Help with My 22 Month Old Girl Potty Training

Updated on November 16, 2007
J.M. asks from Brockton, MA
12 answers

Hi,
Within the last 3 or 4 weeks my 22 month old daughter has been showing interest in using the potty. I am excited~considering I am expecting my third in 12 weeks and it would be nice to have her out of diapers, but I do realize how young she is still. Anyway, the problem is-she wants to go every 15-20 minutes while we're at home. She will tinkle a couple of drops and be crying again in 15 min to go again. The up and down, dressing and redressing is quite tedious for me at this stage of the pregnancy and it is hard to get anything done in the 15 minutes in between. I am hoping for some suggestions about how to structure the potty training more. I don't want to discourage her from using it, I'm just hoping for some helpful suggestions that will make this process a little easier on us at home.

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N.C.

answers from Boston on

I would use a little potty chair, and dress her in a pull up only (no pants) when she's at home. That way she's in charge! Good luck. -N.

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M.M.

answers from Lewiston on

My first thought was also that it could be a UTI. That's exactly how I feel when I have one... and I've heard little girls can get them too. can she communicate whether it hurts or burns or if she feels like she REALLY has to go. Might be worth asking a doctor.

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A.F.

answers from Providence on

pull ups do help with the mess, but i found they just confused my little girl. she thought it was a diaper, and would always be too late, even tho she really wanted to learn. i couldn't bring a real diaper near her without her pitching a fit. but the nakedness and the little potty worked great. she caught on in a couple of days, and we even kept the little potty in the bathroom when she finally got the hang of getting to the potty on time, cause she was early and i was pregnant, too. it was just the right height for her, and i didn't have to worry about her climbing up and either falling or missing. anyway, hope that helps.

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C.B.

answers from Boston on

does she cry when she is peeing?? it almost sounds like she could have a urinary tract infection.

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D.L.

answers from Boston on

I say let her run around in a pull-up, and nothing else. Maybe slippers if it's cold where you are. They also have babylegs (baby legwarmers) if she's really cold. She'll be easy to undress, and maybe she can learn to do it herself. Also if she misses, then she won't make a mess on your floor. Best way is really to let her be naked bum for a few days - can't beat the fast learning with cause and effect there, but if it's too much to clean, then stick with the pullup. Hopefully one that has an idicator like flowers that disappear when wet. Avoid the cool sensor ones. THose are just gross and don't work. Good luck!

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L.G.

answers from Portland on

Sounds like you are on the right track... let her go naked- or with a shirt, and have that little potty or several around the house so she can be independant with it. You can take some old sweatpants and cut the crotch out so her bum and bottom are a bit exposed and it will keep her legs warmer than if she was not wearing anything... or get some baby legs (little leg warmers). If you sew you can also make crotchless pants that are more discreet but yet pull apart when the child squats. They (wahm) also sell them online.
My son also liked watching the dvd Potty Power. Keep going with it -in the next few months she will probably also get the hang of pulling up and down her own pants. :)

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W.D.

answers from Boston on

put her in a dress with no undies.. it could mean more messes, but it may not too - she'll hate it if she pees down her leg so it may encourage her..you don't want to stop this progress if she is really ready. it worked with my son, I just let him go with a large tshirt and he only peed on himself once.. the rest was perfect. Good luck...

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A.S.

answers from Bangor on

I say naked too! Or at least semi-naked, long sleeved t-shirt and socks but nothing else. I also heard of getting more than one potty, having one in the bathroom but also getting another in the living room or whatever room she spends most of her time in. It sounds like she just isn't used the sensation of not having a diaper on and doesn't want to have an accident so she has to rush to the bathroom all the time.

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J.D.

answers from Providence on

Sounds to me as if she has an UTI infection. Has she been checked by the doctor. When my daughter was young she did the same thing but we found out she had an UTI and that was why she had to go sooo many times in a row. Good Luck!

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A.G.

answers from Lewiston on

22 months is not really young. Before the disposable diaper became the norm, potty training by 2 was completely normal. Kids didn't have potty issues at 3, 4 or 5 years old.
I agree with Caroline. My son (2 in 15 days!) has been potty trained for many months. He uses a little baby bjorn potty that is the perfect size for him, and he runs around with nothing but a t-shirt on. When he needs to go potty, he'll run over, go, then get back to what he was doing in no time. He'll even carry it in the living room if he's going to watch a movie (I love watching him figure things out on his own!). Our next step is to make some cloth training pants so he can distinguish between wearing underwear and a cloth diaper, so we can work on using the potty when we're out and about. I've waited until he had absolutely no issue with the potty for a while before taking this step, as I think it will be easier to do now.
Good luck, and remember that potty training takes time, sometimes taking many months to become completely diaper free. Try not to pressure your daughter or be disappointed if she has an accident or takes longer than you had expected.

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C.O.

answers from Boston on

The best way to deal with this is to get a small potty, something that she can pee in, something she can get on herself. I would bring it into the area that you are working in, let her be naked, and tell her that when she feels like she needs to go to hop on the potty and you will help her wipe when she is done. This will give her a sense of independence and will give you a break from running to the bathroom and undressing and then redressing her. I was in a similar situation last year and I let the chance pass, and wish I hadn't. I wound up potty training my daughter 2 weeks before I had my son and that was even harder! Good luck.

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B.K.

answers from Springfield on

I would bite the bullet- plan a day when you are going to be home all day- no excpetions. Let her run around in her undies or naked if you are comfortable with that and feed her lots of water down juice. Make her go every few minutes and ask her every 10 mins if she has to go- put a "Magic carpet (folded towel)" down whereever she sits and let her get used to the feeling of having to go... it sounds like she is so close!
I did this with both of my kids (both my kids were about 20 months). Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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