Maybe it is my educational background, but one of my favorite aspects of parenting is TEACHING. I enjoyed the infant stage to some extent, but the toddler phase is by far my favorite in what I have currently experienced in motherhood. I live for the little lessons that my daughter learns everyday and those that I am learning in the process of teaching my own child. To watch my daughter make cognitive connections and become more and more independent is a such a joy. I grieve the fact that one day I may not be as imperative to her well-being. At the same time I look forward to watching her evolve into a beautiful young lady.
That being said there is one thing they never taught me in my formal education courses. One thing I feel ill-equipped to teach my child. That one thing potty training. For a while it seemed like my daughter was basically going to train herself. She got to a point where she was going 2-3 times a day in the toilet on her own with little prompting. She would stop whatever she was doing and take herself to the bathroom. With each successful trip to the toilet she received rewards and after a day of 3 wees in the toilet she was rewarded with panties that she could wear around the house for a couple of hours which she always kept dry.
The most success we had was back in March. The first weekend of April we took a trip to New York City. To my astonishment she did not have one wet or dirty diaper the entire trip. She spent the weekend using toilets around the city. I couldn’t believe how well she was holding it throughout the day so that she could have the glory of using the toilet correctly.
Once summer vacation began we’ve seen some steps backwards. Lately, we’ve been lucky to get her to go in the toilet once a day. She seems to not be bothered to go even when we ask her and remind her. And usually within minutes of our promptings we are changing a dirty or wet diaper.
I know there are a lot of factors when it comes to potty training a child. Our little Princess will be three in September and I was really hoping that we would have her out of diapers by this birthday. The most frustrating part as a mother is being so close and then for some reason reverting back to square one. What changed her mentality about the potty? Virtually anything we say and do right now is not working. She just is not interested. I’m appealing to the moms and dads out there who have wisdom to share. I understand that some children aren’t ready by their third birthday, but our trip to NYC and the progress she was making in March lead me to believe that she is definitely ready.
HELP! PLEASE!
photo credit-Grace Green, family friend 🙂
The Ameri Brit Mom 
I have been through the same thing with Avery twice 😦 When I first put her on the potty she went like it was no big thing. She went every time I put her on the potty for a week and then quit. The second time around she was going twice a day and we had a good streak going. Then she fell off of the toilet and now we are back at square one. I watch one of my friends kids one day a week and he uses the potty so I was hoping that would encourage Avery to go but it doesn’t. She does not like having her diaper on and loves her underwear but she just doesn’t like the toilet. I feel like she just doesn’t want to take the time to go on the potty. One thing that worked for me is I would let her take a book or her Leap Frog Lap top on the potty with her. She only got to use those things when she sat on the potty and that seemed to encourage her to go. Some tips I have received from others are giving them candy (that’s a last resort) putting them in underwear even if they are having a lot of accidents because they will realize that wet and/or dirty underwear do not feel good. The candy thing really worked for my one friend that was having a heck of a time with her son. She actually found a candy machine at a garage sale and every time he would use the potty he could take his quarter and get a skittle. A reward chart is another idea i have gotten. I did buy some stickers and plan on using this system. I don’t plan on giving Avery a toy every time she reaches a goal but maybe letting her watch a show or do something fun we normally wouldn’t do a lot. I hope these help 🙂
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What an exciting time and a cute girl! I love your positive attitude and your vulnerability and honesty. I am not quite there yet when it comes to potty training, but I know it ain’t no picnic! I hope you find the advice and encouragement you need! I know it’s cliche and it goes without saying, but your sweet girl will go on her own time! Just as it happened with walking or weaning or anything else in her life and in yours, everything comes, but sometimes comes first with a few hurdles to challenge us and make us stronger and better people! Hats off to you, mama! You and your beauty queen can do it!
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Coming from a teaching background I really resonate with your post. We are just embarking on the toilet training venture and I must admit it, I’m scared! It doesn’t seem to matter how much advice you are given or how many articles you read. Every child seems to go through the process differently. So far our new potty has been pulled apart and used to eat cereal out of – totally not ideal! Even though she knows what the potty is for as she tells us regularly that it is for “poos”, but anyways… I guess we will figure it out as time goes on! Would love to hear how you get on. Good luck x
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