Potty Training During Lockdown!

[LunaHardy]

So now seems like a better time than any and I've decided to potty train my 2yo dd during quarantine! I haven't potty trained for about 10 years and that was with my ds. I've bought her a potty a few weeks ago just to get her used to it but she's still not keen on sitting on it. Any tips please?

Oh and I should say he's 2 and a half. Very smart and active. Drinks an awful lot and his speech is limited for his age but he can say wee, poo, potty etc

Massively disheartened this afternoon... she's been doing all her wees on the potty, until I made her dinner this evening, two massive wees on the sofa and the carpet 😫😫😫
She is definitely holding it but I need to keep plonking her on the potty and she'll go... apparently if I don't constantly do that, she pees everywhere...
had a horribly testing day, potty training aside, and just feel that the last 9 days have accounted for nothing if she's not getting it by herself...

Babycorn - don’t give up! We had a terrible day the other day, regressed right back, but after a nights sleep much much better the next day....

Sounds like she is tired/distracted in the early evening ?

I read about night training, and in prep for that the suggestion is to push liquids in mornings and gradually try and reduce over the afternoon/ bedtime period. Could you perhaps think about that?

@LunaHardy my DD poos about 3 times a day!! She is very very regular!

Some success lately for us. I have found "Pirate Pete/Princess Polly" on YouTube. A 5min video about going on the potty. My DD loves it and has been watching it everytime she sits on the potty.

She's also developed a fascination for weeing outside This started when we were caught short in the park and I held her while she weed behind a tree. Now, whenever we're out she wants to "wee on the grass". The other day I found her in our (shared) back garden about to wee on the floor!!

My DD has cracked going on the potty, she just won't initiate it herself. It's like she just doesn't want to. I'm 99% sure she understands she shouldn't do it but she never tells us when she needs to go. I'm sure part of it due to her new baby brother so I'm going to ride with it for now...

Thanks guys. You are probably right, but she's just been a misery today particularly this afternoon and I don't think that helped.

I've actually noticed during this process how little she actually drinks... she will drink water with a meal (then throw it around, because you know, that's loads of fun 🙄) but other than that, none! Her wee isn't dark in colour or anything, just an interesting observation I guess...

Another thing is I am 'back to work' (teacher) and I am so stressed with how much I have to do to adapt my lessons to put online, mark etc. Plus had a zoom department meeting slap bang in the middle of her lunch time, so she's spent a lot of time on screens today. Think she's picking up on my stress. I wish I could make another copy of me so I had another pair of hands! This is super tough..,

Every time I put her on the potty, she pees. But left to her own devices, she doesn't. Is that normal? As I said earlier, she did try to make it to the potty, leaving a lovely damp mess on the sofa with a lovely dribble line to the potty. I feel awful that I can't be watching her like a hawk all the time, and I'll admit, the second time I got cross. Which she didn't like, but she's been doing a lot of tantrumming lately over the smallest thing, such as she ran over MY foot with her scooter, I said ouch, and she ran away sobbing like I'd just beaten her with a burning stick...

@Indecisivelurcher we’re on poo alert too 🧨

@babycornplease it’s annoying isn’t it when it’s up and down. My daughter won’t really ask to go. She did twice today but who knows if she will tomorrow. Other wees on the floor and seemingly not bothered. I’ve tried to be a bit stricter in saying not to wee in pants. But also trying not to shame her.

Awww, baby corn. That is so tough. Hang in there. I still think it sounds ok. Just do what you can. What about sitting her on a towel when you know she is getting to the witching hour ? That’s what I do on the sofa/bed etc

@fascinated yeah, I won't be making that mistake again! I did put her on a towel or whatever earlier in the process, but she seemed to have 'got' it...

Think I've become too complacent, and I need to realise that just because she is weeing when I put her on the potty every hour, she still doesn't really get it...

She's currently bouncing off the walls in her room because she's clearly not tired because I have been an utterly shit parent today! We did go to the park for an hour earlier at around 9am and she was dry then, and for about an hour afterwards...

Swings and roundabouts eh? I can't do anything productive until I know she's gone to sleep, sitting outside her room currently, thinking of the carnage awaiting me downstairs, and then the clear up, and try and get myself a quick shower and some dinner, before I start working. Having a total pity party for one here...

Sounds tough @babycornplease. Really hard work

@TwistyHair yep. And all these threads bashing teachers etc. It's unbelievably hard to try and transfer lessons (with plans/resources etc) to online. It's far far far harder than just going into my office computer, picking my lesson in-line with the curriculum and knowing exactly what I need to do/print/explain. I've been doing this for 12 years, and this is by far the hardest thing I've had to do, particularly when I am on my own with her madamship and trying to crack potty training! Oh and I somehow have ended up teaching four subjects for my sins, so I don't know whether I am coming or going right now! None of my colleagues have children, or if they have, they are adult children, yet I seem to be taking on a lot of the workload...

Sorry, that turned into a small rant.

As an aside, when are people going for nappies off overnight??

That sounds a total nightmare! It’s not realistic to watch your child all the time. There’s bound to be accidents. And it doesn’t seem like she’s learning any more slowly than any of the other kids anyway.

Argh @babycorn! Can you delegate?! Upward manage someone?! Or failing that cry and threaten to break?!

No overnight training here for a good while. Oh no.

We’ve ended up with nappies off overnight but not at nap time, currently. DS is coming up to 27 months and cracked the training in about 2.5 weeks. He kept being dry in the mornings so we just risked it and so far it’s been fine, for a week or so. I wasn’t planning to try but he’s just done it naturally.

Oh no poo in leggings again. Feeling a bit disheartened by it now. Like she didn’t even say. Just my husband went in to the living room and saw her having done a poo

Every time we had a clothing accident we went back to bare bum with potty right next to him and reiterated that he understood that he should use potty etc

It’s hard to know what to do. Think we’re gonna keep on trying. How long til others were accident free?

@twistyhair I think you have to make the judgement call as to whether you continue. I told myself that providing she 'gets it' which she definitely does then I would tolerate the odd accident as I don't want her to regress and think that nappies are an alternative and forget that it's good to use the potty if that makes sense. Mine is showing me signs that she really wants to do this as she's used the potty of her own accord when we're not in the room with her once or twice and even pulled her pullup down to use it in the morning. We've generally done great but did have one bad day a few days ago which I put down to her being under the weather and she pood her pants a little once and missed completely with one wee. We also have the added complication that she's going to nursery 3 days a week so she's had a couple of accidents there or made them nervous because she holds it in whilst she's there. It's all part of the learning IMO. My thinking is that if she seems to get it and seems to want to do it and most of those poos and wees are ending up where they should then I'll carry on. You have to do what keeps you sane though as well xx

Thanks @Jannt86. I think we’re gonna keep going. She does get it. But she’s not really initiating. She does most of her wees on the toilet but if we don’t put her there then she’ll have an accident. l got my hopes up a bit coz she asked to go twice yesterday. And so was disappointed when she just sat reading her book and did a massive wee on the carpet. And didn’t even say she’d done one.

@TwistyHair I feel your pain. I m also debating whether or not to continue... it's good that your dd asks to go though (most of the time!), I think mine goes on the potty more by luck than judgement, I plonk her on it and she wees, but she doesn't ask, and the times she's used it under her own steam are few and far between... still pooing overnight as well.

Had a major fail earlier, took her to the park figuring it was 'safe' as she had just done a big wee, and we've been going for about forty mins or so with no accidents previously, ten mins later, she did a wee... and I didn't take any spare leggings or knickers.. poor dd was really upset and waddled home in her wet leggings, I felt like the worst mum

@twistyhair how old is she? It sounds like she knows what's expected but she's not quite realising she's going? The best thing might be to strip back to basics and have a couple of chill days where you can watch her like a hawk with nothing on down below if possible and recognise the signs she needs to go. It might be best to try not to sit her preemptively on the potty too much either and just let her figure out for herself when she needs to go. I say that coz my LO really doesn't like being told to sit on the potty and gets very frustrated when she can't do anything. The most we do is tell her we'd like her to sit on the potty before naptime or our morning walk etc and if she refuses we say 'ok but then you might wet your trousers and that will make you very sad and uncomfortable' It's a gamble but it's mostly paid off and given her more ownership and helped her recognise her own signals and plan for getting to the potty independently if that makes sense. Good luck xx

PS. I would just take a potty with you to the park. Worst you'll get is a couple of funny looks. We have a foldable potty (look back at my posts and you'll see a pic of it) which has been a godsend. Until she's showing signs that she's capable of 'holding it' I'd do that. We have now then started asking her to hold it if we're not too far from home and she manages and now rarely even asks to use it. Eventually we will ditch the potty whilst out but I think initially they're probably not ready for that kindof planning at first x

Oh no @babycornplease. It’s a lot harder for you because you’re working too.

She’s only 2.3 so she’s really young to be training. But she was up for it and initially we were only have an accident a day. Now we’ve just had another big wee on the floor after she’d just done a wee on the potty having asked to go.

How old is yours @Jannt86 ?