Potty training...anybody have any good suggestions? You would think since I've been down this road two times before, that I would know what to do...WRONG!
My youngest just turned three last week. She has always been very verbal and able to communicate. We never went through that frustrating time with trying to find words and throwing tantrums when said words couldn't be found. So, I'm thinking..."life has been a breeze with her for the first three years, why would potty training be any different?"
HAHA, was I in for a RUDE AWAKENING!
She has been using Pull-Ups, and pretty successfully, for the last year or so. We've been talking about becoming a "big girl" with this birthday and even got some Dora underwear in the stocking from Santa.
This past Friday, I decided it was time. She was home with me for the day and we would have a 3-day weekend to work on it. We traded in the Pull-Ups for Dora. I quickly became aware that my little angel's halo was slipping and she was going to put me to the test. All of a sudden she became defiant - I would tell her to go sit on the potty..."No, I don't want to" - EVERY time I put her on the potty this happens. We go through a HUGE power struggle and I'm trying like hell not to let her win.
This is the kicker right here...she goes to a private babysitter 3-4 days during the week. This babysitter has been taking care of her since she was about 10 months old. She's awesome. Livvie loves her and everything is hunky dory.
I'm getting to my point...the babysitter tells her to go sit on the potty...AND SHE GOES AND SITS ON THE POTTY. She even pulls her own pants down, does her thing, pulls her pants back up, washes her hands and BOOM, she's successfully gone to the bathroom by herself.
Of course, I'm thinking I'm the biggest failure of a mom who ever lived. This shouldn't be that tough..I'm smart, educated...and for God's sakes - I'm 36 years older than this child!
Okay mommies out there - this is an official cry for help.
I'm looking for some great advice...don't let me down now.
Update: it's now two days later and we've had TWO DRY DAYS!! All day long...even through nap time. Maybe I was wrong...maybe I AM a genius after all :)
Update - 8 days later: Okay - I want to thank everyone for the kind words and advice, but I really think we have this thing licked! She has had 1 accident since this past Saturday. She is still wearing the Pull-Up for nighttime (and she's been dry all night a couple of times), but she's "big girl underwear" all during the daylight hours. WOOHOO!!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Potty Training - Open to Suggestions
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2 comments:
That’s tough with what you’re going through with your daughter. I struggled with my daughter with her potty training at first. I eventually got very tired of making her to sit on the potty. Oh, Pull-Ups did not really work for my daughter… so I gave up on Pull-Ups and started to train her with underwear right away. She had 7-8 accidents that day, but she learned to use the potty in one day! She really hated the feeling of being wet! I also stopped telling her “go sit on the potty”; instead I constantly ask her “do you need to use the potty?” If she says “yes”, I take her to the bathroom and if she says “no” I leave her alone. She has Elmo underwear and I tell her everyday that “don’t pee pee and poo poo on Elmo! If you do, Elmo will get very upset.” Now, every time she uses the potty, she tells me “Mommy, Elmo is not upset, Elmo is very happy!” I used a reward system, too. Every time she went to the potty, I gave her one sticker. That really made her excited to use the potty. I don’t know if my experience will help you or not, but I hope your struggle will end soon.
My solution is a messy one, but I had my kids potty trained in a week using this method! If you have carpet you may not want to try... can you guess where I'm going with this? lol Pull ups are great but they're just too comfortable for them and feel too much like the diaper days they were so used to knowing. I put my kids in regular underwear just 2 months before their 3rd bdays and let them really feel what it felt like to be wet. We went through tons of panties and briefs, I was doing laundry round the clock, mopping floors, and wondering what I was thinking, but it worked! Both times, both kids! They really need to learn what the sensation that goes along with getting wet feels like and put 2 and 2 together. Once they have that figured out and realize it doesn't feel good to be wet, they really make an effort to get to the potty! Hope this works for you like it did us! :)
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