Hi,
Thought I would share some tips that worked for me.
I was late potty training my 3 year old- she started nursery this september and I really thought we would crack the potty training in the Summer, but it never happened. I thought that by putting her in knickers now and again and taking her to the toilet/showing her the potty/reading potty stories etc, would be enough to make her 'get it'. How wrong i was! I didn't want to pressure her into it and I couldn't understand how other children (same age) seemed to be potty trained so easily, at least 6 months before her! Everyone told me "she will just click with it and get it", but she never seemed to.
It got to the point that i was mortified that the nursery were having to change her dirty nappies and even though they didn't say anything, I felt ashamed. So, I decided to bite the bullet and did LOTS of internet searching for ideas. This is what worked for me - in 7 days exactly! It was hard though, i won't lie.
- Throw away all the nappies and NEVER use pull ups (I think this was the main problem for my daughter's delay) and do the throwing out with your child. Show them that the baby nappies are gone and not needed (if you have other kids, make it clear that kept nappies are the baby's nappies).
- You need to take a week off work, nursery, meeting people etc. and buy a load of art materials, new toys, dvds for their entertainment.
- Stay IN, at least for the first few days - you can go in the garden but you need to stay close by.
- Let them chose their favourite pants to put on OR go without any pants. i actually found it easier with none as it got them to the toilet or potty easier.
- leave the potty close by or toliet door open, with easy access, with a trainer seat and stool for them to able to step up to.
- Don't ask if they need a wee or poo, just let him know that if they feel the need to go, they can let you know. We used to sing "you tell me if you need a wee", "if you need to poo, we should go to the loo". Not too much though, just now and again. They will only say 'no' if you do ask them.
- personally i don't believe in rewarding the toilet training with sweets, stickers etc. I think it adds pressure and i also think the act of going and feeling proud of themselves is enough. My daughter was over the moon the first time she went for a wee on the potty. I reaised at this point that when she was weeing on the floor, she just didn't know she was going for a wee - they need to get the sensation to go, whilst on the potty/loo.
- Watch them all the time- it is hard and you will get cabin fever, but watch for any look that might suggest they need to go and say the wee song and point them in the right direction or even carry them to the toilet, but don't force it. They will have many accidents the first few days but when they do the first proper wee on the potty/toilet, they will start to work out what that sensation is like and how to do it.
- Pooing on the toilet took a while and she actually held it n for those first 6 days! when she did go, on the loo, it was a huge relief and she was so pleased. I think she was quite scared of the idea.
- no nappy at night or training pants- my daughter was dry at night from day one, but i think that was because i didn't confuse her with night nappies :)
I found potty training a right stress and it was a tough week, but very much worth it. After 7 days we have no problems (a couple of accidents since). It took one whole week and I did find myself get short tempered and impatient sometimes, but I tried not to show it. I went out of the house to familier family houses towards the end of the week, but did not take her on long car journeys or walks.