Potty training 2 years 6month old advice.

[scotty]

Our girl is 2 years 6 months old and we want to try to crack potty training. We have had a few goes and initially she thought it was great, but became bored or lost interest, so we left for a month thinking she was too young. Now we feel she is ready, we would like some hints and tips on helping her along. We have started with the stickers as a reward , but feel maybe she needs more to help her/us. Anyone got any advice,please. Many thanks in advance.

[karenfward]

Can she tell you that she needs to do a wee? If she cannot recognise that she needs to go, you should hold off and wait until she can.

A child first needs to know that she has done a wee and tell you.

Then progress to knowing she is doing one, and tell you she is doing it.

Then she should be able to tell you that she needs to.

Until she has mastered all stages you may as well leave her alone - she'll let you know when the time is right and then training should be quicker and less stressful for all of you. Good luck.

[dancealot13]

Figure out how often she goes, and try to plan around that, meaning place her in the bathroom like every 45 minutes or so, and don't stay in there with her, let her have her privacy "like a big girl". If she says she doesn't have to go just tell her to try, and give her a minute. Give her a star or a prize even if she doesn't actually go, this will urge her more to use the potty like a big girl, and maybe she'll start "trying" to go on the potty more often.--good luck!!

[pip77]

i potty trained my daughter last year,i found it quite difficult.I wouldn't recommend pull up pants,unless your out & about,my daughter would just wee in them & tell me afterwards.What i did is took her shopping to choose her own knickers and just put them on her,of course she had more than a few accidents,but she knew what it felt like to be in wet knickers and how uncomfortable it was.it seemed to work for her. good luck

[noxlumos]

I personally wouldn't use a potty. I'd stick her straight on the loo. None of ours have used a potty and we taught them by taking them to the loo in a non hurried non problematic way for a few days until they got the idea.Just keep it relaxed and lavish praise when she goes and when she forgets just gently remind her, she'll soon get the hang of it.

[jules1968]

i made a big fuss of my son choosing his own pants. He was delighted to wear them and i'm happy to say potty training was easy. I think the main factor is that they are ready for it. If not, give it up and wait a couple of months then try again. I agree about not using pull up pants. They just encourage them to wee. You might as well keep them in nappies. NEVER tell them off if they have an "accident" I made sure i had a whole week free without going out and let my son go bottomless, so to speak.(idel in warmer weather) That way he could just get on and off the potty as he pleased, all the time getting used to sitting on it and when he did wee, he had a full fanfare.I have found this sort of encouragement very useful in lots of areas. He loves to think he's great! Hopefully she should soon get the hang of it. Good luck!

[Sparkles3]

With my little one (who was about 2 yrs 4 months so similar to yours), we chose some pants as others have suggested. After 2 false starts (both lasting little more than a few hours!) my little one basically told me that he needed a wee one morning. I said I would get the potty and the rest, as they say, is history. We only did pants except at night time (he stayed in nappies at nighttime for the first 4 months) but left him in pants for his afternoon nap as I found that he was sometimes saying he was tired and wanted to go to bed so that he could do whatever needed doing! Miraculously after that, he would no longer be tired!! invest in a good waterproof sheet!

As for incentives, we had a sticker chart and went out and chose the stickers. Initially, we gave him a sticker for each time he sat on the potty, whether or not he did anything. When he had five stickers, he could have a chocolate star (Milky Way things). If he actually had a wee or a poo, then he got a chocolate star immediately. This worked really well to encourage him and then we just slowly weaned off the stickers for sitting on the potty, just having them when he had a wee/poo. A few accidents, but he did really well.

I must agree with the others in that the most success will be gained if your child is ready. Commit to it wholeheartedly and understand that there is a good chance on the first 2-3 days, there may be as many (or even more) accidents as successes, as they get used to the need to go to the toilet in time! This doesn't necessarily mean they are not ready - it's a big change to not just doing it in the nappy - but a decision for you to judge! Good luck!!

[scotty]

Many many thanks to you all for your answers and tips. We have started , had two brown accidents today but it is early doors ,so we will persevere. Once again thanks.