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Original poster

Potty refusal

16 replies

SoloMumJustMuddlingThrough · 28/08/2025 04:09

Posting here for traffic as my last thread didn't get any responses .

My 17 month old seemed to suddenly get potty training. She started saying "nappies are yuck" and "poo poo in the potty" etc. and talking about the toilet a lot so I gave toilet training a try. For the first 4 days she did so well and was getting herself to the potty 8 out of 10 times. The. she had a poo accident (she left a trail of poop as she was going to the toilet - she just couldn't keep it in!). Now she is refusing the potty.

She kept saying "no, lid down" and started hiding in the corner and having a "wee wee on the floor". After a couple of rounds of this I decided to take all pressure off her, put her back in nappies. Stopped making a thing of the toilet at all. She still talks about the toilet but won't sit on it whereas before she was happy to sit with her book whilst I was in the bathroom.

Any advice of how to bounce back from this? Thanks in advance.

OP posts:
Jujujudo · 28/08/2025 12:10

How old is 17 months in real money?

Lammveg · 28/08/2025 12:22

Jujujudo · 28/08/2025 12:10

How old is 17 months in real money?

I think if OP said 'my one year old' when talking about potty training, people would have asked how many months. 12months, 18months and 23months are all very different.

Anyway OP, I'd probably just keep the pressure off as you are and keep the choice open for her to use it if she wants to.

You could also make sure that if she does have another accident that you dont make a big deal out of it (which sounds like you didnt anyway) x

Jujujudo · 28/08/2025 12:28

It get confused with months. I always started potty training around age 1 and a half because it was a struggle before that age. But I have boys so they may be different developmentally than girls. My 2nd child struggled until he was 2.5 with poos to the point that I took him to the Dr. Withholding, soiling, crying etc.
Turns out he has Coeliac, so I’m hyper aware of issues that seem a bit off.

tedibear · 28/08/2025 12:30

Have you tried a toddler toilet seat? Both of mine didn’t like the potty and pretty much went straight to toilet after a day or so.

Bearbookagainandagain · 28/08/2025 16:14

My eldest refused the potty when we first tried (at about 2.5) because he was scared of "wee wee down his leg" when having an accident.

We gave it time (2-3 months), used training pants in the meantime so he got used to having wet pants but without it running down his leg, and continued to read books / offer the potty regularly.

Then we tried again (with bribes lol), and it went down very well.

17 mo is very young, you have plenty of time. Continue to offer it as an option and wait a couple of months before giving it another go.

Laura95167 · 28/08/2025 16:18

I dont belive at under a year and a half DC is saying "No, lid down" with regards to toileting preferences

Lemoncheesecake007 · 28/08/2025 16:20

Was your 17 month old really telling you that she hated her nappies and talked about the toilet a lot…

Lemoncheesecake007 · 28/08/2025 16:20

Laura95167 · 28/08/2025 16:18

I dont belive at under a year and a half DC is saying "No, lid down" with regards to toileting preferences

I can’t imagine a 17 month old talking about going to the toilet a lot either

PoshDuckQuarkQuark · 28/08/2025 16:33

If she's not ready then don't force it. My three DC were 2.5, 3.5 and almost 4 for potty training but I waited until they were ready and willing and they were fully potty trained within 48 hours.

Wait until she is ready again.

NuovaPilbeam · 28/08/2025 16:59

My son was the same! We just kept the potty available but no pushing, also made sure he saw DH and i using the loo a lot, and were very open about toileting etc (some kids hide because they think no one else wees and poos because mum & dad shut the doors/don't let them see).

By 22m he was ready to try again. He got poos really quickly and never pooed in a nappy again, wees took longer but he was out of nappies by 23m.

NuovaPilbeam · 28/08/2025 16:59

I can’t imagine a 17 month old talking about going to the toilet a lot either

Omg mine did! He loved saying poo and wee!

Viviennemary · 28/08/2025 17:01

Get a child's toilet seat. Potties are horrible messy things, She might like that better

Original poster
SoloMumJustMuddlingThrough · 28/08/2025 17:18

Thanks for the replies.

For those who are sceptical, all I can say is DD is very verbal. By that I mean she doesn't stop talking from the moment she wakes until bedtime. She is also tall (97th percentile) so sometimes I do accidentally slip into the habit of treating her older than she is. maybe she isn't quite ready for toilet training yet. I think we will just keep talking about it for now and try again in a few months. Definitely going to look into training pants for the next attempt!!

OP posts:
Jujujudo · 30/08/2025 11:04

Laura95167 · 28/08/2025 16:18

I dont belive at under a year and a half DC is saying "No, lid down" with regards to toileting preferences

If they are used to pooing while lying down (in bed maybe) then it’s what they’re used to.

friskery · 30/08/2025 11:11

Jujujudo · 28/08/2025 12:10

How old is 17 months in real money?

You can't count on from 12 to 17???

Original poster
SoloMumJustMuddlingThrough · 30/08/2025 14:30

Jujujudo · 30/08/2025 11:04

If they are used to pooing while lying down (in bed maybe) then it’s what they’re used to.

Show quote history

It's because I have a potty with a lid (like a toilet).

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