out" and potty becomes a non-issue within a couple of weeks or so. And actually, come to think of it, when we talked with our family doctor about this issue, he recommended something along similar lines - letting the kids follow you to the bathroom to see how it is done. (Personally, I prefer my privacy and am somewhat modest... so my kids had to figure it out on their own - but maybe this is something that works well for others?)
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
10 Jun 08
Sounds like she just isn't ready yet. Most kids are not potty trained until 3. I wouldn't be worried at all. IS she really showing interest in potty training? Have you tried taking her on a schedule? Whatever you do, when she is ready do not use pull up, they make potty training harder!
@Gemmygirl1 (2867)
• Australia
10 Jun 08
Ok, from personal experience & from what people i know have done, most people don't usually START potty training until around the age of 2, so you might be expecting a bit much from her too soon.
My daughter was 2 just the other day & she'll happily sit on the toilet (she'll sit on the potty but doesn't seem to like it) but we're yet to have her do anything. If a child wont go to the toilet when/where they're supposed to, then it's them telling you that they're just not ready for it yet.
Try not to rush her or push too hard or you'll scare her from it. My little one will sit there & then she'll cry, she wont actually go until she has a nappy/diaper back on - this is all they know & is what they're comfortable with so just let her be! Try doing the potty or toilet thing a few times a day or have her potty somewhere she can get to it & then let her do things in her own time.
I hope this is of some help to you but don't be too discouraged, some people don't even start at that age - they leave it a little longer, it all depends on the child & whether they're really ready. I have nieces that are 3 & up who go to the toilet but are still having accidents so you really cant expect immediate results or expect them to be trained BY 2.
Good luck & your daughter will get there when she's ready!
@jashley1 (746)
• United States
9 Jun 08
I have three children and my youngest is not even close to being potty trained (6 months), but my other two are fully trained. All I know from this experience and other friends is that each child is different. I can tell you that you should never "force" your child onto the potty though - I'm not saying you do this, but I agree with the other moms that it should not be a stressful event. Children get excited when they can make their own decisions, so always try to present the matter in a way where your daughter can make it seem like it's her decision to go potty. Both my children were not fully trained until 2 1/2, and I started early with my first and she had it down pretty good, but wasn't fully trained (going by herself, wiping, sleeping through the night, etc.) until she was 2 1/2. Have you tried a sticker or incentive chart? This worked with my second child because she had the number 1 down, but not the number 2. I created a chart for her and she got stickers for going number 1, and for number two she got a treat like chocolate milk or something like that. She got very excited about that and was fully trained about 3 weeks after that with no more accidents. Just make it seem like a very exciting event to do that only "big girls" can do - so your daughter will look at it more as a privilege than a burden. Hope this helps. Also to help reduce accidents just make sure you are giving her friendly reminders every couple of hours and watch fluid intake.
@jsaburit (12)
• Philippines
10 Jun 08
Hi angelface, just wait it will take time for them to be comfortable using their potty. I remember my daughter learned to use her potty at 18 months. It happened when she accidentaly pee on her precious pillow. She cried and cried and say sorry to her pillow and promise not to pee on it anymore. From that day until now she calls on us whenever she needs to go down and even wakes up when she feels like peeing when she is sleeping..
@ravinskye (8237)
• United States
9 Jun 08
she probably isn't ready yet, i wouldn't push the issue. kids are potty training later these days. my first was potty trained by 2-1/2 but my second wasn't ready then. she was a little over 3. every kid goes at their own pace. if she's willing to try let her, but don't push her or you might scare her.
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
9 Jun 08
Don't make potty training stressful whatever you do, that will only cause a tug of war between you and your daughter. Two is not that old and she may not be interested in using the potty right now. Take a break and come back to it later on...eventually she will be interested enough to sit for more than a few seconds. Also, your daughter is still going through an adjustment since you moved so it may take her a while longer to get situated. Most of all, don't make a big deal out of it. I raised four kids and I can guarantee you that they were all potty trained and off the bottle by the time they started school. My friends who drove themselves nuts trying to reach these milestones as early as possible didn't do themselves any favors because there has never been any developmental differences between their kids and mine.