How do we deal with DD suddenly deciding to train?

[breatheslowly]

I had been planning to start DD in pants at the bank holiday weekend. I kept the whole weekend free and had purchased some of the required pants. DD found the stash of pants this evening and was extremely insistent about wearing them. Obviously it is great that she is keen, but...

She loves the pants so much that she wants to wear them all and I think that the 3 accidents this evening may relate to wanting to get to wear another pair of pants. She has taken the rest of the pants to bed with her . Obviously we are going with "never mind, on the potty next time please" and we are also giving out stickers for wees in the potty and trying the potty. Is there anything else I need to do to persuade her that it is better to wee on the potty?

She also seems to be able to stop mid wee, empty the potty and then do the rest of the wee. Is there anything I can do to get her to fully empty her bladder so that I know we aren't just half way through?

We have an unavoidably busy weekend this weekend. We are going to play at a friends tomorrow afternoon. I think that should be ok and we will just load up with spare clothes and a potty. Is there anything else I should take or do to make this easier.

On Sunday we are going to a huge family party for an elderly relative. It is 1 hr drive away and DD is very likely to fall asleep in the car. Our travel potty hasn't arrived yet. Any tips for the journey or very exciting party? I would really rather she doesn't wee on any of the chairs at the venue or in the party room as I don't think it will go down very well to sit her on a potty in the middle of the party.

We also need to go to the supermarket to buy more pants. Again, any suggestions?

[amazingmumof6]

how old is she?

ours preferred the toilet and started using it around the age of 3 (boys ) but were ok to use pull ups too if we explained that we won't be able to use the toilet easily (travelling, being in church, at a party etc)

(I tried the potty with oldest, some results first, then back to nappies.
DS2, a chunky lad, did one wee in a potty, then stood up and freaked out coz the potty was stuck on his bottom. never went near it again. from DS3 I never bothered again)

can you buy some pull- ups and hope that she'll accept them as "travel training pants"?

[breatheslowly]

She's 2 years 8 months. She is quite big and will sit on the toilet or potty. She has been wearing pull ups for ages now. She seems to find accidents amusing. I will try to get her in pull ups for our outings I think, but she can be really stubborn.

[BNmum]

I think if she's keen you've got to run with it and see how shes getting on 7-10days down the line. DS was ready before we were and we had to just go with it too.

Get some training pants that will allow her to feel that she's wet but give you a little more time to get her to the potty. I also found the pampers disposable change mats invaluable. I would put one under DS for car journeys, in the pushchair etc. I would also put her in plastic sandals/crocs that you can rinse in the sink if they get wet as wee-soaked leather shoes aren't great. Pack a towel too.

Good luck!

[PandaG]

have you bought really pretty pants with pictures on? If so, try buying some really boring plain white pants. Then, if she loves her new pants, say she must try to keep the pretty ones dry, and if she has an accident it is boring white pants not more pretty ones that go on.

My DS was quite keen on trying to keep Thomas or Bob dry

[breatheslowly]

PandaG - you are a genius, her pants are a mixture of Hello Kitty and Peppa Pig. I think she went through about 6 pairs of pants today, with a couple of hours in a pull up for going to her friend's house. Things did get better when I started to offer chocolate buttons rather than stickers for wees on the potty and for actual results rather than just trying as I think that an accident followed by a try on the potty being rewarded was a bit confusing. I did find this morning very frustrating, but hopefully 7-10 days will give us some idea as BNmum suggests. I also need to get her some crocs.

[BNmum]

Yeah, we had to resort to dishing out smarties for a couple of days. I also saw someone's else's amazing suggestion of a treasure box filled with treats which we also used when he was dry for a whole day.

All kids are different but I found days 4-6easy and thought it had 'clicked' then 7-9days a mini rebellion (I think this was my fault, on his back all the time and not leaving it up to him) then 10-14days no problems. After 1 month we still have the occasional accident, usually when engrossed in tv or when in garden, so hang in there it does get easier!!

Jelly sandals or crocs have been a godsend!