For parents with potty training issues...

[Luckymomoftwo]

For all of you who are having potty training issues with your children...I thought I would post my frustrating journey to a life without diapers or pull ups.

My DD is going to be 5 in a little over a month and she's only been fully potty trained for 2 and a half weeks now.

We tried EVERYTHING. I did research online to get some ideas, I read other ideas that people posted in other threads on here, I asked her pediatrician for suggestions. Not one suggestion got us any closer to being potty trained.

Everyone said she'd be ready and to be patient. BE PATIENT? We've been trying to potty since she was 2 and a half!!! The patience was gone a long time ago! Well about a month ago she decided (on her own, it wasn't a suggestion from us) she wanted to wear big girl panties. She went a couple weeks having an accident every single day. Then two Thursday's ago (March 6th), she had her last accident!

I am so excited...I think the last time I was this excited....oh wait, I can't even remember the last time I was this excited! It has been such a long hard struggle to get her potty trained! I was almost afraid she wouldn't be able to start kindergarten next school year!

So, for all of you parents out there who are in the potty training stage, I really hope you all have quicker results in getting your children potty trained. And if you don't, let me extend many your way because I know you need them! And I won't even say be patient, I'll just say...it will happen eventually, and when it does you'll just feel like celebrating big time!

 

[lecach]

Thanks - that makes me feel better. DS turned 3 in December. He does pretty well with pee but the child will NOT poop in a potty. We've tried everything - rewards, etc. He's even holding it in to avoid going to the potty. Which results in blowouts - usually at daycare.

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

Well, at least it's the daycare that gets the "pleasure" of cleaning that up! All kidding aside,though, I sure hope he doesn't take as long as my DD took! One thing her pediatrician suggested was to just tell her that it's up to her to make the choice to on the potty and not in her pants. She told us not to ask DD if she had to go potty, just to tell her every morning that when she needed to go potty to let us know. That was one of the "suggestions" that didn't work at all for us. But, maybe it will work for you. Good luck!

Another thing the pediatrician suggested was to take the poop from the diaper or underwear and put it in the toilet and have DD flush the toilet and say "Bye bye poop!" I know it sounds REALLY weird, but when you've been trying for 2 1/2 years, you get kind of desperate for ideas that could work!

 

[holly7347]

I had quite a bit of trouble training my oldest too. She has Sensory Integration Disorder and her therapist warned me that it can take kids like her longer to train. Most of the small church run preschools around here won't take 3 year olds that aren't potty trained. So when she was 3 1/4 we started trying to train her, the summer before she was going to start preschool. She was not trained before school started so we had to find a different (unfortunately more $$) school. What finally worked with her was just letting her go bottomless at home. No matter what she wore on her butt - panties, diaper, pullup she peed in it. But after a couple times bottomless I guess she decided she didn't like the feeling of it running down her leg and she immediately started using the potty. So I'm thinking she has it now and started putting cloth training pants on her and she peed in them Take them off pee in the potty. That must have went on for 6 months before I said you are not wearing diapers any more when we leave the house only panties. I would ask her nearly every 15 minutes (when out) if she had to go to the bathroom and I would constantly remind her she was wearing panties not diapers and it finally worked. I also let her pick out her own panties and she picked out some barbie panties. I kept telling her Barbie didn't like to get peed on Thankfully #2 trained much faster but I still used the bottomless method when we first started out at home.

to all those with potty training troubles.

 

[TarzansKat]

Thank you so much, OP, for bravely posting your potty training saga. As someone in the throes of trying to potty train DS3 in preparation for preschool...which really makes me wonder should I just be picking a different preschool where it's not an issue to eliminate my stress...it really helps to hear from other people about their issues, trials, successes!

 

[SmallWorld71]

OP- Yeah! for your daughter and thanks for sharing.

holly7347- My nephew (9) has SID. My brother and sister-in-law had a very difficult time training him. In fact, he was not fully trained until he was 5. I'm glad you found something that worked for you.

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

OP- Yeah! for your daughter and thanks for sharing.

holly7347- My nephew (9) has SID. My brother and sister-in-law had a very difficult time training him. In fact, he was not fully trained until he was 5. I'm glad you found something that worked for you.

Thank you! But, that's just it...NOTHING that I tried worked for me! I had just given up all hope and then one day she just decided on her own that it was time for "big girl panties". I just sort of quit caring that she wasn't potty trained, and I almost accepted the fact that she wasn't going to go to Kindergarten next school year!

I'm glad your nephew finally got fully potty trained. I share the joy (and headaches) with parents who have struggled for that long!!

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

I had quite a bit of trouble training my oldest too. She has Sensory Integration Disorder and her therapist warned me that it can take kids like her longer to train. Most of the small church run preschools around here won't take 3 year olds that aren't potty trained. So when she was 3 1/4 we started trying to train her, the summer before she was going to start preschool. She was not trained before school started so we had to find a different (unfortunately more $$) school. What finally worked with her was just letting her go bottomless at home. No matter what she wore on her butt - panties, diaper, pullup she peed in it. But after a couple times bottomless I guess she decided she didn't like the feeling of it running down her leg and she immediately started using the potty. So I'm thinking she has it now and started putting cloth training pants on her and she peed in them Take them off pee in the potty. That must have went on for 6 months before I said you are not wearing diapers any more when we leave the house only panties. I would ask her nearly every 15 minutes (when out) if she had to go to the bathroom and I would constantly remind her she was wearing panties not diapers and it finally worked. I also let her pick out her own panties and she picked out some barbie panties. I kept telling her Barbie didn't like to get peed on Thankfully #2 trained much faster but I still used the bottomless method when we first started out at home.

to all those with potty training troubles.

LOL!!! I did the same thing with Dora panties during that first week that she decided to wear panties. I told her she would hurt Dora's feelings if she pee'd on Dora! I'm glad you were finally able to get both of your children potty trained!

Thank you so much, OP, for bravely posting your potty training saga. As someone in the throes of trying to potty train DS3 in preparation for preschool...which really makes me wonder should I just be picking a different preschool where it's not an issue to eliminate my stress...it really helps to hear from other people about their issues, trials, successes!

You're welcome!! That's why I posted this...I wanted others to know that EVENTUALLY their children will conquer the potty training, some much later than others.

I think it's almost discriminatory in a way that the daycares won't take a child if he/she is not potty trained. My daycare pulled DD out of the pre-school class because she was not potty trained. Now, I am faced with the dilemma that she may not be ready for Kindergarten. And at that point, I couldn't just pull her out and place her in a different daycare because she was 4 and not potty trained. (She DOES have some behavior problems, and she attends another school for that, but I'm still a little upset with the daycare for pulling her from the preschool class)

 

[HerdOHuds]

Oh no. This is not good news.

I don't even want to contemplate another year and a half of potty training 4 little turkeys!!!

I think 2 are nearly there. Just starting the poop training. One other boy *ahem* seems to get it when he wants too, when he feels like stopping the play. The last boy, just today went in the potty with a dry pull-up. His first success with no preceding accident.

Don't we parents just love to share potty stories??? It is like

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

Oh no. This is not good news.

I don't even want to contemplate another year and a half of potty training 4 little turkeys!!!

I think 2 are nearly there. Just starting the poop training. One other boy *ahem* seems to get it when he wants too, when he feels like stopping the play. The last boy, just today went in the potty with a dry pull-up. His first success with no preceding accident.

Don't we parents just love to share potty stories??? It is like

OH BOY! I feel for you! I hope you don't have to wait so long with your kids either! Maybe one will get there soon and the other three will follow. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

 

[HerdOHuds]

It might be the badmomma in me, but I keep trying to create an atmosphere of competition. Hasn't worked. My last guy gets this look like, "Yeah, I guess I will just go to bed!" He is so stubborn. But cute.

 

[all4fun]

Just wanted to say I've been there too and I feel your joy!

 

[hebbynan]

DS will be 4 in two weeks...and he's only been in big boy pants for a week!! His older brother was 3 1/2 but wow, I never thought the little one was gonna be trained!! I understand totally where you're coming from!

Moms of potty trainers unite!!!!!

 

[hoosiergirl7]

Our DS 4 isn't night trained which is really frustrating because I'm sick of buying Pull Ups. But his big issue is he's lazy and doesn't want to stop what he's doing until he absolutely has to and then by that point he's usually dribbled in his underwear a little. We keep reiterating how important it is for him to go when he first thinks he has to go instead of waiting a really long time.

We didn't really have issues with #2. We had a few accidents and then when we saw "the face", DH quickly scooped him up, took him to the bathroom and put him on the toilet where he dropped his load. We made a big deal out of it and he never again pooped in his pants. That was over 1.5 years ago.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to teach your child not to wait until the last minute to go to the potty so we don't have wet spots in his undies?

 

[TarzansKat]

Moms of potty trainers unite!!!!!

Rock on, sisterhood of potty trainers! We will triumph! We will succeed! We will laugh our selves silly trying! We will not fail!

Seriously, I love threads like these. They're so helpful for keeping us focused. And I totally agree with the feeling of discrimination for not having a child potty trained. Some children in my immediate family didn't train fully until they were four, and at that point, did it very quickly because they were ready. I hate this feeling of "having to" potty train him for school. I am so tempted to send him to the school where he does not have to be trained. It's a little bit more expensive, and my work schedule on Thursdays would have to change slightly, but I just feel exasperated.

 

[Jordans_Mommie]

I totally feel everyone's pain. My son will be 4 in June and I am ready to concede that he will go to college wearing depends.

This week, we went cold turkey with the pull ups and he has had only underwear on. We have had mixed results, he has only had a few accidents, but he also will only go when I tell/ask him to go. He will not tell me he has to go. Strangely enough, when we visit my Granny he goes by himself without me asking and never has an accident.

His pediatrician tells me that he will eventually get it, but I am hanging by a thread here!

to everyone fighting the potty training wars

 

[DiznEeyore]

This week, we went cold turkey with the pull ups and he has had only underwear on. We have had mixed results, he has only had a few accidents, but he also will only go when I tell/ask him to go.

At least you're making progress!

I am convinced that Pull-ups are the reason parents today have so much trouble potty-training. I used to work in the main office of a daycare chain and the girl who oversaw all the centers made a comment to me one day that I should NEVER consider using Pull-ups when my then-infant ds was ready to potty-train (this was 15 years ago, so they were a pretty new thing). She said they were the bane of the daycares -- all these preschoolers wearing what amount to diapers for big kids. They have no motivation or reason to use the potty if someone is going to keep cleaning them up.

When ds was 2, we switched over to the thick undies and plastic pants. He was potty-trained within a couple months. We NEVER used Pull-ups.

Now, my best friend's son was 4 and in preschool before he was potty-trained, and her daughter is now over 4 and still in Pull-ups. I've suggested to her (when she's been moaning and crying about cleaning up a 4yo's poopy Pull-up) that she switch to "big girl panties" but frankly, she doesn't want to deal with any potential accidents. I don't know if this is why other parents stay with Pull-ups (I suspect it is, otherwise, why pay for them?), but I really believe if those things didn't exist, we wouldn't have a generation of preschoolers who are still messing their pants.

Just my .02 from a mom who's been there!

 

[jcc0621]

OP - Been there sone that. DS turned 4 in Sept and we had the hardest time training him. We actually switched day cares in October and he was completely trained within 2 - 3 weeks. We think that part of the problem was that the old daycare was not really consistent in their "assistance" in the area. One of the things they told us was that they would assist with potty training. I come to find out they sent the kids to the bathroom by themselves (at 3 ) and only when the chilkd told them they had to go. GOt a notehome one day that DS was "bad
that day becasue he was playing with the TP in the bathroom. Um...do you think if he hadn't been by himself that probably wouldn't have happened

DS is still in a night pull up, but I think we will be out of those soon. The last 2 weeks he has been dry when he has woken up and went right into the bathroom when he woke up

I hope to be completely pull-up free come our August trip

 

[Jordans_Mommie]

At least you're making progress!

I am convinced that Pull-ups are the reason parents today have so much trouble potty-training. I used to work in the main office of a daycare chain and the girl who oversaw all the centers made a comment to me one day that I should NEVER consider using Pull-ups when my then-infant ds was ready to potty-train (this was 15 years ago, so they were a pretty new thing). She said they were the bane of the daycares -- all these preschoolers wearing what amount to diapers for big kids. They have no motivation or reason to use the potty if someone is going to keep cleaning them up.

When ds was 2, we switched over to the thick undies and plastic pants. He was potty-trained within a couple months. We NEVER used Pull-ups.

Now, my best friend's son was 4 and in preschool before he was potty-trained, and her daughter is now over 4 and still in Pull-ups. I've suggested to her (when she's been moaning and crying about cleaning up a 4yo's poopy Pull-up) that she switch to "big girl panties" but frankly, she doesn't want to deal with any potential accidents. I don't know if this is why other parents stay with Pull-ups (I suspect it is, otherwise, why pay for them?), but I really believe if those things didn't exist, we wouldn't have a generation of preschoolers who are still messing their pants.

Just my .02 from a mom who's been there!

ITA which is why I decided to stop using them. I think that the pull ups may have given us both too much of a sense of security. I think that we are having progress now because we both know that it will be a mess if we aren't diligent. I have my fingers crossed though. I would love to have him trained by the time we go to WDW in May.

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

ACK! DD4-1/2 was S-T-U-B-B-O-R-N. Knew when she had to go, knew HOW to go, but flat out refused. The ped told us we just had to wait.

But, be careful what you wish for. Last Spring at this time, she decided it was time to be trained and started wearing the panties with no accidents one day. Last fall we went to Disney twice. I have literally seen EVERY bathroom on property at least once. No exaggeration.

Now we go into public bathrooms all the time. Mostly just to give them a dry run.

We are training our little guy now, so DH gets to take the Disney potty tour in May.