I got weed on today! She KNOWS, I'm sure...

[LissyGlitter]

DD is 2 years and 7 months. We have been halfheartedly introducing her to potty training for months, but in the last week have made a real effort, with nappies just for bedtime and naptime (and long trips out and about).

We sit her on the potty when she remembers, and she will sit there until she proudly announces she has done something and stands up for a round of applause, which is great.

My problem is, she will often stop playing to go and sit on the floor in a corner and wee there, even though the potty is in the same room, and I have asked her two minutes earlier if she wants it! Then halfway through the wee, she will tell me she wants a wee, and acts all surprised when I help her pull down her knickers and they are wet!

Today, to top it all, she was sat on my knee, I asked her if she needed the potty, she said no, I asked her if she was sure, and her response was to wee all over me!

GRRRR!!! I just lightly said "oh dear, a little accident, you must tell me if you need a wee" and sat her on the potty while I went to get changed. This is not the first time the mention of the potty has seemed to make her wee. Should I be asking her AS I put her on the potty? What am I doing wrong? She knows when she needs a wee, or she wouldn't take herself off to corners.

I am 36 weeks pregnant, and was kind of hoping we would have this sorted before the new baby. Am I wasting my time?

[ches]

Don't ask, tell her it's time. When you ask, the autopilot answer is no, and then she thinks about it, realises she does need to, and it's too late.

[MissWooWoo]

I agree with ches! although I was a little bit sneaky in my approach and started asking her to take me to the toilet which she absolutely loved.

On the way there I would make a big fuss "oh thank you so much for helping me/taking me to the toilet. what a big girl you are"

I'd then say "do you want to go first or shall I?" It was always her first.

If you're not already, you'll need to keep an eye on what she's drinking and the effect this has on how often she needs to go. It's pointless taking her to the loo every 5 minutes. I started off every half hour and then upped it to 45 minutes and then an hour and so on over a course of weeks. We still had accidents - you've got to expect that.

She will get it eventually , my daughter, 2.4, took about 6 weeks I would say before I felt confident that she was "potty trained". Every now and then she'll wee herself esp if she's absorbed in something but on the whole she takes herself/asks me to take her now.

This approach may not work for you but it's worth a go!

[ches]

Oh "You need to wait your turn" works a treat sometimes, and when he was younger I'd get him to take his lamb to the loo and then he'd want to go afterward too.

[MissWooWoo]

ah yes, we have a monkey with a weak bladder which is handy

[LissyGlitter]

Hmm, we just had tears and her hitting me just because I asked her if she wanted the potty. She seems to prefer the toilet, i'll give her a few minutes to forget she is annoyed, then try casually taking her to the loo.

[LissyGlitter]

Spoke too soon. She asked me for a drink, and I said "why not sit on your potty to have a drink?" and she cheered, pulled her own knickers down and sat on the potty!

What an odd child.

[stakethroughtheheartofgold]

it sounds to me as though she may not be ready. having endured potty training over an extended period with numerous accidents with dd1 i am amazed at how quickly it's clicked for dd2, who clearly is ready in a way dd1 never was. after the first couple of days dd2 was happily taking herself to the potty whenever needed, with just the odd accident when she couldn't get pants/tights down in time.

i do understand why you're keen to get her trained now, but you may find that if you wait a couple more months the whole process could be achieved more swiftly and easily than you'd expect.