potty training my daughter

United States
September 19, 2007 9:00pm CST
i need help lol. My daughter will be three in two weeks and isnt potty trained yet. How do i really get her started..i know I shouldnt force her so I'm concerned if I should try harder right now or just let it come..please help and any idead that helped you potty train your little ones will be a big help thanks
7 responses
@nikkiwith (1074)
• Australia
20 Sep 07
Hi there, my daughter is 4 and a half and when she started potty training she was nearly 3. She still wets the bed every now and then which is completely normal, i just use one of those mattress protectors. When my daughter started the training i just made her wear underwear during the day and a nappy at night. There were accidents but i just said "oops, never mind, maybe next time you'll make it to the toilet". After a while, the accidents become less and less. When she made it to the toilet i made a big deal and praised her. I used to have a sticker chart and when she made it to 10 stickers she would get a surprise present. The sticker chart was very effective. I also have a book called "Totty's Potty", written by "Sorbent Kid's Toilet Tissue". She really learned from that book. She wore underwear to Day care during the day, and she had accidents, but she always had a dry pair of undies for the minder to put back onto her. You just have to put up with accidents. When she is completely dry during the day you can then start to put her in undies during the night, just get a mattress protector. And remember; don't make a big deal about the "accidents", but do make a big deal about the "times she makes it to the toilet". Good Luck!
@rosebudh (32)
• United States
31 Oct 07
You never want to force a child to go potty. They will let you konw when they are ready to. Mine always did. Some learn quicker than others. My sister says she lets hers go aruond in the kitchen..just because of the linoleum..with no diaper on...and they catch on really quick! Just a thought!
• Philippines
20 Sep 07
Welcome to mylot! Just like you I also had a problem potty training my girl. She hated to see her potty chair. I didn't even forced her to sit on that potty chair. What I did was I let her see how I sit down in the bowl. You know what was her reaction? She wanted to do the same. Now she makes her "poo" and "pee" in the bowl. She never used her potty chair!
• Germany
14 Oct 07
My daughter was REALLY hard to potty train as well. It wasn't until she was 3 that she actually learned. For her it was the daycare. They told me to not put pull ups on her and they would change her if she had an accident. I think I was lucky that they would put up with that. She got to see the other children go to the bathroom and it became something she wanted to do as well. I firmly believe that if she doesn't want to do it then she won't. Stickers or an M&M when she went also kind of worked. But the daycare is what did it. If you don't put your daughter in daycare maybe you can ask one of your friends who has children around her age to let your daughter watch them go to the bathroom? And then after they go have her try and go as well. Another way is to give her lots of drinks and have her sit on the toilet every time she finishes one. Basically over water her :D She will eventually have to go and hopefully you will have her on the potty when she does. That takes a days commitment of drinking and sitting on the potty that is for sure. But I heard that you can potty train in one day doing that. Hope it works out!
@nyumix (1658)
• Belgium
21 Sep 07
Don't be worry. You are not alone. My daughter is 3 year old too, and still refuse to do potty training.She even cry when I start harder, so I guess I need to wait and be more patient. I'm still trying this time, and hope she will go to toilet one day.But I definitely will not force her, I just let her take her time.And try to do it again slowly and step by step.
@dpurchas (91)
• United States
20 Sep 07
My daughter was 3 when she finally got interested in potty training. I was in the same boat, but I had been told that you don't push them. When they are ready, they'll let you know. It wasn't long after she turned 3 that she started telling me she needed to go potty. We were doing the pull ups by then and not the real diapers. Just like the last response, lots of praise made her want to go more. I didn't do the sitting her on the toilet when she didn't need to go because she kind of rebeled a little when I did that once. I think the turning point for mine was that the other kids at her daycare were going potty and she wanted to go too. A mistake I made was to get a training potty that had music and talking. She thought it was a toy and didn't take it seriously. I have heard comments from others like doing a reward system like stickers or other fun things like that can work. I have heard of other moms that just put their kids in underwear and let them work thru it, but I just couldn't bring myself to deal with the mess and the endless laundry. Hang in there - she'll get there!
• Australia
20 Sep 07
Well...my partner and I and bubby's mum, have pretty much successfully "potty trained" our youngest boy. We just started the same way as you do when house training puppies or kittens, after they eat &/or drink take them in and sit them for a bit. I think in a way it's easier to train boys cos you can play fun games like "sink the boat" (they have to try to pee on a piece of floating toilet paper and sink it). Anyway, don't force her, sometimes its a really slow process, sometimes they pick things up really quickly. Try getting her to associate the sound on weeing with the bathroom by making the sound when she is on the toilet, this can help sometimes too. It's really a very individual thing, but there are plenty of books and help guides on the web. Check them out.