Suggestions on Potty Training Palo Alto Area

Is she starting preschool because you have to work, or just for the experience? If it's just for the experience, I think I'd consider finding other outlets to get her around children and wait for preschool until she's mastered the potty. Of course some preschool teachers are great about helping potty train too. If you are fortunate enough to have one of those, it may actually help her to go to preschool.

One thing I've found in my years of working at various preschools is that too often the rules of the center are not designed to take into account the different developmental patterns of children. A lot of them insist on a child being potty trained earlier than some children are ready for it, or hold them back in a younger class until they have mastered the potty, because they don't have the older children's classes set up to accomodate training. I understand the dilema the centers face because they are so busy with teaching other skills once the children are three that there isn't much time to be taking one or two children to the potty. But, if you have the option of avoiding that sort of conflict for your daughter, I certainly recommend it.

I know you said she's 2 1/2, and am sure you are anticipating her to be totally trained by age 3. My experience says that isn't always the case, and even though it would make life easier for us adults, it isn't always the best thing for the child to be pressured to learn earlier.
We are dealing with a granddaughter who will be three this month and is still not totally trained. When she was two, we thought she'd be finished training before she hit the 2 1/2 year old mark, but sometimes they start out great and regress for a while. Her sister did the same, but when she finally got the hang of it, it seemed like she was trained overnight.
When I raised my children, I was one of those moms who tried to train early. Now that I'm a grandma, and have worked with so many children in preschool and daycare, I'm beginning to think we'd be better off with most children to wait until they are your daughter's age to even begin introducing them to the potty.

Our son is a grown up man now and I do not remember how the training went. But I do remember it was not fun sometimes. Be patient and they will get it sooner or later. After years, it will be just fond memories. I wish I had a photo of him on the Potty so I can use for painting now :)
Motherhood is wonderful !
Lai

I used to use the potty seat in front of the tv with a potty training video. That was a big help or even a reward when he would go.

Hi C. :o)

Well, I have a couple of questions first :o)

Is your daughter going 1/2 day Preschool? Is she pee-pee trained at all?

If you answered "yes" to those questions, than I think she would be fine in a 1/2 day preschool program. Being around the other kids will help her "master" the potty. They usually have "scheduled" potty breaks, hand washing breaks, etc... And if she only goes 1/2 day, she will not be as overwhelmed with the adjustment.

If you answered "no" to my questions, then she is simply not ready to enter a Preschool (only in my opinion). All day at Preschool/Daycare is a long day when you are not "potty perfect". I would start training her at home until she's "pee-pee trained" (at least) first.

If you HAVE to put her in Preschool (work, or something), then hopefully the Center you are considering has BOTH Daycare & Preschool in one center to accomodate your daughter :o)

Now potty training advice.....I think my little "timers" worked best for us :o) I would set the Microwave timer to BEEP so I could say, "OK it's time to try to go potty", then I would have an Sand Egg-Timer in the bathroom for them to watch. This way, I knew that they were sitting there long enough to try to go potty.

Whatever you do in your training, be consistent, and try not to change "rules" all the time. Your daughter will adjust to the whole thing :o)

:o) N.

My daughter has autism and our therapist at the time gave us a well worked plan, I faintly remember it like so: sit her on the potty/toilet from the morning, give her plenty to drink (once every half hour), have books and toys ready to entertain for the rest of the day in the bathroom. We also had a chart to record the timing, letting her out for 10-15 min. after she had pee'd, but she would return and sit again and continued drinking until next round. It was an involved project devoted for a day, and was made as fun and as natural as possible. She got the hang of it in no time. It worked and was no pain at all, but it might take a village.

I am not sure if you wanted advice about how to train your daughter. what worked with my daughter was while she sat on the potty I would pour lukewarm water on her belly and then let it fall between her legs on her vagina. This encouraged her to pee in the potty. I only had do it about 8-10 times and then she went pee the next time she sat on her potty. If you haven't really started training yet don't wait another day. Have her on the potty every 30 min to an hour if possible. You really have to start devoting an entire weekend or several days to get children trained, if they are ready. Good luck!

L.