Terrible day 1 potty training a 3 yr old!!!

[DumDum32]

Little one starts back at nursery next week who pretty much said she had to potty trained before re-starting :(

So i decided to start her off today. I wanted to give her a week but shs has been poorly with temp fod last few days.

she has been sitting on the potty for half an hour & cried the whole time. So i just took her off & of course she has decided to piss all over the carpet!!!!

im feeling so stresssed out :'(

Everyone around me keeps commenting that she should be potty trained.

Im keeping her in pants & will sit her on the potty every 15 mins.

Oh my god just while typing she has decided to pooh! Arghhhhhhhh

[bloosn]

Hmmmmm....just to balance things up, I'm a father and I've taken two weeks off work to potty train my daughter.

There have been as couple of comments about discrimination by nurseries. There are laws against certain types, these are race, sex, religion and sexual orientation. Aside from these in a free society you can discriminate against whoever you like.

You might get away with "indirect discrimination" if you have a boy and boys have been medically proven to take longer to be potty trained, I think that that might make you a a legal trailblazer though.....

[DumDum32]

So i feel like a prize fool Turns out DD does not start nursery until next week so we still have a whole week to mess about with. The stupid voices in my head had me convinced it was this week

ive been poorly over the past day so stopped potty training. Feeling a bit better today so hopefully we will give it another try tomorrow :)

[DumDum32]

Mosschopz - great idea she loves watching children's stuff on YouTube!

We have had 2 accidents since the last successful pooh but I have dealt with it quite calmly and explained to her she must tell me when she wants to go wee-wee next. she replied "Yes Mommy" so I know she understands. I'm feeling happy at this acknowledgment from her as it's the first time she has uttered the words "Yes Mommy" :) I know I'm getting happy at tiny things & must sound proper MAD to you guys right now!

[Mosschopz]

I had a day 1 like that with DS (3 in Oct) on Monday when we started. What worked for us (by Wednesday) was sitting him on the potty with the iPad/iPhone and his favourite programme. He kind of drifted off and forgot to hold it in, might help you, don't know...

[gintastic]

Yeah, we used chocolate as well. Works great! Started out with 1 for a wee and 3 for a poo. Once that was mastered (2 weeks? Ish I think), cut it back to nothing for a wee and 1 for a poo. Then I 'forgot' to take them out with me a few times and gradually we weaned off the chocolate.

[valiumredhead]

Choc buttons were order of the day in our house too!

[DumDum32]

Really tired - your right i was ready to give up yesterday but thanks to all the lovely helpful advise from everyone on here i felt so much better/stronger by the end of day. I think i was putting too much pressure on myself & her. Today ive had care free attitude & honestly feel so much easier with doing the whole thing. Or it could just be be the piece of chocolate ive just had LOL

So we have had one wee accident but ive just managed to succesfully get her to sit on the loo to do a pooh just now. Im absolutely thrilled as it has happened tears free :)

[ReallyTired]

Most children take at least a week to potty. However some children find learning to use the toilet harder and need longer. Unless there are major special needs the majority of children are biologically ready by the age of three.

Many parents have unrealistic expectations and give up far too quickly. It takes time for child to understand that they need to antisipate that they need a wee more than 5 seconds before the flood. They need time to learn their body's signals. For three years your child has been trained to wee in their clothes and all that needs to be unlearnt.

Even when a child has got the general idea they often have the occassional accident if they are very tired or really engrossed in playing. I imagine the nursery want your child to start toilet training so that she is reliable when she starts reception.

Legally neither a pre school nor a mainstream school can refuse a child in nappies. However if your child is not toilet trained by four years old then she may experience nasty comments from another child.

[DumDum32]

Justanuther - lets not get started on the whole useless male thing. Its the same in our culture - the husbands dont do anything messy God forbid they have to change a nappy! In a way im glad im a lone parent! I can just imagine my answers to the mil aswell Lol

Lucamom - yeah my parents wanted to buy her a disney mickey mouse one as i couldnt afford but i said exactly the same thing to them that she will treat it more like a toy. Ive just bought a generic stool/seat set from argos. She loves the stool as she uses it every morning to brush her teeth. Im hoping she will get used to the seat in the same way.

She is very relaxed at the moment so im keeping it that way for now. Will try the toilet again in about 45mins as she's just had a drink.

Mrsoakensheild - ive kept her in a vest and leggings. Its quite hot here in London. I was thinking of putting her in a dress so thanks for the heads up :)

[lucamom]

Just written an epic post then lost it! Probably just as well, I'll try to summarise:

Learnt the hard way with my eldest-pressured to train him as he was 3 ("DH was dry at 18 mths". Probably because you didn't want to wash any more nappies!), nightmare and very stressful. I stopped and started a few weeks later and he got it straight away.

What I think happened for us was I made too big a deal over the potty. We bought his fave character, had it out all the time and made such a big deal that I think he saw it as another toy/chair so would sit for ages but never pee or poo. What worked for mine was the toilet seat thingy (to stop them feeling vulnerable and falling down the hole). And being really ready.

Good luck x

[MrsOakenshield]

choc buttons rock. DD would sell her soul for choc of any description. It's a nice little reward, and quite easy to stop once they're really got the hang of it. She quite liked her reward chart we used on attempt 2, but nowhere near as much!

[justanuthermanicmumsday]

i did my other kids potty training in easter, those mini choc eggs but in bulk lool they were like whoopee easter eggs all colourful . but yes choc buttons are a good small treat!

[justanuthermanicmumsday]

on the first few days you will have lots of accidents but yes its damn stressful epsecially with carpet. its all right for those watchin ie mil to say calm down no need to go off on one. really i lose my rag and tell her to wipe up the mess.

[DumDum32]

Mrs oakensheild - what a fantastic idea re choc buttons. She does love chocolate :)

Bless u - thanks i'll look that up :)

She just went & sat on the toilet by herself. Didnt do anything mind u but at least she is going in without crying. Yippy :)

[justanuthermanicmumsday]

i agree with oakens method treat with sweets. and chill dont be so harsh on yourself. i have to start with my girl shes almost 3 and they will call her in in january apparently because she just missed the august start shes a sept baby. im not looking forward to it she doesnt tell me when she does a wee or pooh as it is.

what i hate is why do the women always end up potty training. ive trained 2 so far and even now if they have accidents its usually me cleaning their clothes and body not husband. thats what gets my goat.

husband says i have to start and do driving test asap to be honest i just ignore him feels like a nag. this is how men feel eh lool

[Blessyou]

Whoops, *Pantley

[Blessyou]

I can recommend No Cry Potty Training Solution by Elizabeth Pantely for stress-free pressure-free approach

[MrsOakenshield]

if she has speech delay then I think it's perfectly natural for potty training to come a bit more slowly, as she can't communicate her needs so clearly and the nursery need to understand that.

It's Day One. Take it slowly over the next few days, try to keep everything as normal as possible at home, but take her shopping for some pretty pants that she can choose herself (get A Lot. I think DD has approx 20 pairs!). I wouldn't use pullups myself, just pants. Oh, and no dresses, it's awkward for girls to have to gather up the back of the dress so it doesn't get wee'd on, T shirt and leggings that are easily pulled down. Also, chocolate buttons are your friend, small ones for a wee, jumbo ones for a poo (though that may take some time in coming).

If there's not been much progress in a week, stop, explain to nursery and they can just suck it up, and try again in a month or so. We got there 3rd time round, after 2 previous attempts, each lasting a week - 3rd time she was dry in a day. But we had no pressure from nursery.

[DumDum32]

Lol valium - thank u

[valiumredhead]

My ds hated the potty. You can do lots of 'mummy's turn to do a wee , now your turn, oh good girl, you don't want to, oh never mind perhaps next time etc etc'

You'll be banging you head against a brick wall by the end off the day keep repeating it

[DumDum32]

Tweety - no need to apologise for long post i need all the help i can get :) u have all help me put things into perapective. I was thinking naively she will be potty trained in a week or so (this coming from my lovely friends who alredy thing ive failed her telling me tbey trained their children in a week!!!)

Super - that is exact same thing my little one is doing. She just does not want to go in the potty/toilet. Mind u it was only day one yesterday & like u all said i got to stop stressing her & myself out and make it as fuss free as possible for both of us.

Today im going for the relaxed approach. Ive put her in pants & will let her tell dictate the day. Im not gonna put her on the potty but instead will try taking her to the toilet instead. Maybe she will prefer that instead. Im also going to do the chart maybe it doesnt make sense to her now but she might start to associate good behaviour with reward.

[tweety89]

Firstly, sorry I've written such a long post; couldn't help it!
Second, it's only day 1, don't despair! I've got to say though...To start potty training today (for the first time I assume?) and expect her to be ready by Monday it is a bit ambitious indeed .
My daughter turned 3 on the 11th of August and since I'm on garden leave and she stays at home Thursdays and Fridays I decided to properly start potty training on the 9th. My trick was to put her on the potty every 40-50 minutes, remind her (calmly) that the potty is there for her and look for...signs. Children concentrate and get quiet a bit more when they want to go the toilet (more for number 2, but still..). I started promising her a biscuit (with no sugar! :)) every time she had a wee (toilet or potty, didn't matter) and the first couple of times (probably more) she had a wee we were all very excited, giving her stickers/biscuit, praising her, etc. so she started feeling a bit more at ease and proud of herself. She only had one accident (wee) at home and one at nursery and since then it's going quite well (more or less -she still cannot have a poo at nursery and she has asked a couple of times for her pull up to have a poo -I just ignored her).
We tried potty training at nursery in May for the first time and she just couldn't get it. Kept on wetting herself EVERY single time she had a wee, so we gave up after 10 days as we were going away for a month and moving house as well. I was told that girls can be potty-trained quicker, however, with us it didn't work this way the first time. I feel that this time she was ready and it just clicked.
I've got to say though, I don't think that your nursery is being fair and I agree with gintastic, this is discrimination. My nursery have been very helpful with both the dummy and potty training (this is their job, isn't it?).
On the pull ups, I agree with Gina's potty training book; there is no real point in them. In fact, it might give mixed messages to some children. We do use them at night and nap time, however, she understands the difference now and she tries to keep her nap-time pull-up dry (there are some brands that have a wetness indicator, so if she wakes up dry she gets a nice sticker, etc.).

By the way, the start chart does work and even if your DD doesn't understand how it works yet, this is not a problem. We bought the star chart before my DD's second birthday and we started emphasising on each star daily. Sometimes, if she was very naughty during the day, we wouldn't give her any stars and this is when she started getting it (as she wasn't happy).

[supermandoesnotwearacoat]

Forgot to say I only tried sitting him on the potty once, he was so upset by it that I didn't try again and deeply regret trying even once.

[Heifer]

where's Cod? I followed her advice 7 yrs ago and never looked back.