Comments on: Learning To Use The Potty

By: Use a Timer to help Potty Learning | Feels Like Home

Use a Timer to help Potty Learning | Feels Like Home — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:47:39 +0000

[...] not like before when she wanted to use the potty, but couldn’t figure out what to do. This time, Grace wants to use the potty, and she’s [...]

By: Heather Butts

Heather Butts — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:17:54 +0000

My Daughter and I just went though this. She turned 3 last April, and I was under the misconception that potty training would just come natural after that. Boy was I wrong. We had the potty for a while before she turned 3 but never pushed it. Finally I started asking her about every 30-45 if she had to potty. Of course, she always said no, then 5 mins later she would pee in her pull up (we switched to pull ups the moment we started trying). So next I went to making her SIT on the potty every hour. For the longest time we were going though pull ups like crazy because she just wasn't wanting to potty. Then we started just letting her run around without pants on as much as we could. That helped alot, at least for the first few days. Then we were right back to square one… her peeing on herself… but this time she would hide it. Everyone I knew kept telling me that when she's ready, she'll catch on. But of course me, being the control freak that I am, figured that I could help hurry that along. Again, I was wrong. Finally I started a sticker chart. Everytime she peed in the potty she got one sticker, every time she pooped she got two. After she got so many stickers she got to go somewhere or do something that of her choice. That was it for her. She was hooked on going to the potty. She would pee in it a million times a day! We still kept pull ups for night time though. Plus she refused to poop in the potty. Finally I explained to her that she wouldn't be able to go to school next year if she didn't poop in the potty like a big girl (she's obsessed with going to school). We still have accidents every once and a while, but for the most part she goes in the potty. Over the last week we have stopped with pull ups at night as well. I stop giving her liquids about an hour before bedtime, then I make her pee right before bed, and then I'll wake her up before I go to bed to go potty again (I tend to be a night owl). So far she's done great. We've had one night that she peed in her panties and that was because i fell asleep early and didn't wake her up.

I know how frustrating it can be. There have been many tears shed (her's and mine) over the course of it… But I am totally a converted believer that when they're ready they'll go… and the more you push when they're NOT ready… the more stubborn they will become about it! I hope this helps!

By: FeelsLikeHomeBlog

FeelsLikeHomeBlog — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:14:59 +0000

Laura – What did you do if she held it while sitting on the potty? Like, she'll sit there but pee a minute or two after getting up.

By: laura

laura — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:27:32 +0000

I remembered another thing someone told me… I know all the books and professionals say not to force them to use the potty or whatever. BUT… I learned to just say “it's time to use the potty”. There is no choice. When mommy says sit on the potty it's time to sit on the potty. It's not a punishment… it's just what needs to be done. If I ask my daughter if she wants to use the potty she will always say no. It was a little bit of a struggle at for a day or two but now anytime I say to sit on the potty she does.

By: HeatherOz

HeatherOz — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:47:19 +0000

I do not enjoy potty training and I probably waited too long to get my kids started. My daughter was 3 and my boys were 4 when they were fully potty trained. Once we started trying they got it right away! I had a friend who started trying to get her daughter potty trained at 18 months. They struggled until her daughter was 3.

By: FeelsLikeHomeBlog

FeelsLikeHomeBlog — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:19:25 +0000

So did you let them just wear the underwear that they wanted to wear? And you just cleaned up the messes? That's where we are right now, but I wasn't sure what kind of time frame to let that go on for. I'm thinking 5-7 days, but what if it goes longer? I have a hard time forcing her backwards into diapers.

By: FeelsLikeHomeBlog

FeelsLikeHomeBlog — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:16:12 +0000

That's great! So for him, it was definitely a matter of motivation. I'm trying to figure out if that's what this is, too. I haven't untangled it yet.

By: FeelsLikeHomeBlog

FeelsLikeHomeBlog — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:14:32 +0000

I COMPLETELY understand! Grace was like that for a long time. She wanted to wear the diaper, so she wore the diaper. I didn't even worry about it at that point. Now, though, she wants to wear the panties… so we have this struggle. I know they do it in their own time, and I'm okay with that, too. I just don't know what to do to foster her learning but also keep my floors dry.

By: FeelsLikeHomeBlog

FeelsLikeHomeBlog — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:11:32 +0000

Honestly, that's my attitude, too. I have had potty learning on the brain for a long, long time, but I really haven't been pushing Grace. Now, she's decided that she wants to wear panties, and that's that. I'm reluctant to make her wear diapers if she wants to wear panties… but I'm also reluctant to allow her to wear cloth pants forever if she's going to keep peeing in them.

By: FeelsLikeHomeBlog

FeelsLikeHomeBlog — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:06:37 +0000

Laura – Thanks so much for your comment. I agree with you 100%. I don't want to frustrate her or make her feel like she's being punished. That's not my style. On the other hand, it is frustrating that she every time she's peed, it's been in her pants.

I talked to her about some Pull-Ups today, and she declined those. She really wants to wear the cloth pants. (We have cloth trainers, but they don't absorb much. She only pees 2 or 3 times a day, so it's a lot when she goes.)

I think I'm going to give the cloth training pants a little more time – maybe 5 to 7 days? before I write them off and force her back into Pull-Ups or diapers.