Help! DD won't sit to wee

[PeacefulInTheDeep]

I've been potty training my 24 month old DD for 3 days now using the Oh Crap method. She can hold her wee, knows when she needs to go, and can stop going if she dribbles on the floor.

The problem is that she won't sit down. If she announces that she needs to go (by shouting "wee-wees" 😆) and I help her to sit, she just won't release. We've sat for ages; reading books, blowing bubbles, I even resorted to Hey Duggee in a moment of desperation. Thinking she preferred privacy, I've also tried acting all casual and leaving her to it. She will take herself to the potty/toilet but at some point stands up, so while she's getting some in the right place it's also all over the floor and down her legs. She cries when this happens, which makes me think she knows it's wrong.

Any suggestions on what I can do? We have 2 days left to crack this before she's back at the childminder's on Tuesday.

I forgot to add, when wearing a dress she held it to her privates and did a partial wee. She did the same with a jumper sleeve. It's like she likes/expects the warm, spreading sensation and is afraid of the openness and the wee falling away from her.

Sorry, she's 26 months!

She's too young. Most girls are nearer 3 before being dry in the day.

Yep, I agree with the above poster.

My experience of potty training is that if it just isn't happening, then it's too soon.

Yep take a step back. Your efforts so far won't be wasted.

She's not ready

Try lining the potty with an open nappy/pull up, so it doesn’t feel like it’s falling away.
Then, if it works, move on to lining it with gradually thinner loo roll.

Pour lukewarm water over her genitals to start her peeing. You'll only need to do it a couple of times till she catches on to how to release her wee. This will help her connect the need to go with releasing. I don't think she's too young from what you said. She just needs a little help with connecting the dots.

If she's not playing ball, she's not ready. Don't put pressure on it being done by Tuesday. I always think it's easier in Summer when whole thing can occur in garden!

From what I've read on mumsnet there are a fair number of parents who push potty training too early and "succeed", but then have trouble a few months down the line with regression and wetting.
My own (admittedly very limited) experience with potty'training' is just to wait until they are actually ready. My DS was just around 3. Absolutely no 'training' involved as he went to the toilet himself one day and we just never put a nappy back on him. He never wet himself once. He had one poop accident in his pants at daycare. And that was it. No training, no encouragement, no pressure, no techniques, no wall charts, no treats, no regression!!

Agree. Leave it and try again in a few months. When she's really ready, it will just click. I tried with both of mine, they weren't ready so waited. Then they got it no problem and were dry overnight as well.
It's a lot for them to understand and I think it's the mental work of figuring it out rather than the physical act of going.

Thanks all for the advice and perspective. She's been popping on and off the potty all morning, and clearly needs to go. I just tried the warm water trick but nothing. There's now a nappy lining the potty for when she's ready to sit again.

If that doesn't work we'll just call it quits for now. I was so sure she was ready but meeting so much resistance has made me doubt that.

I am going through the exact same thing. My daughter is 27 months. However, I decided like people say to put the potty away and put her back in nappies but she doesn’t want the nappies on! She says ‘where’s dd4’s potty?’ And takes off her nappy. She will poo on there but we seems more of a problem.

I did the warm water thing too. My dd doesn’t like it - she cried.

To be fair, though potty training has got later and later. My dd hates having her nappy changed which is the only reason I started . Two of my children were slightly over 3 when potty trained but they are both autistic and one of them did just decide she was going to do it. But if you have a child who at 2 has a lot of understanding it’s not pushing it to try imo.

@MondaysChild7 I agree completely that a 2yo with good comprehension can successfully potty train. My DS trained at exactly the age my DD is now and he got it straight away. However it probably helped that his friends at the childminder's were already using the potty, so he was copying them. My DD is the eldest of her peer group and none of the others are using the potty - the older kids are all using the toilet with a step which she also wanted to do.

I'd been thinking she was ready for several weeks and then a recent resistance to nappy changes prompted me to book a couple of days off and use the long weekend to focus on it with her. But for whatever reason she's just not there yet. We put the potties away on Sunday and she's asked a couple of times but now seems to have settled back to how things were. We'll try again in a couple of months I guess.

Stop. It's not worth it. I tried with DD when she was 2.5 and had the exact same issue. I tried EVERYTHING. I remember the endless hours singing and blowing bubbles with her on the potty! Then her Dad died suddenly so I ended up not even trying again until she was 3.5 and asking to do so herself, and she got it instantly, totally dry day and night within two days, only ever had one accident. I couldn't believe how easy it was.