We're on the long road to toilet training...
By liquorice
@liquorice (3887)
June 18, 2008 3:30pm CST
Well, my little one has developed an interest in toilets. Potties hold no interest for her, but toilets you can flush. This is very exciting 
. They also have a long stream of paper beside them that you can just pull and pull (even more entertaining is watching mummy's reaction at having to wind the paper back up into a roll about three times its original width 
)
Yes, ever since we bought the blue plastic Thomas seat she's on there several times a day. It's not always a 'productive' experience but she sure likes sitting there. I feel that we have a long road ahead as visits to the toilet only seem to be random at the moment, (like when she has nothing better to do...) so nappies are still a must! But so far it's been an amusing time for all involved.
Any advice on what to do next on this toilet training journey would be appreciated. I'd also love to hear other potty-training experiences we could learn from (or just sympathise with - or be entertained by!)
. They also have a long stream of paper beside them that you can just pull and pull (even more entertaining is watching mummy's reaction at having to wind the paper back up into a roll about three times its original width )
Yes, ever since we bought the blue plastic Thomas seat she's on there several times a day. It's not always a 'productive' experience but she sure likes sitting there. I feel that we have a long road ahead as visits to the toilet only seem to be random at the moment, (like when she has nothing better to do...) so nappies are still a must! But so far it's been an amusing time for all involved.
Any advice on what to do next on this toilet training journey would be appreciated. I'd also love to hear other potty-training experiences we could learn from (or just sympathise with - or be entertained by!)1 person likes this
5 responses
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
18 Jun 08
The first thing to do is get her some terry cloth training panties and get rid of those nappies especially if they are the disposable one. They keep her feeling dry so she isn't uncomfortable. If she is wearing training panties she will feel the wet and won't want to wear them so she will be wanting to use the potty more often. Also for a few days take her every hour or so and especially after she has something to eat or drink. These suggestions should speed up the process.
1 person likes this
@teeaye98 (287)
• United States
18 Jun 08
I wish that would have worked for me. My daughter didn't care much for the training pants. She would still go in them and then let me know she was wet. And me taking her to go after she has had something to eat or drink didn't work because she would just sit there and nothing happen (for hours). I told my story below. That's what seemed to work for me.
1 person likes this
@liquorice (3887)
•
18 Jun 08
deebomb, thanks for your answer. I didn't think of using training panties. I know that the ones we use now are very absorbent, and probably comfortable even when full. It might be worth a try as a stage between nappies and knickers. I'm not sure if we can get the terry cloth ones here, I've never heard of them, but I think you can probably get disposable training nappies where they can feel that they're wet.
Yes, maybe I should be taking her more frequently. Thing is she's going there of her own accord now and enjoying it. I don't want to push it so that the experience becomes a chore. Maybe I'll make the suggestion - make her think that it's her own idea, ha!
@liquorice (3887)
•
18 Jun 08
teeaye, it's interesting to hear what you have to say about training nappies. I'll see how she goes, and how long it all takes!
@littlesleet (71)
• United States
18 Jun 08
How old of your doughter? most of the girls can get rid of diaper earlier than boys.
1 person likes this
@liquorice (3887)
•
18 Jun 08
She's nearly two and a half. Thanks for your comment, that's interesting.
@carlaabt (3504)
• United States
19 Jun 08
My son really prefers using the toilet instead of his small potty, too, but he will use either one.
I pretty much let my son decide for himself when he was ready to be potty trained. I just told him to let me know when he needed to go, and I helped him get onto and off of the potty. At first, it was random, and then he started telling me AFTER he went. Within another 2 weeks or so, he was telling me before he went most of the time. I never even switched him out of diapers until he was consistently going less than 2 times per day in his diaper! Now he's almost 2.5, and has been day time potty trained since before he turned 2. He has maybe one or two accidents a month, and usually that's only when he's starting to get tired. He does still wear diapers when he's in bed, though.
@liquorice (3887)
•
19 Jun 08
Thanks for replying. It's encouraging that you had success with him doing it at his own pace. Ideally that's what we want to do too, just not sure that it will move on anywhere! It's nice to know that it is possible to do it this way. It's only been a week or two since she started using the toilet, so we'll see how she goes. It's interesting what you say about leaving him in diapers until much further down the line, I think that's wise!!
A couple of accidents a month is very good, and it's great that he's been trained since before he was 2 :0)
@liquorice (3887)
•
19 Jun 08
That wasn't supposed to be 2:0 at the end, I wrote 2 and then drew a face,
:0)
but it came out funny-looking!!
@teeaye98 (287)
• United States
18 Jun 08
Interesting! I thought my daughter was the only one. She would do the exact same things that your daughter does. She has yet to go in "her" pottie. So, I the top off hers and put it on the toilet. She loves it.
Now to get her to be pottie trained, I am home with my children, so I followed the age old trick of allowing her to run around with no bottoms on. She did have an accident about 3 times, but since then, I've had no problems. With this method, you have to pay very close attention to the signs that she has to go, otherwise you'll have waste on the floor. It does work. It took her about a solid week to get the hang of going and telling me she had to go. Now she loves to tell me she has to go.
NOw we have to get to her using it by herself!
1 person likes this
@liquorice (3887)
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18 Jun 08
Thanks, I'm glad that your daughter trained in a week after doing the same sorts of thing, that's encouraging! Yes, the Thomas seat is almost exactly the same as her potty would be if I cut the top off. That's such a good idea, I never thought of it! We have short bursts of time without a nappy on at the moment but haven't tried it for a whole day yet. I'll probably try this soon especially as the weather's hotter now, at least some of the time.
It's good that your daughter's so enthusiastic about it! I need to get mine to be enthusiastic all the time and not just when she's not busy doing something more interesting :0)
@jashley1 (746)
• United States
18 Jun 08
Ahh...the joys of potty training! I will be down that road again in a couple of years! Well we actually found a small white toilet where you could put in batteries and the handle made flushing noises - my two girls seemed to like this! And we kept wipes in the storage compartment so they could practice wiping after they were done. We also put stickers on it as a reward incentive - and with my middle child we had to offer her bribes..sort of. Chocolate milk and that sort of thing to go number 2. But finally they both got it around 2 1/2 yrs old! YAY.
@liquorice (3887)
•
18 Jun 08
Yes, what fun!!
That sounds like a sweet toilet :) I'm a bit unclear though, was it a proper workable toilet that you can go on (in), or just a toy to practice flushing etc...? I'm sure my daughter would like the idea of her very own easier-to-flush version, but luckily she likes using the one that we use - I suppose it makes her feel grown up!
Friends of ours have used stickers with varying results. Some kids just really love stickers!! I don't really want to bribe, but we might have to to get her to do anything other than wee-wee in the toilet...
Thanks for your answer.
