Gave up after one day - am I a wimp or was it the only option??

[lucysnowe]

Hi all

Attempted potty training with DD age 2.6 on Saturday, was a bit of a disaster.

She likes the idea of the potty (having read the Little Princess book) and went on it several times but each time sat on it for about five secs, said "I've finished!!" v. excitedly, only to be surprised there was no wee or poo there. I think she gets the concept, but it's still mostly only pretend.

Meantime she wet herself four or five times and was a bit surprised by that as well. :-)

So I decided to give up, but wondering now if I should have persevered - she's obviously not aware when she wees but maybe being in pants will help that?

I realise now I didn't put her on the potty every 20 minutes like you're supposed to, I was getting a bit stressed so wanted to leave it to her, which was probably the wrong thing to do.

Also, she has done one actual poo once in the potty, and once asked to do a wee and did it perfectly, but that was a few weeks ago and like a fool I didn't go with it because I wasn't ready...

WWYD? Should I try again?

BUMP

one day? Give the girl a chance! It can take months. For a few days or weeks put her on at set times like after meals and before her bath and encorage her to stay for 5 mins with books/tv etc to keep her occupied and give masses of praise if she does anything. Once she has started doing weed and or poos then move onto pants.It's a good idea to let her come shopping for them. For the first day or two expect loads of accidents and don't get stressed by it or she will pick up on it and will be less likely to perform. A bucket with water and washing powder to put soiled pants in and plenty of kitchen paper and disinfectant to clear up accidents are helpful. DS had an accident nearly evey 15-20 min the first day but within a couple of days was going several hours. Unfortunately he still isn't taking the initiative to go himself so you are already one up there if she has been asking. Initially though I think you expect too much for her to do it all herself and need to keep putting her on. HTH x

well, she might not be ready, but it also might take a little time. It wouldn't be called training if it didn't in most cases require a little effort from both of you.

However, I didn't fancy months and months of wet pants. We decided initially to give it one week, and if there was no significant progress during the week, we would stop and have another go in a while.

In our case, DD was 2.11 when we started. It took 4 or 5 days of continual misses (and chocolate bribery) before the whole concept clicked. From then, and 6 months later on I can count the number of accidents she has had on one hand.

I know one day is just rubbish :) I got so stressed tho, I am a definite wimp. Do you think pullups are the way forward then, j? I suppose I will take some time to regroup and try again...

Thanks!

I am not a fan of pull-ups - they are a menace when it comes to clearing up accidents and it is still a nappy ...

Take her to a shop to choose her undies - and perhaps the incentive of not getting her pretty undies wet would work.

It is a horrible job, but she has the language and the will to try so just grit your teeth and give it another shot .... it is also a good idea to try to go cold turkey (it is a bit like the sticking plaster) and not revert to nappies as it gives her mixed messages and the idea that there is a fallback option to go back IYSWIM...

I am in the middle of it with my DS and there is going to be a big bottle of something fizzy when he manages to be totally toilet trained

I wouldn't reallly recommend pull-ups. I only really used them when I was in a place where I couldn't be dealing with an accident. Have used them a bit more recently as DS has been asking for them and as we have a new baby it has just made things easier. I would go pants first as she will understand easier about being wet if she has an accident. But if you do want pull- ups they're on special for just £2 instead of £4.98 at Morrisons!

I did buy some pull ups, so there are an option... I understand why they can be a bit useless tho. She did buy the pants with me - and they are super special aces Peppa Pig ones - but that hasn't helped, alas.

Well I think if she doesn't recognise the feeling of needing a wee (you say she seemed surprised) then you are going to have a difficult time potty training her.

I would wait for all the signs of readiness before you start. Ideally she needs to be able to tell you she needs a wee before she has a wee. I would wait personally until you are sure she is ready.

When you think she is ready then cold turkey is the way forward, explain from now on all wees and poos are in potty or toilet. Restrict nappies to bedtimes only. Try to chill about the accidents. It's easy to stay indoors for the first week if possible so she can just wear her pants.

If you get any successes at all then stick with it- don't give up! Do the praise and sticker thing and don't slack off. I found my DS got bored as soon as the praise lessened. It is difficult to maintain the enthusiasm.

Finally, expect regression and accidents and really try not to be disheartened. It can take up to 6 months before they consistently do not have accidents so be realistic.

Good luck!

thanks supercherry.

She did a wee in the bath the other night and wasn't TOO surprised by it but it does seem like it's something new for her.

I've bought some chocolate raisins (food as bribe, tut tut) which maybe I'll put into play, if not, I'll eat em.

DD is 2.2 and has just potty trained in the past 2 weeks.

In the first 3 days we had 1 accident and I thought it was fab untill we realised she was holding it all day and weeing in the bath every night!
Then we caught a wee on the potty and it was almost as if we flicked the switch the opposite way as she was weeing herself 2 or 3 times a day. She seemed oblivious and i was tempted to give it up thinking she wasnt ready. Later that afternoon she asked to go so I thought id continue. All of a sudden she got it and has had one accident since ( she pulled her trousers down but not her knickers but still wee'd in the potty bless her!)

Today is 3 weeks since starting and she confidently goes out in knickers, is good at holding it untill we get to the potty or toilet and doesnt need prompting all the time. I know this is pretty quick though so have been lucky.

One day is too soon to gauge if she is ready or not. Give it a few more days to see if shes getting the idea.

We did a choc button for a wee which i think really helped but she is def one for rewards and praise!

Good luck.

DD1 is 2.1 and trained on Friday - we tried with the potty before now and she just played with it and stat for seconds and jumped off to play then wet the floor! On Friday I took her nappy off in the morning and she asked for the potty and that was that - she still wears a nappy to nursery as she isn't confident about asking for the potty yet but will ask when I collect her and go then. She decided herself and I have done very little to encourage it to happen it just did.

I am relieved to read some of these responses! We're 4 days into potty training DS (nearly 3) and I'm glad to read that it can take a few days until it clicks. So far, the first day was the best as DS actually came to tell me he needed a wee, then sat on the toilet to wee!

Since then, it's been mostly accidents, although he has been sitting on the potty after breakfast and pooing for the last two days. He gets annoyed at being asked if he needs to go and always says no so I'm trying not to push him too much or it'll turn into a battle...

Sorry, none of that is useful to the OP! Although I will say, don't worry too much about using food as a reward. We've been giving chocolate buttons to DS when he does a wee on the potty but he's actually not all that bothered by them (and DS is a big chocolate lover!) What really makes the difference is loads of praise and telling him what a clever, grown up boy he is for using the potty/toilet. Lots of praise for actually sitting on the potty/toilet too, even if nothing happens.

oooh, more advise - maybe try training pants? We've got some hanging around which we're going to use when accidents would be more of a big deal (like on the bus on the way to nursery...) They can still feel that they're wet but it gives you a bit more time to deal with it as they are absorbant.

Good luck!

Ooh training pants, I didn't know about those - thanks BTF. Glad choc buttons are acceptable potty currency!