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Is your child ready for potty training at nursery? Here's the place for all your toilet training questions.

Is your child ready for potty training at nursery? Here's the place for all your toilet training questions.

Potty training

Holding it in.. all day!!

15 replies

MrsH1979 · 22/07/2013 14:35

Trying to potty train my 2yr11mth DD. She wants to wear pants and is happy to sit on the potty but will not go. We are on day 4 of her holding it in all day until bath time (or in paddling pool). I have tried everything as well as putting the potty in the bath.. no luck! She did a wee in the potty once but nothing since. Huge praise etc

We had a go when she was 2.5yr and she had lots of accidents so decided to wait a few months... so think the holding in is progress!? She has had a few moments of clearly needing a wee and getting a bit fed up and asking for a nappy. Am I being mean pursuing this now? I was really hoping to make a good crack at it this week as we are at home. She has a little 3month old sister too so maybe getting used to that and potty training is just too much? Argh. I didn't think this would be quite so tricky. She's bright and picks up things quickly normally...

Any tips? I've tried.. new pants, stickers, choc buttons, outside, inside, reading books on potty, playing games on potty, teddy on potty, cbeebies on potty, potty in the bath, encouraging regular sitting on potty, not encouraging regular sitting on potty, talking about her friends who are all potty trained, sitting on toilet (point blank will not do this), weeing with mummy, weeing with daddy, weeing with grandma, weeing on her own, ice lollies, lots of water....

Have I answered my own question.. is she not ready? I thought at this age for a girl she would be (and the fact that everyone else seems to be).

Any tips, words of advice much appreciated. Thank you!

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MamaMary · 22/07/2013 14:41

My DD did this. Held it in all day. Hated the potty and the toilet. No easy solution, I'm afraid. We just persevered, rather than re-introduce nappies. The one thing I conceded was putting pull-ups on her when out of the house, as she never asked to go and kept having accidents. At home, she wore pants and was encouraged to sit on potty regularly.

It took her several months to become fully trained, and now, nearly 3, she still has to wear a nappy at night for occasional night-time accidents.

MrsH1979 · 22/07/2013 19:13

Thanks MamaMary. I don't want to go backwards and bring back nappies either.
She held it in today until ten mins before bath when 12hrs of wee went all over and right through the sofa.

If anyone had any tips for cleaning do let me know.

Right, where's that dettol (and large glass of wine).....

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MamaMary · 22/07/2013 19:33

Just keep asking if she needs to go. We gave DD our smartphones to play with if she sat on the potty. Most of the time nothing happened but it's worth a try. It seems like she'll never get it, but she will. With DD, it was a very gradual process. I hear of other toddlers who just get it immediately.

Is it a leather sofa? Sprinkling bicarbonate of soda on and leaving it overnight is supposed to deal with the smell, if you didn't get it cleaned fast enough.

ellesabe · 02/08/2013 22:32

Can I ask how you are getting on MrsH ?

We tried with dd when she was 2.8yo but she was holding it in all day so we gave up but think the same thing will happen when we try again in a couple of weeks...

mumofthemonsters808 · 02/08/2013 22:42

The only thing I can suggest is to flood her with water and then put her on the potty at set times say every 20 minutes. I've come to the conclusion that there is no clean way of doing potty training I'm just glad we have a brown carpet !!!. I used Dettol spray.

MrsH1979 · 05/08/2013 19:33

Hi - thanks for all your posts..

ellesabe, I gave up after 5 days as she was getting really stressed. Started again yesterday after a week of being back in nappies. She is really not keen. It seems to have gotten worse, or even turned into a battle of wills... she refuses to sit on the potty now (she used to be happy to reading a book, playing with phone etc).. no bribe will work.

She still holds it in, then clearly needs a wee (I haven't even dared think about poos yet!).. says she has a tummy ache.. refuses to sit on the potty or toilet - says she's scared. Even if I try and help her to sit on she screams blue murder. The ONLY way she will let that wee out is if we stand her in the empty bath... she wees right on cue then! So she is able to hold it in and then wee when SHE wants to. It is sooo frustrating. How do I get past this!?!?

Further to my attempts detailed before we have decorated the potties, printed a reward chart of disney princesses with stickers... my next attempt tomorrow is taking her to the shops to choose her own potty and pants. I can think of nothing else!

She is 3 in 3 weeks.

One thing she does keep raising to random people and unprompted is 'there's a man in the toilet'.. this goes back to about 8 weeks ago we went to the London Science museum and there was an old victorian toilet which had a creepy looking man slowly poking his head out of the toilet. I fear this has scarred the poor girl. No matter how much I reassure her / look down the loo / sit on there / try and get her to sit on with me, she seems scared of this.

Wits end. :(

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MrsH1979 · 06/08/2013 10:21

Just bought Peppa pig potty & chair potty & princess pants.. chosen by DD. Let's hope we make a little bit of progress today! :)

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Thesimplethings · 06/08/2013 10:26

Good luck! My three year old is refusing to use potty too.

MrsH1979 · 06/08/2013 17:23

Two wees in the new potty! Who knew wee could make me so happy! :)

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ellesabe · 11/08/2013 08:07

That's brilliant! Please please please tell me where you bought a Peppa Pig potty!!!

MorelloKiss · 11/08/2013 09:19

www.mothercare.com/Mothercare-Peppa-Pig-Potty/412041,default,pd.html

Mothercare, have one for £5.

MrsH1979 · 12/08/2013 09:17

The Peppa Pig potty does seem to have made all the difference! There are a number of Peppa potty related paraphernalia in Mothercare and seems to be in the sale (I couldn't get online as out of stock but there were loads in store).

Hope you're having some luck ellesabe.

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Lala29 · 13/08/2013 00:06

Interesting thread. Same problem here, but DD 22 months. Was so happy with potty before potty training, weeing and pooing happily into one after sleeps and even asking for them. Now wont go near one and despite me going back to nappies, doesn't wee in them unless asleep! Grrr! Will try letting her choose yet another potty!

MrsH1979 · 14/08/2013 06:54

Lala29 good luck! I honestly think it can turn into a battle of wills - certainly did with my dd. Dd decided (out of nowhere - no bribery!) on tues that she'd sit on toilet for the first time. Now will wee on there triumphantly shouting 'I'm not scared anymore'. Am soooooo pleased. Must be such a big thing in their little heads. Good luck! (Btw she doesn't want to sit on the potty now !) :)

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ellesabe · 19/08/2013 20:36

We have had a teeny tiny breakthrough today!

We went to buy the Peppa potty on Thursday and she has happily been sitting on it at bathtimes since then.

This evening she did a micro-wee on it! ...a couple of drips but still a wee

She has gone to bed clutching the little tractor we gave her as a reward and is talking about wearing her big-girl-knickers soon!

Hurrah! I know it's a small thing (literally!) but had to share.

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