G.F. asks from Tomball, TX on April 05, 2008
Night Time Potty Training - Tomball, TX
My daughter is starting to want to wear panties to bed. She has gone without a daytime accident since January. I decided to put her potty chair in her room so that if she had to potty at night she can get up and go by herself. Now she won't go in the real potty during the day. She goes up to her room and potties there. She is big enough to get onto the real potty all by herself during the day. We put the potty chair in the bedroom because she can't reach the light switch to the bathroom and the way that our house is she would have to go downstairs in the dark and wake us up and I'm not comfortable with her on the stairs. How do I get her to go in the regular potty during the day? I know it's a silly question, but I'm tired of cleaning that potty all day long. (luckily she goes poo in the real potty - I never let her do it in the training potty when she was learning so it's not a habit to break)
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F.G. answers from San Antonio on April 06, 2008
my advice would be to take away her potty chair...she knows how to use the toilet for making Poo sounds to me like she is just being stubborn..you might have a few accidents but i would say take away the potty chair completly.
You said she cant reach the light in the bathroom...Put in a Nightlight and step stool so she can reach the light show her over and over how to use it.
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S.O. answers from San Antonio on April 06, 2008
I agree about putting it away during the day and only pulling out at night. But, does she really need it at night? My daughter really never had accidents at night. We just made sure she ran to the bathroom 1st thing when she woke up. My boy would have accidents more often. But, we protected his mattress. It was a pain, but I rarely used a potty chair at all (only when we went camping). They knew they had to go to the toilet. I understand why you do with your house set up. But, she may not really need it at all. It's worth a try. If not, then start using it at night again. Also, when you're trying to wean her off the potty chair in the future, you might try moving the chair a little farther away from her bed...then closer to the door...then in the hall...etc. until it is in the bathroom or gone for good. I know that's farther down the road, but something to keep in mind.
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F.G. answers from San Antonio on April 06, 2008
my advice would be to take away her potty chair...she knows how to use the toilet for making Poo sounds to me like she is just being stubborn..you might have a few accidents but i would say take away the potty chair completly.
You said she cant reach the light in the bathroom...Put in a Nightlight and step stool so she can reach the light show her over and over how to use it.
D.H. answers from College Station on April 06, 2008
We installed a motion sensor in the kids bathroom. My oldest thought all you had to do to turn on the light was walk in and say "light on!" It was pretty funny. You can get them from a home improvement store, and just replace the switch and switch plate with the motion sensor switch and plate. The amount of time they stay on can be adjusted, too. That way when she leaves the bathroom, and the light senses that there has been no movement in the last 8 min (that's what we have ours set for)it will turn off by itself.
I would also do away with the potty. She's using it in her room because it is a new idea for her, and she considers it fun, and a new avenue in life worth trying out. But it doens't sound like she really needs it at all. I'd keep it around for a few nights after fixing the light for her, but then get rid of it.
W.C. answers from San Antonio on April 05, 2008
We just left the light on for our daughter. If that is tto bright maybe get a bright night light. I would get rid of the potty chair all together. I always hated those things. My cousin hated cleaning hers so much, she taught her daughter to clean it out herself each time she went. LOL. Scared me to death the first time I saw it. I thought for sure that she was going to spill it every where. LOL. She didn't. Then my cousin would cleaning it well once a day. I guess this is an option too.
R.D. answers from Austin on April 06, 2008
Not sure if it would help the situation, but you could try attaching a rod to the light switch (I've seen this at a friend's house so their child could reach the switch). This will only work for the kind of switch that sticks out of the wall, but you basically drill a hole into the switch (from side to side) and then put a metal ring through it and attach a rod (my friend's used one from a set of blinds). This way their child could grab the rod from below and use it to push up or down to turn on and off the light switch in the bathroom.
As I type this, I'm thinking a simpler (but more wasteful) solution is that you could put a small lamp in the bathroom to leave on over night. Just place it in a place where it couldn't get knocked into the sink if your daughter uses the water.
Sorry I couldn't help with the actual training part, my daughter is only 4 months old, so I haven't covered that ground yet. :)
Good luck!
A.C. answers from Waco on April 06, 2008
Take her potty out of her room during the day and start using a "new" cleaner in it that has to stay in it "all day" to work, even if you are just spraying it down with a water bottle. Let her know that at bed time you can rinse it out and it will be good for the night....Wishing you luck.
B.J. answers from College Station on April 06, 2008
G.,
I would put the potty away during the day. That way it, like her bed is for sleepy time.
B.P. answers from Houston on April 05, 2008
How about putting a kid friendly attachment on the light switch in the bathroom so she can reach it at night. That could solve your problem. OR just leave the bathroom light on.
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