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Original poster

Starting potty training - shall we have a support thread?

151 replies

sweetkitty · 09/05/2008 16:28

Thought it would be a good idea if we had a support thread for us lovely people starting potty training to share tips etc

I'm on Day 3 of potty training DD2 (2.4yo) so far it's been completely horrendous nothing in the potty so far.

She pees on the floor (sorry am Scottish so a wee is small, pee is wee IYSWIM) and I'll say "DD2 where should that pee pee be" "in the potty Mummy not on the floor" she sits on her potty fine but pee going in potty is not happening for us yet.

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cmotdibbler · 09/05/2008 16:33

Have you tried sitting her on the toilet instead ? DS is fascinated with us weeing on toilet (in fact he tells us to go and do it), and so likes to use the toilet too. Really, not so interested in the potty at all, and rarely uses it, although has 3 or 4 wees a day in the toilet (we aren't actually potty training as such yet)

Original poster
sweetkitty · 09/05/2008 16:43

Refuses point blank to sit on the toilet.

DD1 keeps giving her demonstrations as well.

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sophiewd · 09/05/2008 16:45

I am with you on this one, day one, and pants so far.

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Original poster
sweetkitty · 10/05/2008 16:43

Day 5 still nothing on the potty

Been in pants all day loads of wee and 2 poos she gets the peepee and poopoos on the potty thing and will pull her pants down and sit on it but nothing. No connection with the feeling of needing to go and asking for or sitting on the potty.

Is she just not ready? She should be at 2.4yo she's very bright, speech very good.

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sophiewd · 10/05/2008 20:58

Day 2, and a huge cluster of wees, 3 pairs of troussers, and 4 pairs of pants later.....

Managed to get her on potty at end of one when she was saying she was wet but she screamed so have gone and bought a hige bag of maltesers to bribe her with. We get her on it then she gets of and then does a wee.

We have said that we would give her 2 weeks and if not successful by then will stop, we have a very busy half term week ( we run a B&B) and the new baby is dues 2 weeks after that so will give her a break and try again in August.

Good luck - also search archives for potty training boot camp as cod has started several and I looked at them today and got some tips.

Original poster
sweetkitty · 10/05/2008 21:47

Thanks sophie don't know what to do I have tried jelly babies bribe but thats not working.

She is such a little madam I think she will do it when she is ready not when we ask her to. I have a new baby due in July and wanted her out of nappies beforehand but I don't know now.

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sophiewd · 11/05/2008 19:23

Hi sweetkitty, just checking in to make sure you are OK, we are still nothing on potty and a couple of small accidents and a poo but she managed to drink a lot and hold it in until bath time. Was speaking to a friend and she said her DD went days without doing anything in potty and then everything just clicked so please don't give up. We will get through this together. Your DD and mine are about the same age, when is her birthday.

Original poster
sweetkitty · 12/05/2008 10:44

Sophie - I have to admit defeat and put her back in pull ups yesterday as we were having a day out, it felt a lot less stressful a day TBH than the constant "DD2 do you need a pee pee, do you want to sit on the potty" routine her saying no then peeing anyway.

I'm also 32 weeks pregnant and have SPD so can do without the constant wiping up pee, we had absolutely nothing on the potty in 6 days even though she knows exactly what to do and was peeing and saying "not on the floor in the potty!"

I have resigned myself to the fact she isn't ready, she is a very strong willed little girl and I think she will one day pull her pull ups down and go to the toilet herself when it suits HER not when she is told. Well thats what I'm hoping anyway.

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claireybee · 12/05/2008 16:06

Day 1-all but one wee in potty
Day 2- all morning wees in potty, all afternoon wees on floor, plus one poo on floor
Day 3 - more misses than hits
Day 4 (today)- Tantrums when asked if needs a wee or when I sit her on loo/potty, EVERY SINGLE BLOODY ONE ON THE FLOOR

I only started because she often has a nappy off at home and on tuesday and wednesday last week kept going to her potty and weeing in it, maybe she isn't ready after all...

seeker · 12/05/2008 16:12

I know I always say this - but try not to think of it as something they need to learn. When they are ready they'll do it - you can start at, say, two and a half and it'll take weeks, there's be lots of washing, lots of stress, lots of wet carpets and you'll spend your life saying "Do you need a pee? Are you sure? Shall we just try?' If you leave it another 6 months, they say "Mummy, I don't want to wear nappies any more" and you say "OK, darling - here are some pants and there's the loo" No accidents, no hassle, sorted. You just have to hold your nerve when everybody thinks you should be doing something about it. Think of the wet carpets, smile sweetly at them and WAIT!

helloooooooooohello · 12/05/2008 16:17

agree seeker. If they don't appear to be 'getting' it within 3-4 days save yourself the hassle, put them back in nappies and forget about it for a couple of months...it's really not worth the bother...

Original poster
sweetkitty · 12/05/2008 16:32

I agree seeker DD1 decided just before her second birthday she wasn't wearing nappies but she just wasn't ready I spent months cleaning pee off the carpets, ended up with a new living room carpet and I just cannot be bothered wiping pee off it constantly.

I am employing the lazy toddler led potty training method when she takes her nappy off and goes to the toilet she will be ready.

OP posts:
SixSpotBurnet · 12/05/2008 16:35

Can I join in? DS3 will be four in August, but has autism and is non-verbal. Haven't a clue how to toilet train him, really, but have put him in pants for each of the last two afternoons.

cyberseraphim · 13/05/2008 13:17

Hi - SSB. I am in a similar situation but wasn't sure whether it should go here or in SN. My DS1 has autism, he turned 4 in March this year. We have been toilet training for 5 weeks now. We have had moderate success, in fact last friday and saturday were brilliant, he used the toilet 4 times successfully. However 4 swallows don't make a summer when ASD is on the scene! I could tell what we did and what we are doing now but I'm not sure if we should move to SN or what the others think?

SixSpotBurnet · 13/05/2008 15:04

I'm very happy to move to SN to discuss - do you want to start a thread on there?

DS3 is now poorly so that will give us another excuse reason for not doing anything for a few days (by us I mean DH and me).

madmumNika · 14/05/2008 12:02

Can I join in too?
DS turned 3 last month and this is probably our 3rd attempt to potty train... BUT like Seeker said the first two times we tried for 3 days with no improvement (not wanting to sit on potty or sitting on it reading etc., doing nothing, then peeing on the floor minutes after) son we gave up and waited another month or more. This time DS actually told us he wanted to do a poo after dinner one day (shock!) and we suggested he sat on the potty- and he did it plus a pee!!
Since then he's getting the idea pretty well- we're on day 5 now and he has had a few accidents but also many successes. His biggest prob is that he won't really tell us when he needs to go so I have been putting him on the potty every hour to hour & a half and he'll then pee on demand pretty happily if there's any in there- yesterday we had no accidents. Ideally I'd like him to tell us but hoping it'll all click soon and that'll happen.... Mind you this morning he peed on the floor just after he'd got dressed with me next to him changing DD....So still having a few accidents .

We have decided to put him in nappies overnight as he pees quite a lot in the night and I really don't think he'll wake to use the toilet....Figured try sorting daytime first then nighttime- is this the right approach?

At the weekend we let him run about the garden with no pants or trousers on which I think helped enormously as if he had an accident he saw what happened- now when he sits on the potty he is fascinated by watching the stream of pee coming out of his "winky"!

We also bought him some pants with fire engines on which he loves and doesn't like getting them wet which helps a bit I think....

But know it's probably quite a long road ahead....
Sorry for massively long post!

BitLessTiredNow · 14/05/2008 13:18

ooh, can I join in too? ds2 is 3 and so far has strenuously refused all attempts,so I have left him and left him but he goes to preschool soon and I am running out of time. His brother was fairly straightforward, from what I remember although this could be rose coloured hindsight. Yesterday he had 9 accidents, only 2 so far today, but he goes ballistic when I won't let him wear a nappy and keeps telling me he hates me! Potty training is literally SH*TE!

splishsplosh · 14/05/2008 13:35

Can I join too?
Dd is nearly 2.4. I like being out and about most of the day, and dread potty training a bit, so have put if off a bit. I did get a potty at dd's request, but she said it wasn't comfy, and would only sit on it with all her clothes on.
So I bought another and that's met with more approval, but I still couldn't bring myself to start the whole palaver.
This morning when she got up, she asked to use her potty, and pooed in it straight away.
But I don't know if it's the thrill of it or what, but she spent the next hour going back and doing tiny bits more (never happens in her nappy like that!), and more small bits a couple of hours later.
She was running about bare bottomed to make it easrier, but did 2 wees on the carpet... she doesn't seem to know they're coming - how do you get over that?

splishsplosh · 15/05/2008 09:28

Still only poos, and she does a tiny bit, jumps up telling me that's it, and doesn't want to sit on a potty with poo in it - wipe her, wipe the potty, then she does more. Went through nearly a packet of wipes in a day! Only missed 1 poo though.

Is there often a big gap between knowing when a poo is coming, and when a wee is coming?

QueenyEisGotTheBall · 15/05/2008 15:48

hi can i join??
my DD is 2.5 and this is our 3rd attempt to potty train so i have decided to try and persevere and see if that helps as the other times i have always given up after a day or 2 of her weeing all over everythin in the living room!!
today is day 1 and she has had 2 little accidents on the floor and then did a big huge wee in the potty about half an hour ago!! im so proud!! im not sure exactly how we will handle the wee/poo issue when we go out but hopefully she will catch on as she always asks for the potty and until today she had never done a wee anywhere other than her nappy or the floor!! im a first time potty trainer so will undoubtedly have some questions but hey ho!! hopefully we will all crack this sooner or later
xx ei xx

lou031205 · 15/05/2008 21:16

Hi DD1 is 2.5 and I previously tried with no success. She has been insisting on new nappies when she weed, so this last Bank Holiday Monday I told her it was time to say bye bye to the nappies in the day time.

So Day 1 - two wees in car.
Day 2 - two accidents (both my fault)
Day 3 - one accident as she feel off a slide in the park.

Dry since!

The only issue I have, is that she seems to go every 20 minutes, about a cup-full, and then insists on going to our (only upstairs)bathroom to empty the potty - I'm exhausted!

splishsplosh · 16/05/2008 08:30

She asked to do a wee in the potty last night before bedtime, hooray!

This morning we're back to just doing poo every now and again. Maybe she thinks she has to produce some every time she sits on the potty!

I've got pull up pants for when we go out, because I don't think she has much awareness of needing to do a wee yet, and can't face endless changes of clothes. Don't know if this is a good idea though. She's desperate to wear proper pants

BitLessTiredNow · 16/05/2008 14:55

Well, yesterday was awful, culminating in him sitting on my lap and weeing all over my new shorts. But today, so far he has asked for the potty everytime and no accidents yet.

madmumNika · 16/05/2008 21:54

End of Day 8 and no accidents- hurrah

DS still doesn't really tell me when he wants to go but sometimes mentions it 'vaguely' so I have to keep a close eye.... But I've found sitting him on the loo or potty every 1.5hrs or so and asking him to pee seems to help- he doesn't always do one but goes if he needs to, and does poos if needed then too. We ventured out yesterday for a couple of hours (in pants) and he did really well at first- 2 pees in shop loos.....But I knew he was "due" a poo and he didn't seem to want to sit on the unfamiliar loos for long... so sadly had an accident in the middle of Adams . Knew it was a bit risky going out for that long but HAD to go to banks etc... And personally I felt that once we started putting him in pants during the day we can't go back to using any nappies during the day as I think that confuses him.

Anyways today we went out twice (1.5 hrs & 2hrs) and he was great- so fingers crossed he's well on his way. Glad the 3rd attempt to potty train is getting somewhere, but definitely know this time he's really ready...

Now as for night-time training I haven't a clue when or how to start....Any ideas?

Good luck to you all xx

splishsplosh · 17/05/2008 10:09

Glad some of you seem to be doing so well
dd's enthusiasm is waning a bit, quite often my suggestions to go on the potty are met with a vehement "don't want to". Yesterday, she wee-ed all over the floor a few minutes after sitting on the potty, but pooing in the potty still seems to be going well (except I too am exhausted by her doing small bits, clearing up / wiping / up and down stairs, then her doing more)

Feel a bit dispirited and tired by it all, but it would be good if it was sorted before dc2 comes along

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