Potty training...again

I agree with the last post. Ditch the pull ups! They just prolong the process. Use training pants as much as you can, especially at home. And yes you will be doing lots of laundry. But remember you will be savings money by not buying pull ups anymore. When I was training my daugheter first I bought gerber training pants and rubber pants to go over. I bought party hats and horns. We had a potty party everytime she used the potty. That seemed to work for us. Also put the potty where she plays the most. I hope this helps.

Hi J.,
Pull ups etc... are the biggest scam going. I have 2 boys 4 and 11 who I thought would be wearing diapers at their weddings. They too, could not care less about a soggy or dirty pull-up. But having on underwear or training pants was a completely different story. It took about 4 days for each of the stubborn little guys and a lot of laundry for me but being cold and wet and yucky and smelly was not anything they wanted any part of. I think they have to be completely uncomfortable to get it.
I fell for the Feel and Learn scam with my second and went to the Gerber training pant which have come a LONG way in the past 7 years. They are very soft and have a lot of absorbency so there aren't any puddles or rivers running down their legs.
I also put the potty chair in the room they spent the most time in that day. I got them use to the chair there. After a while it went into the bathroom then it was aiming into the toilet. Neither one of them is a great shot though,EEWWW.

My daughter potty trained within two weeks after I stopped saying any thing to anyone about it. She knew what to do. I did use the feel & learn which seemed to help but I know others who have used regular underwear. I also prepared myself for nighttime bedding changes, got extra waterproof matress pad and fitted sheets. After six months of my daughter waking up dry every day, we nixed the nighttime diapers as well. I was very lucky. Not all are dry at night this easily. Best of luck!

We JUST went through the same exact thing. My friend passed this onto me and it worked like a charm.

I told my son that he was a big boy now and he could wear underwear. So, we bought some fun undies and put in underwear EVERY day -- no turning back. When he would cry or get upset, I would reassure him and tell him that this is how we learn, and tell him that it is ok, and encourage him that we will get the hang of it (always staying calm and loving -- I think that really helped). After about four days of cleaning messes off and on, he finally got the hang of it -- no kid likes pee running down their leg. It was messy, but so worth it -- no more stinky diapers. ALSO, we had a reward system. Pick what works for you, but we used quarters -- he kept a bag of them and could buy a special treat when he had enough money. When he had an accident, he had to give a quarter back.

BTW, I also found pull-ups of any variety to be more like a glorified diaper too -- no difference in using them.

Good luck!!! Remember to stay patient and reassuring. It takes time to learn.

Denise

The key consistency. As parents we tend to go with the flow and it things seem to get rough we stop and try again. I'm in the process of training my 22mo old son.I've been trying since he was 18mo. We would start and when he resisted we stopped because we didn't have the patience.I had to buy pampers easyups because my son's skin is so sensitive every other brand breaks him out and he's the diapers became too small. I finally decided to stick with it when it seemed that I was buying pull up every 5-7days and suprisingly its been going well.

I have never used the feel and learn pants, but my advice is this: give her the tools - show her where the potty is, show her how to take her pants on and off, give her rewards (we use M & M's - gotta love Kate Gosselin!) and give her tons of praise. If you're not up to the mess, use pull ups just because they come on and off easier than diapers. But if you want it done, go for the underpants. Our son learned pretty quickly that he didn't like to be wet, even in pull ups. But the day I put him in underpants for the first time, I think the stimulation of fabric against his body made him wet his pants almost immediately and he did not like it at all. The feeling of being wet in a pull up is light years from being wet in underpants. Trust me, she will care if she's wet! Then, once you've laid the groundwork, be patient with accidents and continue to encourage her and when she's ready, she'll be potty trained. Showing her how to do it all will help her help herself when the time is right. You don't have to do "nothing", but like I said, giving her the tools will empower her and help her to be proud of what she's done. Good luck and good for you for being so patient. Your daughter is lucky :)

I have heard a lot of people having this issue with pull ups. A lot of moms I've talked to recently have shouted "NO TO PULL-UPS" because the're just like diapers and dont make it uncomfortable enough for effective training. Just a suggestion. Im only in the first part of training where my son is starting to show an interest.

After going through potty training with a defiant 2.5 yr old daughter, I would suggest backing off for ahile. Especially if she isn't understanding or caring about the wet/dry feeling. I used the feel and learns with my daughter, but only because they had the character she liked. I didn't notice that she responded more to them. I think she will learn on her own if you back off, but keep telling her about the potty. If she goes with you, tell her how you go like a "big girl". Eventually she will come around. I let my son wait until he was ready and he trained in a weekend. Good luck!

You can't continue to start-stop with the training. Stick with it so she doesn't get mixed messages. The dr. is not the one having to change a 3 year old toddler all day long. She knows better by that age. Take away the "extras" (treats, ets.) until she learns that she will get them when she's a grownup little girl and goes potty n the potty. She'll catch on if you don't falter. Good luck mommy.

I really think the best thing to do is just put 'em in the panties and don't look back! Diapers/pull-ups at night and for naps of course. They might put up some resistance at first but if they know you're not going to give in, eventually they will.
Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first thing I do when potty training a child ( I've trained three and working on a new one two days a week. ) is spend the day in a bathroom or kitchen with no pants on. We have lots of juice, coloring books, reading bookds, and a potty chair. When they start to pee I put them on the potty real fast. They sit there until I think they are done. After a few times they get it. Then we wear big girl panties that I let them pick out. (I haven't trained a boy yet) I get have carpet cleaner on hand for the first week. A few accidents will happen. I use treats and incentives every time they go successfully. Chocolate chips if they go work nicely. No chips if they don't go. Just sitting on the potty doesn't count. Poo on the potty is harder. I have to watch them like hawks and look for the signs of straining and so forth. I have a potty chair always nearby. Big chears and so forth for success.

And no pull-ups do not work. They are just glorified diapers. They are good for trips to the store or outings where you are afraid they might have an accident, but they have to know that they can't go in them. I never put one on a child unless we are going somewhere for a long period of time. Many times I'll even carry a potty chair in the van and stop if my little one needs to go.

At any rate, once I feel they have figured it out then they are not allowed to wear diapers again and if they have accidents, they have to clean themselves up. I'll put my little one in the tub with wipes and tell them they made the mess they have to clean up. I hold the bag for the wipes and help them get it all off but they have to do most of the work.

I've trained both my daughters at 2 1/2 in about a week. My neighbors daughter at 19 months took longer but she may have been a bit too young. She turned two in May and she's done very well. One accident in the last month.

The other one I'm working with will go at my house on the potty but she's giving her parents a hard time. Not sure what to do about that though.

i dont think the feel and learn pants work at all. my daughters didn't seem to mind if they were wet or even sometimes if they were poopy either. what did work for me although it wasn't a great week was just putting her right into underpants. we did use the thicker padded training pants but if she had a mistake it made a mess and very quickly she got it. i mean like she had three days of a few accidents (wet) and that was it. she got it. obviously it is not fun for us but it was quick. you need to devote about a week to staying home as much as possible and being consistent. good luck.

My daughter is just starting potty training (and also doesn't seem to care yet when she's wet), so I'm not sure how well my methods will work, but I bought Gerber training pants. It took me awhile to find them, but Target has them in the baby aisle next to vinyl diaper covers. Kmart also sells them, but more expensive. Anyway, they look like underwear but have extra padding in the crotch. This allows the same feeling as wet underwear with less cleanup for me.

J.--you need to use real underpants. The pullups don't trigger the urgency feeling with the act of going potty. You need the trick of getting them to realize the trigger urges before they release. They really like picking out princess/pretty big girl undies, so go buy some together. I trained my daughter by having an outside deck party. We filled a tub full of soapy water, put her in her big girl undies and flip flops, and gave her all the juices liquids she wanted for the party. We'd suds her and the flips off, put on a new pair of big girl undies, and by the third drenching, she figured it out and made the potty chair. Granted it was July, so I don't know if you can make it work for you, but she had a ball. She had just two accidents the week after that, but the undies kept it going, and she was fine after that. She was 23 months old.It might be worth a try, many of my friends have tried it and it worked for them. Good luck!

my daughter realized she was wet and dry when i put her in her underwear and i had her feel them when she wet them and you would do dry checks and when they were dry she got a treat. not just for using the potty. the book "potty training in less than a day" really works!
good luck

I totally agree with the responses that say no to pullups. Here was my theory on it- I bought the cheapest underwear and if I had to throw a pair out that he pooped in, it was the same price as throwing out a diaper. We would ask him to go to the bathroom every hour until he figured out how to recognize the feeling. Once he got that down, the next step was pooping. He would hold out to poop until nap time when he would get a pull up on in case of accidents while napping. I decided he had control of his bowels as well so we moved to regular underwear with rubber pants over the top. He had a few accidents but he got it. Good luck, we tried the rewards route too- not sure that did anything at all ;).

Went through the same thing with my 4 1/2 year old when she was 3 and now with my almost 3 year old. We waited until she was ready. A few months after 3, with our 1st. We tried all the carrots and charts...blah blah balh, just underwear...I got sick of cleaning the carpet. I took a few months off...said I did not care if she used the potty. Well after a few months off we started again, this time, she still earned her carrots, but if she did not at least try to use the potty, she was going to loose her lovie and plug (that she used in her bed). Let me tell you, not only did she use the potty, she has had one accident day or night since then. We are going to do the same thing with #2. I do not have the energy or strength to be cleaning the carpet and playing bathroom games with 3 kids 4 and under. We are waiting and will use positives and negatives when she is old enough to understand the relationship. We currently have the incentives in place and some days she earns lots of stickers for her chart and she chooses underwear, but I do make her do anything. I have found that my friends that potty trained at an earlier age than I, have had accident issues ever since. I have only trained one, so we shall see how the other 2 do, in time!
Good Luck
K.

Hi, I trained my son at 20 months. He started taking off his diaper and saying he was wet. The next week I bought some underwear and did not leave the house for the next week. I did not go anywhere. I only put a diaper on him at nap and at night. I would tell him that you only wear a diaper at nap time. After about a week I started taking the diaper off at nap. He had a couple of accidents, but after a few days he was fine. I think one of the main things is not putting pull ups on. They are just expensive diapers. I never bought pull ups. I was tempted, but if you are going to do that you might as well buy diapers, they are cheaper. Even when we went out, I just always had a couple extra pairs of clothes with me. He had his accidents, but I didnt want him to get confused and to me pull ups just confuse them. I also allowed him some independece. Even now when he poops he lifts up both seats on the toilet, and I just let him do it. I know that it is very challenging, but i think the main thing is consistency and not to start and then stop. When you start you just have to keep at it. I would put my son on the potty every 10 minutes for 5 minutes at a time whether he needed to go or not. This is what worked for me. I hope this helps. good luck. :)