# Potty Learning



## Erin Pavlina (Nov 11, 2001)

My Emily is about 21 months old. I wasn't really thinking about potty training but lately I'm seeing the signs that she might be ready. I've been popping around online reading info about it, but I really want advice from people doing it.

Should I get her a potty to "play" with? What kind of potty do I get? Do I put it in the bathroom (which she does NOT have access to) or do I put it in her room?

Should I put her on the potty occasionally? She knows what pee pee is because in the bathtub she'll standup and say, "Pee pee now?" And when I say "go ahead" she'll pee in the bathtub then sit down again.

Anyway, I need to know what to do first and do you guys have any good books I should read? I want to be ready when she's ready.

Thanks!


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## Missgrl (Nov 18, 2001)

Erin,
21 months is younger than my ds was when he got interested in potty training. In fact, he was three before I stopped diapering him. I've heard (and from my 2 nieces experience) that girls potty train earlier. So I say go for it! Get her a potty....maybe both kinds. I did the toilet seat one just because I didn't want to have to do the transition thing....or clean it out everytime! But my niece would only do the potty in the living room! When your dd says pee pee now take her to the potty. Even if she doesn't go it'll show her where she should be heading. It might only take her a few days to catch on or you might have to stop for weeks or months and then try again. You just have to read her and see how she feels about it and see how she progresses..if at all. I remember with my ds he would pee on the toilet a few times and then we would go months without him interested in doing it. But when he turned three I got serious! Probably b/c I also had a newborn and didn't want two kids in diapers.
Anyway...good luck and I'm here if you have anymore questions!


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## ltrank (Nov 20, 2001)

Dear Erin -

Our daughter is just a couple of weeks shy of two years old and we have been gently introducing the potty for about 3 months, at her interest. There are days when she wants to use it all the time to pee in, other days when it holds no interest and we go with that. We also picked up two wonderful books on potty training by Alana Frankel, one about a little boy named Joshua and another about a little girl named Prudence. She loves to sit and read those when she is on the potty. Another thing that seemed to spark more interest was a sweet video called Wilson's Potty Adventure - we got it at the library and I swear, she must have watched it ten times in a row, the last five while sitting on the potty.

They work with potty training at her day care center, but again, only if they express an interest.

Hope this helps.

Lisa


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## Erin Pavlina (Nov 11, 2001)

definitely helpful and a good start.

Emily never seems to like watching tv so I'm not sure she'll sit still for a video. She also doesn't sit still for reading too much, but I think if I show her physically what to do she'll get it.

Also, she can't quite pull down her pants. I wish I could watch somone do this so I could get a technique.

Do the videos show how mommies help their daughters potty train? maybe *I* need the video more than she!


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## ltrank (Nov 20, 2001)

Well, one thing we do is have dd in the bathroom with us while we are on the toilet. she is very interested in whether we are peeing or pooping, bending down to see it come out and watch it go down the toilet.

Also, when she is getting her diaper changed, I ask her if she wants to sit on the potty - sometimes she will tell me before so that we can get her pants down and diaper off.

One more thing - she refuses to wear either her cotton diapers or disposable diapers with tabs. We have relunctantly given in to her wearing pull ups, which are not that great and do leak, but the upside is that it gives her a more immediate sense of when she has peed.

She still doesn't want to poop in the potty - did one time and it really scared her, hasn't tried again since.

As for a potty - we use one that has a little separate pot that she can dump in the toilet. it is a pretty simple item and she seems to like it alot. i opted to not get the one that can transfer to an adults toilet because she isn't ready for it and i wanted to keep it simple.

A piece of advice that was really helpful - when our dd does pee in the potty, we congratulate her, but don't make it a huge huge deal, which i read can be overwhelming.

This is a long process - i wish i had more resources like books or videos to offer - if i come across any, i will pass them on!

best of luck,

Lisa


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## stlcjb (Nov 19, 2001)

My almost 3 year old dd hasn't shown the slightest bit of interest in the potty. We bought one and it's in her bathroom. I always ask about peeing on the potty before baths, but she says no and proceeded to do it in the tub. I quess she will do it when she is ready. We shall see. I also have a 3 month old, could that have anything to do with it? Dd #1 is so busy doing everything else, she just doesn't want to stop and go potty. We shall see . . .

Cheers!


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## gwinna (Nov 20, 2001)

has anybody introduced a younger tot to the toilet? my son is 13 months old, and seems to be somewhat interested. sometimes when he's in the bath, he stands up, makes the sign for toilet, looks down, and pees. so i know that he is conscious of when he is peeing. we bought a little potty that sits on the toilet seat, and he seems to enjoy sitting there (mostly likes to unroll the toilet paper!) although he hasn't produced anything on the toilet yet. i'm not trying to push him, just want to give him the chance if he wants it. he seems to have fun with it so far.

am i crazy or just naive to introduce him early?


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## Corriander (Nov 19, 2001)

what I did with my daughter was let her run around with no bottoms on and put the potty seat in whatever room we were in. I would give her lots to drink that then ask her every 15-20 minutes if she had to go. After a few successes and lots of positive reinforcement, she figured it out. She was trained by 28 months. Of course she has decided that she still wants diapers at night... so things aren't completely perfect.

A good friend of mine raise 5 kids in Thailand and had them all potty trained by 15-16 months! Everyone thinks that she must have been a tyrant, but she is the gentlest person I know. She just did the same thing - no bottoms on, potty in every room, hardwood floors.

So I have decided that in the Spring when my son is 18 months, I'm going to start trying with him. I would have thought it would be too early then, but after talking with my friend I'm really excited to try it.


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## cobluegirl (Nov 20, 2001)

We bought a potty chair that you can either sit on or take of the seat and put it on the toilet seat. My ds likes it on the real toilet so he can flush the toilet. He started telling me after he went potty in his diaper around 18 months or so then when dd was born (20 month) he quit for a while. He is now 2 years old and is starting to tell me and he sits on the toilet a little. I have a girl friends who ds is 4 months younger then mine and he is already potty trained. He quit wearing his diapers..they had to no choice..she also let him run around naked. We don't have that luxioury. Oh well I guess all in due time.


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## youngyogamama (Nov 20, 2001)

I am excited to see all the different experieces here and I want to share mine. My son is now 26 months old and he was very into the potty this past summer. We let him run around naked and he rarely peed (sp?) on the carpet. Usually he would dribble and run to the potty and go. But whenever he had a diaper one he always went in that. Now that the cold season is here and I feel compelled to keep clothes on him there is no interest in the potty. Sometimes I wonder if he just doesn't want to go to the trouble of going on the potty because the diaper is so conveinent. Anyways I'm in no hurry so I guess I will just wait until he shows interest again. I think the potty books really help them understand (Aidan talks about Joshua and Michael from his potty books a lot)







Christine


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## ReBecky (Nov 30, 2001)

It's great to know others have the same questions I have. My ds, 33 months, shows some signs of readiness for potty training. What I can't figure out is if he knows ahead of time if he needs to go. He'll pee in the toilet (with training seat or with seat up) before bath time and other times as well, but not consistantly. Last week I gave it a honest effort. He's thrilled to wear big boy underwear and will ask to wear them, but has no concern about being wet or soiled. We are expecting child #2 in Dec., so I've decided to just let things go as they are. We did introduce the Once Upon a Potty video, which he loves, but will smetimes shout "No Potty" when he puts it on.


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## leafylady (Nov 19, 2001)

We have a kiddie potty for 24 month ds. He likes to play potty on it and occasionally pee before bathtime. My daycare provider, who has been doing it for 30 years, says that she waits until they are dry through their 2 hour naptime before she recommends actively starting potty training. Then she says to bypass those pullups disposables and go straight to the very thick training pants. She feels that they need to feel the urine or poo in order to understand the concept. (She doesn't meant that as punishment. She'd clean them up right away and keep on as usual.) She is a very gentle but straightforward woman, so I'm going with her advice in this case.


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## Erin Pavlina (Nov 11, 2001)

I want to buy Emily a potty, does anyone have a recommendation?

Also, are there books or videos that will help ME teach her to go to potty? I'm not so much interested (yet) in books that will help her, although I'll take those recommendations too. I want to see a video of someone training their kid so I know what to expect.

She can't pull her pants down yet but she talks about the potty all the time and sits down in her chair and said, "Go potty"

thanks!


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## jtsmom (Nov 19, 2001)

Here is my experience with pottys. The most important thing for me was that it was easy to clean. (I have a boy) I went through three pottys and the good one came in the mail after I got pissed off and through the other two in the trash. So I never did use it. Anyway, I researched this area a lot and decided that the best one was a baby bjorn. The one I've seen is red with a white pot where the handle to remove it is also the pee pee shield for boys. There are only the two parts, so it is easy to clean. I ordered it through the internet but I can't remember where. It was kind of expensive, like $30, but I think well worth it, seeings with that the two wal mart ones I threw out were $15 each. The reason I know how good it was without actually using it is that they have two of them at the child and parent center that I volunteer at sometimes, and they are so simple to use and clean. My ds liked to take apart the first potty we had, all 7 pieces to it! The only hint I can give you for teaching her is to let her run around nekkid, preferably outside.

jtsmom


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## massagemama (Dec 7, 2001)

we found a little blue potty at IKEA for $1.95! I bought it to keep in the car, thinking that would be helpful , just in case. We had the Sesame Street potty from Kmart at home. When this one made it into the house it became the favorite and the $17 potty moved to the garage. it's only one piece and I bet it's not too comfy for long sits (maybe this is why my dd won't poop on it - but I don't think so). Anyway, I have a girl and a boy may pee into it and have it come out the otther side since the basin is a little small. Good luck! Lisa


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## NaturalJoy (Nov 19, 2001)

jtsmom - I bought that Bjorn potty too, but have been having a little trouble with it. My son is 19 months so we just leave it out when he's having naked time and sometimes he'll sit on it to pee and poop. The thing is, when he goes to sit on it, he inevitably sits on the shield thing that pokes up and it must really hurt his penis because he screams! So, we had to turn it around so that thing is in the back. Maybe he just doesn't have the hang of sitting on the potty yet?

What do ya think?


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## Lila (Dec 5, 2001)

What about the kind that goes on the actual toilet, so you don't have to clean up? Dd is not the age to potty train yet, but she will be soon. I just hate the idea of having to clean out a little potty. Does anyone have experience with the kind I mentioned?


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## NaturalJoy (Nov 19, 2001)

Oh, I have one of those too. Sam likes to sit on it. I don't know, but it seems like it may be harder to train young ones on them because in addition to having to get undressed, they have to climb up on a stool or be put up there.

I have another related question, to boys learn to pee standing or sitting? We let ds sit, but I'm not sure. Again, he's only 19 months, so we aren't officially training, we just sit him on the potty to start getting used to it.


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## sparklemom (Dec 11, 2001)

The Baby Bjorn worked best for my older daughter (younger daughter still too young). We used the blue (there are probably other colors) one piece one that simply sits on the floor. It was easy for her to use and easy for me to clean. We tried a couple others prior to that one, but didn't like them as much (too hard to clean and too high off the ground).
As for potty "training" I can't really say I did a thing. She just started using the potty herself. Children are all about imitating what they see and she, of course, has always seen us use the potty. Also, her favorite outfit is her birthday suit. When we're at home she is most comfy naked as a jay bird---always has been and still is. I have heard that being naked makes a child more aware of when h/she is needs to use the bathroom, so that may have had something to do with it. She was 18 months old when she started using the potty which I know is relatively early.


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## sparklemom (Dec 11, 2001)

1)make sure your child can see you using the toilet .
2)let your child run around naked at home.


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## Ruth (Nov 19, 2001)

I would not recommend this to anybody other than Motherin Magazine readers, but I started potty training my baby before she could sit up. Actually, she started potty training me! She slept with us and we never did disposable diapers so even before she was 6 months old she would first squirm alot, enough to wake me up. I would then go to the edge of the bed, put another cloth diaper under her, and then change her wet diaper and go back to sleep.

I know why the books started recommending potty training at later and later ages. Or, I think I know why. I think parents took potty training too seriously. Or maybe the disposable diaper had something to do with it. With a disposable diaper the baby doesn't know it is wet.

So obviously she was not completely potty trained at 6 months. I just started putting her on the potty at around 7 or 8 months when she could sit up. At the beginnning, I got a 10% success rate, then it increased gradually slowly to 100%. Same thing with night training. Again, I would not recommend this method to parents who do not have the patience because this method takes months. Friends tell me this is crazy and that they don't have the patience and they don't want to work that hard. I tell them, I just didn't want to change so many diapers so the fewer I got the better.


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## laelsweet (Dec 6, 2001)

we started 'potty training' at 7 or 8 mos and at 13 mos we have days of mostly pottying, it has been so much fun and brought us closer

if you do a search on the net for infant potty training, elimination training/communication

or check out
http://boards2.parentsplace.com/mess...raining12.html
particularly look for the links to texts by laurie boucke

probably your friend in india did something like this, this is how the rest of the world does it.... i read about it here in the boards' previous incarnation

if the sites don't give you enough information do email me [email protected], we'd be happy to talk about our experience with e-t

ruth, it sounds like this is what you and your child figured out, that is wonderful. i think that it isn't any more work than changing diapers, and soon will be a lot less work! and we love it


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## KFH (Nov 30, 2001)

I also researched this one a lot. I also read up on it on www.epinions.com . I too was VERY big into the easy to clean feature. I was not about to get one with a pull-out-from-the-back-bowl that I would have to get in there and get pee and potentially, poop out of the cracks and crevices. Ick. I don't have time for that. I hardly have time to clean my own toilet.

From my research,I ultimately chose the 2pc. baby bjorn as well. I let my daughter choose the color. We love it. It is very simple and so easy to clean. It is about $30 (about 2x most others), but the fact that it is so easy to clean has saved me well over the added $15 in saved time. Oh, and we also turn the bowl around backwards so the sheild isn't a hindrance to sitting down. It's not made to do this, but it works just fine.

Ditto on the in-the-seat insert. I chose the baby-bjorn for that as well. It's also more expensive, but is guaranteed to fit all toilet seats, and is easy-to-clean hard plastic, with a nice, contoured hump in the front which catches most overshots (yes, even with a girl). I've never thought that those squishy toilet seats were very sanitary, whether they're for big people or little people. Ick. By the way, for what it's worth, I did read somewhere that it was healthier, muscle-wise to learn to poop by squatting with ones feet on a hard surface (the floor), rather than having them dangle (as from a big toilet). However, sometimes my dd wouldn't go on one, but would on the other, and for a while it was poop on one, and pee on the other. Now she's pretty much exclusively back to the potty. I know we'll eventually get years of use out of the insert though.

We've been happy with both.

I also want to put a plug in for "naked time." Or, as my dd calls it "nakey jakey!!!" She will, with very few exceptions, use her potty without reminding, if it's accessible, and she's (un)dressed for the occasion.


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## fishy (Dec 8, 2001)

my boy is only 14mnths, however, ive heard that boys just take longer on average. i dont know that going cold turkey will do much, except create more laundry


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## Deb (Nov 19, 2001)

It sounds like you're ready for them to be out of diapers, but they're not ready for it yet - frustrating, isn't it?.

Here's how it worked for us:
My son was 3.5 before he would finally agree to pee on the potty. Once he started, he never had an accident. He resisted pooping on the potty, however, and finally started doing that when he was 4.5. From the information I gathered (much of it here at mothering), many children will take their time and will do it when they're ready (especially boys for some reason). My son still wears a pull-up at night and has just recently started staying dry on occasional nights - he's 5.5 now. It was a process and he was in control. Especially with the pooping thing, the more I pushed, the more he resisted. I had to back off and let it go - then he decided when he was ready.


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## Jish (Dec 12, 2001)

My son was very anti-potty. He wouldn't even sit on his potty chair with his pants on. When he was 37 months I conveniently "ran out" of diapers one morning (I still had one left







) so I told him that I was going to let him run around naked until we had a chance to go to the store later that morning. I told him that if he felt like he had to go to let me know and I would show him what to do. He let me know and I showed him how to sit on the potty and pee. We have old carpet and I wasn't really worried about accidents. He went a couple times that morning before we headed to the store. I asked him before we went if he wanted to start using the potty all the time and wearing big boy underwear, or if he wanted to wear diapers again. He chose diapers. Unfortunately, when we got to the store their were virtually no diapers left in his size. The only ones in his size were Luvs, and I hate the way they smell. I told him that they were out of diapers and we would have to get pull ups instead. We got an off brand without the disappearing stars. I believe that whole trip was devine intervention. I still let him go naked at home because as long as he didn't have pants on he used the potty every time, but if I put a pull up on him he peed in it.

We were out of town one day and I ran out of fake pull ups. I stopped at Kmart and all they had were the real thing with the dissappearing stars. I always swore that I would never use those, but by golly, they worked like a charm. He LOVED them. We went through 3 packages of Pull Ups and then we were able to move him to real underwear with Pull Ups at night for a few more months. I'm not saying that he never had an accident, he had many and I had to start carrying extra underwear and pants for him when we went out, but he used the potty most of the time unless he was really involved in something and forgot. I pretty much let him go at his own speed and didn't push him to do anything he didn't want to do. He liked the pull ups and chose to continue to use them after we started. He liked that he could pull them up and down. I did make the commitment that once he decided he liked them that I wasn't going back to diapers. We would only move forward from there.

Of all of my friends children (I am talking more than a couple dozen children) I only know of one who was fully potty trained before their third birthday, but I know of several who have just potty trained and are well into the middle of their fourth year. My neice just potty trained when she started a new day care a month ago, and she will be four in May.

My advice is not to worry. If you wait until they are ready, you will save yourself a lot fo headaches. Look for the signs and let them run naked when you can, and the rest will come.

Good luck!


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## Jish (Dec 12, 2001)

Not a problem, Dana. I thought it was much easier just waiting until he was ready. A step sister started training her daughter (my neice I mentioned) shortly after she turned two (our children are five days apart). My son was trained six months before her daugher. I saved myself a year and a half of frustration by waiting. I'll give you a couple more tips if you want them. My son was urine trained in a month, but it took three months to be poopy trained because of what we call the "poopy incident." Those darn potty chairs are designed so that boys have to sit so far back on the seat to pee, that if they are pooping and sitting like they do to pee, the poop goes straight on the seat rather than in the hole. He was pretty regular so I usually knew when he was going to poop and tried to stay home, but I kept him in underwear and changed him after he would poop in them. I was afraid to confuse him by putting him in a diaper to poop. He did learn that it was uncomfortable and would want it changed right away. I did make him help me with the laundry (just putting it in and adding detergent.) Those potty chairs are great for girls, but they need a design change for boys. After about a month my son decided he liked to pee standing up. He was great at it and it made it so much easier for him.

FYI, about 75% of my friends kids have had a relapse in their urine training after we thought they had been trained for about a month. It lasts for about two weeks, and ends as soon as it started. My MIL has nannied for several families in her retirement and potty trained all the kids, and said that all of them did the same thing. It's pretty bizarre. If it doesn't happen, great, but if it does, don't worry, it's temporary.

If you ever need any helpful hints, or want to vent frustration







let me know.


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## kezia (Nov 19, 2001)

Actually, I'm trying to decide if I should get a potty chair, or one of those seat things that goes on the big toilet. We have a tiny bathroom, so I would rather get the seat thing, but I read somewhere that they need to have their feet on the floor rather than dangling (?). Would a stepstool in front of the toilet work?

Ds is 21 mos and has started telling me when he needs to pee/poop, and I wasn't prepared for him to start this soon. I've tried sitting him on the toilet a couple of times, but he protests. Should I take this as a sign that he might prefer a potty?

Help!


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## beccaboo (Nov 30, 2001)

For my ds and several other toddlers we know, the flip-up seat that fits onto the potty is what they prefer. We have a little molded plastic Baby Bjorn one that he has never actually used. As you said, we just keep a step stool right next to the toilet and move it in front when he's using the potty. Good luck!


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## lilyka (Nov 20, 2001)

I am feet firmly planted on the floor kinda girl. Baby bjorn makes a potty that is really low to the ground and only one piece. I refer to it as the squatty potty because they just sorta squat over it, which is thier natural position anyway. I figure learning to get your pants down and find the potty when you have to go is one skill and pooping in an unatural positon is another. One thing at a time. Of course I can't find one of those potties for my girly where I live and even on the potty we have her little feet don't touch the ground completely.


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## kezia (Nov 19, 2001)

The Baby Bjorn is the one I've been looking at, too. I found it online:

http://store.babycenter.com/product/...056?sku=104058

They also sell the Baby Bjorn toilet seat, but iit's $30. I really don't have the $$$$ right now to buy both, so I may just start with the potty, then get the seat later.


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## rocketmom (Dec 14, 2001)

Wow that baby bjorn potty chair looks great! I hated the one I had for dd1. I really like the idea of letting your child pick out his/her own potty and training pants. I wish I would have thought of that the first time around with dd1, perhaps she would have been into it more if I had given her more options....
Dd2 is starting to get interested in the toilet, and she is almost 21 mos. She is interested way sooner that dd1 was I think it is because she sees her big sis going to the bathroom and wants to sit up on the toilet too....


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## lilyka (Nov 20, 2001)

http://store.babycenter.com/product/..._training/3061

This is the one I was talking about. I have also seen them in the shape of animals and dragons.


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## youngnhappymamma (Feb 3, 2002)

My son is 3 1/2. He knows how to urinate on the toilet really well...he urinates every time we put him on it (well...he get's on the toilet by himself now) and has ever since he was about 24 months. He just doesn't want to have to bother or doesn't really even realize when he is wearing a diaper that he is urinating. And he has explained to us that he does not want to poop in the toilet. He even goes into his room and shuts the door to be by himself to poop in his diaper, but does not feel comfortable with the idea of pooping in the toilet. But, as I said...he loves to urinate in it. We've never used a potty chair...never liked the idea plus the hole is usually way too small for a 2 1/2 year old and older....plus it may be confusing for a child to go to the bathroom in a different place than his mom and dad go to the bathroom. Or maybe I'm wrong...maybe the child will think it's special. It just sounds a lot harder to me to do the potty chair thing....and once your child is older...harder for them too...especially boys. So I don't anticipate my 3 year old potty training anytime in the next month or so...but I think a few more months and he will be ready and will probably just about train himself....maybe his younger brother (now 22 months) will want to follow suit and be like his big brother. That is what I am planning, anyway.


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## Sierra (Nov 19, 2001)

Just bumping this for more suggestions and going to move this over to the Real Life With a Toddler forum.

Sierra


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## PM (Nov 19, 2001)

Sorry for the additional potty training thread! I bought my dd a potty trainer (can't really remember what they're called in English) about 2 months ago. She is now 21 mos. She knew immediately what it was, since she had seen other children using them. So she kinda avoided it for a while. Now she sits on it every times she makes "caca". But only after. And fully clothed. But she does consistently pull out the potty trainer and sit on it when she poops. Are we close? Should I start pulling her pants down, etc. when she starts to say she wants the "caca"? She usually will run off if I try to do that. Any tips? I'm not in a hurry, just wanna do things the right way.

Thanks!


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## Alexander (Nov 22, 2001)

You're doing ok. we found "caca" was harder to achieve at first than P P . But it turned around soon.

We also had a lot of nudy days / weeks so they could sit down anytime! Best done during the summer







Brrrr.

Hope this helps.

a


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## peggy (Nov 19, 2001)

I think it is really inportant to let her 'lead" you on this. Sounds like she's really starting to make the connection. Now try dumping the contents of the diaper into the potty, so she can see that it belongs there.
If she's not interested in sitting down to actually go yet, let that go for a while.

peggy


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## PM (Nov 19, 2001)

Oh! Great idea Peggy! I hadn't thought of that. I haven't done anything yet, and I mean anything. She's totally leading the show here!







I'm just wondering, I mean I'm gonna have to help her eventually, but I don't know when! KWIM? But I love your idea, so that'll be the next step. Thanks!


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## KFH (Nov 30, 2001)

Sounds like you're doing fine. Peggy's idea sounded like a good one for your scenario.
How close are you? WHO KNOWS??!!??! My dd's been quite interested in this since 15-16 mos., (23 mos. now) but since she can't take down her own pants, what's the use? Alexander's mention of "nudy days" seems to ring true for us. In our house it's "nakey jakey days", and these are the times when she almost uses the potty without fail for all her "business". We are to the point now, where every so often (not too often--no nagging!!) we excitedly mention that if she decides to use the potty all the time, she can wear underpants like mamma and daddy. She seems to respond as if this is a 'cool' idea.


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## Jish (Dec 12, 2001)

We didn't even start until my ds was three. A few weeks after his b-day we started having "naked mornings" and he did fine while he was naked. We also asked him to sit on it before bath, but most of the time he didn't have any results.

I am a firm believer that most things our children do developmentally are sort of predetermined in their brains. We can encourage our children to walk by giving them walkers, holding their hands and coaxing them to walk to us, but in the end they won't do it until THEY are ready. We simply amuse/frustrate ourselves trying to get them to do it sooner. I think the same is true for potty training. I think my son had a certain age predetermined in his brain as to when he would potty train. I could have started encouraging it when he was two, but I don't think that he would have fully trained any sooner. I would only have succeded in frustrating myself for a year. Most of my friends and I waited until our children were at or near their third birthdays, and we all though it was much easier than people tell you potty training will be. I had a few friends who began training when their children were two, and they always complained about it and talked about how miserable potty training was, and how long it took. My step sister was one of these. She started training her neice (who is five days older than my ds) when she turned two, I waited until ds was three. My ds was urine trained in one month and poop trained in three months. My neice was fully potty trained two months ago -- after more than a year and a half of frustration for my step sister, and my son was trained months before her daughter.

Just food for thought. If you follow your dd's lead, you will do just fine.


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## glad2bemama (Jan 12, 2002)

You know, it was interesting, because I was so comfortable with letting my son " lead the way " with co-sleeping, breastfeeding, and just about everything. But potty training I did worry about.

All of my friends started a little before 2. And I bought the small potty and everything, but he told me " no way. I like diapers! " There was no changing his mind. We even tried naked days in the summer at home, but he did not like that either and became very upset when he had to go and wet himself.

Then I bought some cute little potty books-- like " Sam's Potty " and " Everbody Poops " and a " Kermit Uses the Potty ." And he liked these, but it wasn't until I bought him... gasp... "The What to Expect When You are Using the Potty " book that he really got it. He is very technical. Once he understood where the toilet paper and water went after they were flushed and how and why our body makes waste-- he was all set.

The next day he used the potty and has never had an accident. He was 3 years old.

I guess the moral of the story is that I believe that you can guide them a little, but children do it ( as with all things ) when they are ready.

Good luck!!! Now, it will be interesting to see what happens with my second...


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## Trentonsmom (Dec 31, 2001)

This is the one I have - no bells and whistles, easy to clean, perfect for my little one.
Chelly
DS Trenton 8/9/19

Quote:

_Originally posted by lilyka_
*http://store.babycenter.com/product/..._training/3061

This is the one I was talking about. I have also seen them in the shape of animals and dragons.*


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## Galen (Feb 5, 2002)

Hi:

My son is almost 3 years old, and shows absolutely NO desire to ever wear anything but his pull-ups. He knows how to hold it, and direct the flow- but will not go into the potty. It is very frustrating, but I guess that he will deign to let us mere mortals (his parents) when he is ready to use the potty!!!







:

He will start to use it eventually, so just go with the flow (no pun intended)and don't push it too much!! If I get too insistent about something, Dylan gets VERY hard-headed and stubborn.

Good luck!
Galen


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## Jish (Dec 12, 2001)

We got the one that has the stars on the bottom that change color when they pee on them. I can't remember who makes it. It might be Fisher Price, or Playskool.It was actually our second chair that we picked up at a second hand store because the first one was a pain in the a** to empty. Make sure what ever you get has the easy to empty cup. I checked out that second Baby Bjorn seat, but it would be nearly impossible to rinse out in our bathroom sink, and I really didn't want to rinse urine out in my kitchen sink. My son also didn't begin training until he was three, and although he is average size, some pottys don't have a very wide base and he would tip when he sat down on them (at friends houses and such.) The one with the stars has a really wide base and is very sturdy, although I do wish it were a bit higher, but my ds didn't mind sitting so low.

With boys, beware of that splash guard that comes with it. It seems like a great idea, but OUCH if they sit wrong, or catch their little unit on it when they stand up. My son loved it when the stars changed colors. He also enjoyed emptying the cup into the big toilet himself. The only negative with potty chairs with boys is that they have to sit so far back on the seat so that they can hold their penis down, that if they have to poop and they don't scoot forward, they wind up pooping on the back of the seat and it squishes up around them. It was an incident like this that resulted in my ds taking two months longer to poop train than urine train.

The added bonus was that when he began standing at the big potty it made a great stepstool for him. It put him at just the right height.


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## Trentonsmom (Dec 31, 2001)

The going naked is a good idea - but right now its too cold. There is nothing more frustrating than an excited 30 month old, who wants to keep taking the diaper off.
I let my son run around with nothing on when its warm enough, otherwise we just put a diaper on unless he asks to go potty.
I hope it warms up soon, cause I think he's ready for one or two days intense "training"......
Has anyone done it in one or two days? I've heard there is a book about that somewhere.......
Chelly
DS Trenton 8/19/99


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## simonee (Nov 21, 2001)

The average male lives almost 80 years nowadays. With a little luck you'll witness 60 of them.

Only 3 or 4 or 5 of those will be spent in diapers (OK barring a few at the end maybe







), and the rest of the time you'll think back on how cute it was. Really, in the long run one or even two extra years doesn't matter at all.

I've heard that it's a lot of hassle to get your newly trained kid on the potty whenever s/he feels the urge. That's why I don't mind at all that my 2 1/2 year old daughter shows no interest whatsoever, even though she's always been into running around naked. When she has to go, she simply asks for a diaper ~ LOL. And we can do outside things for more than half an hour at a time...

I've also heard that kids who were a little forced to pottytrain are more likely to become bedwetters, which can cause a lot of embarrassment for the kid at an age where that counts. It's better to use embarrassment to your advantage: I don't doubt that the day will come where he simply decides he doesn't want to be a "baby" anymore. And maybe switch within a day!

Just let him do what he wants. Eventually he'll want to get rid of the diapers. And if not, bite me!


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## cobluegirl (Nov 20, 2001)

We are trying the potty training thing too. Somedays I do great and take him to the toilet on a regular basis but days I don't want to take the time and he won't tell me so....I guess it will wait. I would really like to have him out of diapers since I have two in them but.....maybe I will potty train them together...LOL

I had a lady tell me that her boys were way easier to train because they can pee in things like jars and stuff. When they were out she always had jars for them to pee in when they weren't near a toilet she would use the jars and then just empty them when she was somewhere where she could. She had both her boys trained by 2 yo. I found this whole story very frustrating....we haven't even tried to show him that he can pee standing up. I would rather him pee sitting down...let mess but I guess if standing up helps I will get dh to show him how to do it...that might be a challenge because he doesn't even like me in the room when he is peeing


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## Jackalyn (Jan 13, 2002)

Good evening Moms,

What great comments.

My daughter is 2 1/2 and has no interest in using the potty unless I let her wipe herself 10 times. There is this big amazement with wiping and flushing.

Here is a laugh. One day I put her on the potty. We read four potty books, twenty minutes later, I finally gave up and put her down in the hallway went to get her a diaper, she went pee on the carper, retrieve some tp, wiped herself, scrubbed the floor with some new tp, threw the tp in the toliet, flushed the toliet, and clapped and said potty mommy. What a riotic.

I have given up on the pressures on toliet training. It is amazing how many of my friends, family, strangers think that potty training is a race. Just let the child breath for god sakes.

I have told Audrey that when she wants to go on the potty let me know. I ask her frequently some weeks she will get on it but never go it and some weeks she says no.

So I am being patient and not stressing her out or myself. Thanks for all the encouragement from the ones who know how to nuture our gifts without competition.

Thanks,

Jackalyn


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## Bambalily (Mar 6, 2002)

Just out of curiosity, for those of you who's babes have already potty trained or are in the process, how did you get started? How easy/hard was it to get them to sit on the potty and try to go? First time? Subsequent times? How much do you twist their arms if they really don't want to do it? How old were they when they began, and how long did it take?


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## almost40mama (Mar 2, 2002)

*how did you get started?*
We just started about two weeks ago. About 6-8 months ago, we bought one of those stand alone potty seats, so dd could get used to seeing it. We talked about what it was, and she enjoyed sitting on it (fully clothed) and pretending she was peeing. I also purchased a couple of books for dd, "Everyone Poops," "My Potty Book," and "The Gas We Pass" (though that one really isn't very helpful for toiled learning...it's just funny as hell).

*How easy/hard was it to get them to sit on the potty and try to go?*
It was relatively easy to get her to sit because she was used to sitting on her little potty, and she was used to seeing dh and I sit on the toilet because we always leave the door open for her. In retrospect, I should have never purchased the little potty. It turned out to be confusing for dd. We ended up buying a small seat that fits on the toilet, and a stool so dd can climb up herself and sit without falling in.

*First time?*
The first time she actually peed in the toiled she was very excited. The excitement seemed to die down with subsequent visits to the bathroom. We started a "sticker" system whereby everytime she pees in the pot, she gets to choose a sticker and stick it to a posterboard in her room. She loves this and it seems to be good incentive for her.

*How much do you twist their arms if they really don't want to do it?*
I don't twist her arm AT ALL. If she says she doesn't want to go, we don't make an issue of it...if she pees or poops in her pull-up or underpants, oh well. I figure that sooner or later she'll just realize that it's more comfortable to have dry underpants. I don't want to pressure her because I think that would make the whole learning experience backfire.

*How old were they when they began, and how long did it take?*
dd is 2.5, and we just started two weeks ago. I think it's going to take a few more weeks with her. Just a couple of days ago she started saying, "I don't want to be a big girl, I'm a baby." She's also started asking me to feed her, something which she hasn't done since she was about 1.5. I can tell she's feeling the pressure of growing up, and that's related to the whole toileting process. We are still encouraging her to use the pot, but like I said, we're not pushing at all. She'll use it about half the time, which is just fine. Actually, last night she had her first poop in the toilet...we partied down! She was very proud of herself.

I'm finding that patience and no pressure is the key for us. It'll happen sooner or later.

Hope that helps! Feel free to PM me if you want to more about what we're doing.

Good luck,
Marilee


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## kazmir (Nov 21, 2001)

My DD is 22 months and we also bought a potty in November to get her used to the idea. Same as Almost40mama we let dd watch us on the toilet and she loved to sit on it and pretend to grunt and pee. She loved toilet paper the best, always had to wipe even if she was fully clothed.

A couple of weeks ago I was on the tiolet and dd undressed herself, sat down and actually peed! It was great. Now I dress her so she can get undressed by herself - although she does it when she isnt' in the potty too.

At daycare last week she poo'd in potty after being naked in the pool for a while.

So it is starting!

Now I try to encourage her by letting her run around naked in the evenings and asking her if she has to go potty occasionally. I also want to put her on the potty in the am and at night before bed to encourage her.....

Whoppee!!!!

Good luck!
Robin


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## dotcommama (Dec 30, 2001)

I have two ds 4yrs and 20mos. My 4yr old is potty trained, although he still has accidents at night.

How did you get started?
We bought a potty when he was around a year and a half. We just sort of left it out for him to try whenever he felt like it. We put him on it before bath time and encourage him to use it then. The rest of the day if he happened to ask to use it we would, if he was sucessful we clapped and made a big fuss - but that's it. We didn't really try hard to potty train until he was about age 3

How easy/hard was it to get them to sit on the potty and try to go?

First time?
IMO it was so easy at first b/c he thought it was fun and different. After awhile it wasn't so new and interesting anymore it got harder

How much do you twist their arms if they really don't want to do it?
Well. . .by 3 when he still wasn't showing an interest I started to push him. First we tried a sticker chart and that worked for a few days until he got bored with it. Then we tried bribery with candy, that also worked for a few days until he got bored with it. Finally we just gave up on pushing him and when he was ready (around age 3 1/2) he said he wanted to wear "big boy underwear" and has rarely had an accident during the day since.

I think what I learned was my child was not going to potty learn until he was darn well ready no matter what I did. This time around I'm going to just wait until my ds shows me he wants to do it and not worry about how old he is or if every other child his age is already trained.

LMK


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## SoHappy (Nov 19, 2001)

We put the potty out when ds was 1 and just let him play with it. He'd take apart the pieces, play with it, carry it into the living room, etc. We also left the door to the bathroom open and he watched everything we did. We talked about what was happening. We always made sure that pee and poop weren't considered "gross" -- some people make faces and talk about how stinky it is, etc. We didn't want him to think there was something wrong with peeing or pooping.

I think the cloth diapers (knowing when he was wet) and early comfort with the potty contributed to his early potty training -- he started when he was 18 months and was staying dry by 2. We let him do it on his own at first, and sometimes gave him stickers as a reward, but never as a bribe.


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## kama'aina mama (Nov 19, 2001)

I am curious about all this as well. DD is 18 months and this morning she was still in her nightgown but in a fresh diaper. She took the diaper off and peed on the floor. She had enough sense not to do it on the sofa or the rug, but on the wood, so I didn't even care much. I just don't know what it means. Does she want to be out of diapers? Was it a fluke? I didn't expect to be giving any of this a thought for at least six months but...


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## Bambalily (Mar 6, 2002)

Thanks for your very detailed answers. Our son is almost 3, and is one of those who has almost no interest in using the potty. Lately we've seen a lot of our friends with younger kids much farther along in the process, and we've been feeling the pressure to catch up. DH has been convinced that the only reason our son is so slow at potty training is because we are too lax with him, and the idea that we must get him to sit on the potty no matter how stubborn he his has been stressing all of us out. It's also hard because DS has always been a very heavy wetter, frequent and messy pooper, and prone to rashes and skin infections. Getting him out of diapers would just solve so many annoyances that are only getting worse as he gets bigger.

I have been looking for ways to explain that other kids train earlier because they *want* to, and that if kids don't want to, it's counterproductive to try to make them.


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## 4cuddlebugs (Jan 18, 2002)

What kind of diapers is he in? My daughter, now 10, was REALLY hard to potty train, she was in disposables from about a year old. I tried to force it with her and honestly it backfired for YEARS! I do not think that forcing the issue is ever the answer. I think it just causes the child to be more defiant about it and frustrates the parent to no end.
My son Stone is almost 4 and was potty efficient at 25 mths. Still is. He was in cloth and a friend of mine suggested her method of letting him run around naked. I kept his potty in an easy to get to area, let him run around naked at home, and let it go. He wore a diaper when we left home but mostly was bare bottomed at home(it was May/June). He would wet himself and it would run down his legs, and there were a couple of times he slipped on the linoleum floor and fell. When this happened we would Not make a big deal, just mentioned it was messy, 'that must have hurt when you fell, the floor is slippery when it its wet', and 'if you want your potty is right here, I don't like to see you slip and fall' I know that maybe it seems mean to let him fall, but it gave him a natural consequence, along with feeling wet, and the initiative to try getting it to the potty next time. We did this for about a month.
He yelled at me one day, we were going out, that he did not want to wear a diaper. I asked if he would like to try the big boy undies we had bought, but that meant he would need to get his peepee in the potty. He said "Ya, ya, ya!" We put the diapers away for him that day. He had a few minor accidents, because the bathroom was far away at the store etc. but that was it. He really liked the feel of the undies compared to a bulky cloth diaper.
Obviously, the naked method works better in the warmer months, but spring is coming. My feeling is that if they don't feel the sensation of the running down the legs, and know that it is taken care of for me, there is no need to change anything.
Does he have any friends that are younger but using the potty?
Maybe spending time seeing others his age liking it?
I do not think that forcing the issue is ever a good idea, My daughter and I learned the hard way. She still wets the bed sometimes and was always a heavy wetter. Gentle persuasion and incredible excitement at ANY success, even just sitting on the potty pants on.
I guess my method will come to test this summer as I am planning on encouraging my youngest, 2 on the 23rd of this month, to use the potty. Of course he has a big brother to show him the way.
I wish you much luck and succes in whatever you try. I know how frustrated you must feel.

To naked bumms, I say!
Kelli


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## Bambalily (Mar 6, 2002)

DS is in cloth diapers. He absolutely won't run around naked, unfortunately. (He won't even let his feet touch the floor without wearing socks.) Perhaps the summer will change his mind, but I'm not too hopefull - I remember last summer struggling with him over wanting to wear socks when it wasn't practical, and that he hates the feel of grass. Maybe I'll just have to try letting him wet 8 pairs of pants a day.

Most of the kids he plays with are between 2.5 and 3 years old. The girl closest to his age has been wearing underwear for about 6 months now. Most of his other friends are pretty well along in using the potty at least at home, and some away from home too. I guess that peer pressure hasn't really hit yet.


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## Corriander (Nov 19, 2001)

My ds is now 18 months. When he was 15 months we got the potty down from the closet just to see what he would think about it. He ignored it the first day. The second day after he finished brushing his teeth I casually said, "now is time to pee in the potty." He sat right down and peed! I have never been so surprised and excited in all my life. He was so excited that he ran out to tell his dad. Then he came back in, sat down and peed again, and ran out to babble at daddy. This happened EIGHT times until he had to strain to make one little drop. It was obvious that he knew which muscles to use.

From then on he has gone without clothes from the waist down when we are at home. There were some accidents at first. I didn't make a big deal about it, just walked him to the potty. We used to keep the potty in whatever room we were in, now it stays in the bathroom. Now he says, "I pee pee," whenever he needs to go. He just started pooping consistently in the potty just after breakfast which is so exciting!

BTW, I don't even try to undress him on days when he is extremely cranky or sick. I don't want the potty to become any kind of issue so I just avoid it when it looks like it might be difficult. I made the mistake of really forcing my daughter (we didn't start training her until she was over 2) and getting mad when she had accidents. Some day I need to apologize to her for all the mistakes we have made on her because she was the first!

Today is the first day that I sent him to parents morning out with waterproof cloth training pants so we'll see how he does.

It's definately a process. IMO it is better to start early and have low expectations. Even if you never do EC, I think that most kids have a bit of an aversion to sitting around in a web diaper and would rather be dry. If you wait until they are 3 to even initiate it, then they may just get used to being wet. This is just in my experience. Another thing about starting early is that if they are trained before 2, then it is one less "terrible" two control issue for you to battle over.


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## Bambalily (Mar 6, 2002)

I don't want to sound defensive, but starting this late wasn't our choice either. I actually experimented with elimination timing when he was just a few months old and _immediately_ gave it up as soon as it became apparent that he was terrified of being held over a recepticle to pee. The potty has been in our bathroom since he was about 18 months old, and until Christmas he wouldn't have anything to do with it (except to take it apart and wear the removable bowl on his head.)

As his parents, it's hard to keep in mind that this is his issue, not ours. That we didn't cause him to be like this. At least not yet (I hope)...


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## 4cuddlebugs (Jan 18, 2002)

Bambalily,
You are doing great, I have been aware of parents who couldn't potty train their child because the parents were too lazy to deal with it. You obviously are very aware of his needs and feelings, and it sounds like you are open to different ideas. You are definitely willing to get alittle dirty,-a prerequisite for cloth diapering.
Maybe try the big boy underpants, and just count on washing them alot for a little while. I know that encouraging my kids to see how 'big' they are, that their actions are important. My kids LOVE to be important. LOL I am not sure where this is going, maybe just sit with him and have a big boy talk about how mommy and daddy are feeling about this.
I have a book called "How to Talk So Your Kids Will Listen, and Listen So Your Kids Will Talk" by Faber and Mazlish, and it talks about problem solving with your child. Most of it is for older kids, but I found the info in to work even on a 2 yr old, and dh(hee, Hee). It says to sit down with your child and discuss the problem as equals, asking for ideas, writing them down(all of them), and discussing them.
Maybe your ds doesn't know how frustrated or maybe a little angry you may feel.
Maybe I am just spouting.
Either way, just trying to throw some ideas your way. I wish I had known about or had access to something like this when I was learning with my first, my dd. Again much luck to you,










Kelli


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## Corriander (Nov 19, 2001)

Bambalily,

I'm really sorry if you thought that I was directing my comments to you. I really wasn't, they were just sort of thrown-out-into-the-wind-general comments. Believe me, my kids arrived on our doorstep (figuratively speaking of course) with most of their personality set in stone. I didn't quite realize this until I had a second. I can look at videos from 3 years ago and recognize personality traits beginning to develope.


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## coraandopal (Dec 1, 2001)

I need some advice. My dd is 2 years old and about two weeks ago she said she wanted to wear "big girl underwear". So we went out and I let her pick out some big girl underwear. Since then she has been peeing on the potty and has not had but a few accidents (in the pee department). But everyday she poops in her underwear. I have narrowed the time of time when this is most likely to happen and I stay right with her, checking to see if she has to go, taking her to the potty, etc. But everyday without fail, she poops in her underwear. Also I tried staying with her in the bathroom for a while, reading, singing, etc. hoping that she would just relax. So, my questions are
1) Did I jump the gun i.e. she is not really ready?
2) Is it a bad idea to say "oh here's a diaper but only when you need to poop" ?
3) Or do I just ride this out?
BTW this doesn't really bother me, it's not much different than dealing with poop in a cd. I just want some feedback to see if I am on the right path. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.


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## 3boys4us (Mar 7, 2002)

1) Did I jump the gun i.e. she is not really ready?
2) Is it a bad idea to say "oh here's a diaper but only when you need to poop" ?
3) Or do I just ride this out?

I think the answer is 3. I am training my last kid right now and it's the same story. I remember how much I agonized with my first. I don't have a problem with letting her have a diaper when she wants to poop. One day (and I hear it's different with girls) she'll tell you she wants the potty and that's it. It does take patience though. One thing I found it works really well to let them around with no underwear when at home.


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## peggy (Nov 19, 2001)

I agree. All mine were poop trained well after they were pee-pee trained. Keep offering the potty at pooptime but don't insist (as I'm sure you know!)

Sounds like you're doing great!! All mine were over three before they were trained !









peggy


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## 2J'smom (Jan 3, 2002)

I would just ride it out.

My ds did the same thing. It lasted about 2- 3 weeks and then all of a sudden he stopped.
(DH was very happy as he seemed to always be the one who was closest - meaning he was the cleanup crew).
We never made a huge issue out the accidents.
Just encouraged the potty for next time.
Good Luck your doing a great job.


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## Naomi (Nov 27, 2001)

My 18-month-old dd has been expressing an interest in the potty and peeing in it frequently (though not reliably -- she's very definitely still in diapers). The idea that she's supposed to POOP in there too seems to be really foreign to her, though, so it's very interesting to know that this is quite common.

I seem to remember that my mother had some trouble poop-training my younger sister. She eventually did it with a bribe: if dsis would poop in the potty, the "poop fairy" would bring her a present. By coincidence, the UPS man showed up right after my sister pooped in the potty the very first time. I think he was actually bringing something else, but my mother brought out the present (a leotard with bells sewn on -- apparently this was my sister's heart's desire at the time) and said the poop fairy had brought it.

Sister called the UPS man the "poop fairy" for YEARS and YEARS afterwards ... often in his earshot







The poop-training stuck, though. Once she'd done it once, she became a lot more willing to do it again.

My suspicion is that it's actually more natural to poop while squatting (most of the world does it that way) and pooping while _sitting_ is kind of its own skill. I've noticed that dd tends to squat, not sit, when pooping. If we all used Asian-style squat toilets our kids would probably poop-train sooner...


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## joesmom (Nov 19, 2001)

my son is just over three & has yet to poop in the potty... well, two little teeny bm's, but...

he frequently pees in the potty, though. he wears "generic" pullups with Bear in the Big Blue House on them, & i have not pushed him AT ALL...

should i be doing more? if i never actively potty "train" him, will he ever learn to go on his own? if not, should i make him start buying his own pullups when he enters high school?

thanks, everyone!

love, jenny


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## USAmma (Nov 29, 2001)

The other posts were great. Just had to add one from our early EC days. Abi no longer poops on her potty either, but she did for awhile when we were doing EC. I sat her on it and then sat myself on the floor by her. This was at her normal poop time. Then I grunted a lot. I know, it makes a funny picture, but she would start straining and most of the time would produce! Even now when she passes gas she will grunt afterwards and giggle.

The book Everyone Poops is very amusing and may teach where to go poop because it actaully has pictures of animals and people pooping. It's a really funny book, if you have that kind of humor. My friend's 4 year old saw the book at my house and the next day colored a picture of a tree with a pile of poop under it! lol!

Darshani


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## KimberMama (Mar 8, 2002)

DS#1 is completely potty trained...if he's naked. We've had the same issues with underwear and pooping, so I leave him naked most of the time. I've noticed that he is getting better as he has more successes.

Kimberly


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## USAmma (Nov 29, 2001)

Abi pooped in the back yard yesterday while running around diaperless. hee hee! I noticed her sqatting down and looking at something in the dirt. I went to see what it was and it was poop! I shrugged and thought, well one less diaper to dunk!

Darshani


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## Brandonsmama (Dec 25, 2001)

My ds was about 3 and 1/2, he was completely toilet trained with peeing, stayed dry all night, but would NOT poop in the potty!! He would take off his underwear, run down the hall, strip, pull on a pullups, and poop. How's that for control??
Sometimes, he would misjudge, and poop on the floor.(My dh was so funny, (We have to Do Something, he's like an ANIMAL!!!!) I would like to tell you we let nature take it's course, but I finally bribed him with gummy bears one day. He pooped, and said Wow Mommy, it didn't hurt!! I guess he was scared. Anyway, after that, he used the potty just fine without gummy bears.


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## USAmma (Nov 29, 2001)

I think I was like that too. I remember my mom telling me that her neighbors would bring me home after finding me pooping in the bushes in the apt. complex we lived in. This was when it was safe for kids to roam on their own a little-- all the moms stayed home and watched each other's kids. I remember my mom bribing me with a bite of ice cream every time I pooped in the potty.

Darshani


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## coraandopal (Dec 1, 2001)

Thanks everyone, for your great ideas. We definitely seem to be on the ride it out path and it is working out ok. Thanks for everyone's input. Now if only the nightwaking would be so easy to deal with








Cora


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## Chanley (Nov 19, 2001)

Ok the third time I am typing this...

My 19 month old is ready for potty learning. She has used her potty quite a few times and when left with no diaper on she will SOMETIMES go to the potty on her own.

She always announces it after she has gone. "OHH NOO POO POO" at the top of her voice. She then pats the front if she has peed or pats the back of her diaper if she has pooped. She gets really upset about going when it is not in the toilet.

If she is not involved with something while not wearing a diaper, she will come get me "OHH NOO POOO POO" and then take my hand and lead me to the seen of the accident.

Ok mamas! I know NOTHING about potty learning. Please oh wise mammas tell me what i need to know.

Are we ready for training pants? I am tempted to put her in some and teach her how to pull them down. Her current diapers are a pain cause the covers are really hard to unsnap.

How do I help her get through this stage?

what advice do you have about this?

I have some books in the bathroom, is the Prudence Potty book worth anything?

TIA,
Shannon


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## finnsmama (Mar 12, 2002)

I don't have any advice, really--my 18 month dd is in the exact same phase. It was funny reading your post (could have written it myself except Finn calls it "pip"







)

I haven't been worrying about the potty scene too much at this point. I still feel like she is really young to be getting it "perfect" and I've sort of just been following her lead in terms of when she is interested in trying to use the potty and when she just plain has better things to do...

She has been starting to get more upset lately when she "misses" and the amount of time she will tolerate a soggy diaper has gone way down. I think its just all part of her figuring out for herself how much better it is to use the potty than be stuck in a diaper all the time. We haven't gotten into training pants yet cause she just doesn't seem "there" yet and I'm not into pushing her...but heck, I've never done this before either!

Good luck!

Oh! We have "Once upon a potty" (with Prudence) and Finn likes it, but not as much as "Everyone Poops" which is the funniest book maybe ever...


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## Nawny (Jan 1, 2002)

Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi is definitely an awesome book...









I recommend lots of naked time (if you've got easy to clean floors) and a couple of cheap Ikea or Baby Bjorn potties throughout the house. If you've got carpets, try training pants, big kid cotton undies, or cloth diapers (no pins or snappi) with velcro closures. In my experience, nothing is EASY for an 18 month old to remove, but velcro diaper covers are probably least difficult. Naked is certainly easiest for the child.

Keeping bathroom doors open helps a lot (child can see you in action







), if you aren't already doing that you might want to start...

I think it is important for using the potty to be a fun thing chosen by the child. Give lots of support, information, and opportunities, and the child will learn when she is ready.

Hope that helps....


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## charmarty (Jan 27, 2002)

My girl friend told her her friend told her dh that when you poop in the potty it makes a rainbow.He NEVER went in the potty b4.Then one day he said to her,mom I want to make a rainbow.So he pooped and they put it in the big potty to flush,and she got all her food coloring,put a few drops in there and let him flush.IT REALLY DOES MAKE A RAINBOW!!!She has never had any problems with it since.
Just a thought.


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## Hera (Feb 4, 2002)

I skipped the training pants and went straight to panties. The pants tend to feel too much like a diaper, plus wearing panties like mommy was irresistable. I think it's great that your little one is telling you all about it...

We also have our "little potty" in an easy to see location. I really like the one we have, it has a padded seat that comes off and can go on the "big potty" seat, and the rest of the little potty makes a stool, so when the time is right dd can go right on the big potty, pretty cool......


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## levar (Jan 28, 2002)

Hi! Not much advice really, my son is just starting, but my Mom gave me a little tid bit that I thought I'd pass on...

My son just turned 2 and is currently VERY motivated to blow out candles. We can get him to do all sorts of chores with the promise of it. My Mom suggested we try what she did for Sis and I... sit on the seat and watch the candle, go pee/poo and get to blow it out! [Or what ever.] I am going to try it, has anyone tried something like this, and did it work?


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## geomom (Nov 26, 2001)

Well, I have a potty using toddler. But I am not sure I had a method to our madness. Basically, when she wanted to wear panties, we'd put them on her. This started around 18-19 months. When I went, she would sit on the potty after me and sometimes pee. On a few occaisions she'd wake up, yell 'poop', and demand to be taken to the potty. She'd then poop. But none of this was consistent until just before she turned two.

For many months she seemed very aware of when she had just peed/pooped or was in the process. But she couldn't always determine when it was going to happen, especially if she was busy with something. We've been accident free for a week now. In the weeks preceding this, she could tell when she needed to go. But not in enough time to always make it. It was very upsetting for her. Then one day she could just tell when it was going to happen in time to get there.

She didn't like little potties so it had to be the big potty. We did read some potty books and talk about it. But mostly we left it up to her because we didn't have any idea how tho actually teach her. We just made sure she had the opportunity to see us and use it when she wanted. I think we got lucky.


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## midmomom (Nov 20, 2001)

I would strongly recommend the video "It's Potty Time". You can buy it at www.onestepahead.com It worked with 2 of my boys and it has worked for a niece and a nephew and has been passed around to their friends as well. I don't know why it works, but the kids love it (as an adult, you feel like an idiot watching it and singing the songs to your kids).


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