How can I get DD to use the big potty by August?

[Rustysmom]

My DD, who will be 4 in June, is potty trained during the day, but she will only go on a little potty. We try and try to get her to go on the big one, even using a seat and stepstool, and she'll pee in it once in a while, but will never poop. When we go out, she won't go near a public toilet. She's afraid of them. I have to bring a Potty on the Go, but she won't poop in that. She'll pee and then say that she wants to go home to poop.

I don't want to pack the big potty in my suitcase to bring on a plane to Disney , so how am I going to get her to use a regular toilet by then? She'll need to anyway because she's starting pre-K in September.

It was hard enough getting her to use the little potty. She was peeing in it but would constantly poop in her underwear until I promised her a trip to ToysRUs. That was the last accident she ever had. Do you think I should bribe her again? I think it's going to be harder because she's afraid of the big toilet.

 

[meeskamouska]

My DD will be four in May and we finally got her on the big potty by having a prize box readily available. When she would pee she could pick one prize, a poop got her two.

She is also terrified of the toliet unless it has her seat on it...we carry one in the car and have one at pre-school. She is very small for her age and has a gross motor delay so she cannot hold herself on the toliet well....so we carry around the seat.

I am hoping to get rid of the seat by our summer trip...it just takes rewarding good behavior...

Better get more Disney dollars!!!

***

 

[Nala2007]

This may sound silly, but let DD stand there and flush it a few times and look at the water go down...most kids seem to be afraid of the loud flush...have you tried that?

 

[kat08]

I have seen little fold-up seats that you can take with you. They have friendly, familiar cartoon characters on them (Dora, Sasame Street, etc.) It also would help to reduce the risk of falling in because it makes the opening to the bowl smaller. Maybe you could talk to her about it ahead of time and take her to Target or wherever and let her pick out her own "big potty seat."

 

[Pixiedust34]

I just want to say that the toilets at WDW are Turbo Flushers and they flush automatically. For a child who is recently potty trained, those Turbo Flushers can be scary!

It might be wise to bring a pack of Post-Its to WDW to cover the flush sensor while your dd is using the toilet. Just remove the Post-It and hand flush once she is out of the stall so the "turbo" flush doesn't scare her.

 

[mericletwins]

My DD, who will be 4 in June, is potty trained during the day, but she will only go on a little potty. We try and try to get her to go on the big one, even using a seat and stepstool, and she'll pee in it once in a while, but will never poop. When we go out, she won't go near a public toilet. She's afraid of them. I have to bring a Potty on the Go, but she won't poop in that. She'll pee and then say that she wants to go home to poop.

I don't want to pack the big potty in my suitcase to bring on a plane to Disney , so how am I going to get her to use a regular toilet by then? She'll need to anyway because she's starting pre-K in September.

It was hard enough getting her to use the little potty. She was peeing in it but would constantly poop in her underwear until I promised her a trip to ToysRUs. That was the last accident she ever had. Do you think I should bribe her again? I think it's going to be harder because she's afraid of the big toilet.

Bribe her again. If it worked go with it. Tell her she won't be able to go to Disney if she doesn't go on the big potty because Mickey/Cinderella/Tink/Pooh only have big potties. I like the prize box idea and then maybe Disney dollars also that she can spend in Disney. Maybe keep a chart and use the prize box every time she uses the big potty and a Disney dollar every 5th time. That way she has instant gratification and she can start to see the long term benefit. Also go into every public bathroom you can and let her flush the toilet so she can see what is going on. Just let her watch. Maybe in the beginning she can stand by the stall door and you can flush an dthen get a little closer, closer and then eventually have her flush. It is a form of systematic desensitization. That way the flushing part and sounds becomes more familiar and she won't actually be sitting on the potty so it won't feel as threatening.

 

[Rustysmom]

Thanks for the great ideas! I like the Disney dollar idea, but last time what worked was to promise her a trip to ToysRUs to pick out any toy she wanted. She never asks for toys so boy, that was a big treat for her. She said she wanted Dora, and I thought she wanted a little Dora doll, but she picked out Dora's pony stable. It was worth every penny of the $30 because as of the day I promised to take her to TRU, she never went in her panties again, and up to that point she was making a mess several times a day. I'm getting some Disney dollars too, and I think I'll get some for my DS. He has a huge state math test coming up that he doesn't want to study for. Might motivate him a little too.

I LOVE the idea of putting the post it over the sensor. I never would have thought of that! That's great even for my 11 year old DS, who has PDD, because he's afraid of the automatic flushers too. He'll use it and try to run out before it flushes. My DD doesn't seem to be afraid of flushing the toilet at home, because I let her flush when I empty the potty, but the loud automatic flushers scare her. Heck, they scare me when they flush and I'm not even done yet!

 

[nuttylawprofessor]

There can be a biological reason she won't poo on the big potty. When she's on the big potty, it may be harder for her to get the right push that she needs. Try to get her feet onto a hard, flat surface while she's on the big potty. It may help her generate her forces. (I can't believe I'm talking about this... )

She may also just be shy. Some people can't go unless they're completely comfortable in their surroundings.

Good luck!

PS- Congrats on the trip win you lucky duck!

 

[reelmom]

Ok, please don't flame me but I am going to be the bad one here. I can sympathize with the OP because we had the same problem. We tried the bribing, reasoning, etc. and nothing worked. So.....we took away the little potty. We told DS that he had to use the big potty or go back in diapers. Worked like a charm. Good luck.

 

[WDWorBUST]

The post it notes are worth their weight in gold Even here at home I try to remember to carry some because so many public restrooms have went to the automatic flushers.

 

[Rustysmom]

Ok, please don't flame me but I am going to be the bad one here. I can sympathize with the OP because we had the same problem. We tried the bribing, reasoning, etc. and nothing worked. So.....we took away the little potty. We told DS that he had to use the big potty or go back in diapers. Worked like a charm. Good luck.

The problem with that is that DD would probably say ok, let's go back to diapers!


I explained to her today that soon we are taking away the little potty and she'll have to use the big one for everything, and if she did, we can go back to TRU, and she seemed to like that idea. I'm going to give her a few days to get used to the idea, and then we're going to say goodbye to the little potty when we're home. I have a fold up seat for public potties and I'm going to try to get her to use that by using the post-it's on the automatic flushers. Wish me luck!

 

[Starr W.]

Ok, please don't flame me but I am going to be the bad one here. I can sympathize with the OP because we had the same problem. We tried the bribing, reasoning, etc. and nothing worked. So.....we took away the little potty. We told DS that he had to use the big potty or go back in diapers. Worked like a charm. Good luck.

We did the samething threw it away, told him it was going in the trash on Tuesday and that was that.

He had no problem using the big potty when we were out, he liked having his big brother take him instead of mom.

 

[iheartdisney]

Ok, please don't flame me but I am going to be the bad one here. I can sympathize with the OP because we had the same problem. We tried the bribing, reasoning, etc. and nothing worked. So.....we took away the little potty. We told DS that he had to use the big potty or go back in diapers. Worked like a charm. Good luck.

DD had just turned 4, and still would not poop in the toilet, so we threw a pull-up party. We wrote the day on the calendar, a week out, that was the day she said good-bye to pull ups. I put her in panties, it took about 2 weeks of messy panties, but after she said goodbye, there was no turning back. Then I made a sticker cart, and when she went poop 5 times, she got a trip to Chuck e Cheese. After the first time, she hasn't slipped!

So have a party to say goodbye to the potty. then toss it.

 

[LisaNJ25]

Isnt it amazing how stubborn than can be.. i just started training my 2 1/2 yo 3 weeks ago. She is going greta during the day. I have not attempted at night since she still wakes up very wet. She is stubborn and wont poop in the potty. She will wait until night time when we put her diaper on for bed and than she poop.

The best is the past 2 days she went in her sisters rooms and pooped on the floor.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I think potty training a four year old is very different than a 2 or 3 year old so I too would be a little tough.I would give her a one or two day warning and then tell her that the potty chair is going to be taken away. Be sympathatic to her fear, hold her hand if she wants, be sure she has a stool for her feet but do not let her go back to the potty chair. I would also not let her go back to diapers. Stick to regular underwear and I bet there will not be too many accidents. Making her "help" clean up accidents can be effective too. Some parents put the child in total charge of clean up but you have to decide if you can deal with this and be consistent. You do have to be careful not to let her "hold it " too long and get into a medical situation but most kids really will not do that. Be sure to include lots of fiber in her diet during that time. It might also help to make the first few days of the transition days you can be home and not have to deal with public toilets. I would avoid the bribs. They can get out of hand real quick. Good luck!! This too will pass.

 

[daisyduck123]

So.....we took away the little potty. We told DS that he had to use the big potty or go back in diapers. Worked like a charm. Good luck.

That's what we did...just took it away one day!

 

[CampbellScot]

Ok, please don't flame me but I am going to be the bad one here. I can sympathize with the OP because we had the same problem. We tried the bribing, reasoning, etc. and nothing worked. So.....we took away the little potty. We told DS that he had to use the big potty or go back in diapers. Worked like a charm. Good luck.

I am a behaviorist and I work with lots of parents on potty training issues.

I'm going to have to agree with reelmom...take away the little potty. It's for babies. You had to put it in the mail and send it to a 2 year old who needed it...it's gone now. You can't bring it back. No matter what she does.

If the only choice she has is the big potty, then there you go. She may regress a little to see if you meant it. You do. If she starts wetting her pants then back into diapers she goes, but DO NOT bring that little potty back. This is a power struggle and you have to win. I would start to get away from the bribes and start to get firm. Once they realize that there is no possible way to wiggle out of the situation they will go forward and usually without fear.

good luck!

 

[fluffernutter]

I just started potty training my oldest DD 2 1/2 and its been 3 days and she has gone in the potty each time with no accidents. I have been putting pullups on her for nap and for night time

My dilemma,is what do you do when you are first starting out with the training like I am,and you have to go in the car . Do you just hope they dont have an accident for the 30 min ride or so,or do you think I should put a pull-up on her in the car until we are further along in the potty training.
I just dont want to confuse her by dong the pullups in the daytime,other than naps,know what I mean.Or is the answer just to put her in her undies and take lots and lots of changes of clothes,lol

So what do you all suggest. This will be our first car ride in past few days,that why Im not sure how to handle it.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I would try really hard to leave her in panties. it can be confussing to children to go between the two during the day.Prehaps put a towel in her car seat just in case and take lots of changes and be sure you know where the bathroom is where you are going. Bet she does great.

 

[CampbellScot]

fluffernutter--if are in the midst of training you should try as hard as you can to keep her in the undies...I understand about the car ride though...

You can do a couple of things...first I would limit liquids an hour before you have to go in the car, take her potty several times and just before you leave. Then make it very clear that she's been doing a GREAT job keeping her undies dry and that she has to make sure to keep them dry in the car too! Next I'd put a garbage bag on her car seat and then a towel under her bottom in case she has an accident. That way she stays in the undies but her car seat is protected. When you get to your destination and she is still dry make the biggest deal in world about it!! Have some stickers or whatever you use as a reinforcer ready! If not, just change her into the back up panties I'm sure you will have on hand!!!

Secondly, if you really want to keep things simple and dry, keep her in her panties and put a pull up on top of them. Again, explain that she has to keep her panties dry in the car. If she wets, she will not be very comfy which will serve as a natural consequence but you've kept her car seat clean!

But whatever you do, keep her in the those big girl underpants! It sounds like she is off to a great start!!!

good luck!!