Potty Training 3 Year Old Girl

I have a 3 year old boy who refuses to be potty trained. He knows when he has to go, but when he isn't running around at home with just his underwear on he acts lazy and doesn't tell me he has to go pee-pee or poopy. If he is just in his underwear he will try to keep them dry and go on the potty, but not the poopy. He loves Spiderman so we got Spiderman underwear and he tells me he got Spiderman poopy. Forget about the pull-ups he knows he can go in them so he does! He just doesnt seem to care. Everyone tells me to wait, but then it seems like he is the only one in his class at daycare that isn't potty trained...I feel like I am doing something wrong. Where do you get that potty training video one of the moms responded with?

relax!!! no one goes to kindergarten in diapers. It will happen as soon as you ease up on it. try not to stress i t so much. It sounds to me like a power struggle. It is her body let her tell you when it is ready to function.

My 3 yr old, Bethany, has a friend who is the same age and very obediently, was trained @ 20 months, so of course, I had to be in competition with the other mom. lol! Anyway, I started w/ pull-ups and talked to her ALL THE TIME @ being a big girl, going like Sarah, etc. She got the idea, but still refused. She was in pull-ups all the time. Finally after over a year of this, during this past summer, I refused to put the pull-ups on, and just let her run naked. Only 2 accidents later and she's doing wonderful!! I think the pull-ups helped her learn how it feels in your "belly", but besides that, it was just an excuse not to go in the potty. I had tried all the books, videos, different pull-ups, etc. Even got her a singing potty for $40. Now I know better! lol Hope this helps! K---------

S.,
My stepdaughter was also resistant to potty training. I bought her a potty book with a little button that sounded like a toilet flushing when pushed. We kept the book on the back of the toilet. I would take her in every hour and set her on the pot and read the book. When she did go in her diaper, we didn't talk about it. She flat out refused for the first several days and when she finally did use the potty, she never looked back. Oh and the book was ONLY for in the bathroom. So if she wanted to read the book, she had to sit on the potty.

Good luck!

Try the video Potty Power. It's great. My son watched it and he was potty trained that very week. He hasn't worn pull ups since then. They have a 100% guarantee so you don't have anything to lose if it doesn't work. Good Luck. Don't worry I've never seen anyone start school and still wear pull ups.

i haven't done the potty training thing with a girl just starting on my son now he's 18 months but i have 3 little sisters and my mom said to just take a day 1 day and do nothing but work on the potty don't cook don't clean nothing order out and save the day to day stuff for tomorrow just sit with your daughter and the potty and don't do anything have her sit on it and do everything you can do while she is sitting there play games watch her favorite shows but don't leave the potty don't force her to stay on it because that might put some resentment towards the potty but make it fun for her make it worth staying on and using

Hi, My daughter just turned 2 the end of september,and she has been doing great on the potty since last tuesday.At first she didn't want to do it,but I made a huge deal out of it,meaning telling her how much of a big girl she was,and praising her all the time.I found that when I use to try when she was about 18months old,I would get frustrated with her,but I found praising her to really work. She has not had one accident since the first time she went. I hope this is helpful!good luck

18 months is just too young to potty train. I know I've heard "hero" stories of how great someone potty-trained their child at one year, etc. The average age is three--to start, and sometimes even later. Potty training has nothing to do with intelligence or how far ahead a child is. Take it slow and let them relax. Don't pressure them. They have to be able to pull their pants up and down by themselves. If your child is not ready and you are trying to force it, you may develop worse problems in the future. Just let her relax and tell you when she is ready. There is a checklist somewhere on the internet that was pretty useful to help in aiding whether to know if your child was ready or not. My child has an extremely good vocabulary and sounds like an adult (because of being raised around adults), however, she is a child. She's not any further along than any other child her age when it comes to potty-training, walking, etc. As far as potty-training,what we did to initiate it was a little kit we received in the mail from one of the diaper or pull-up companies. It had a sticker program and she liked the idea. It had a little chart where she put a sticker on it for going potty, wiping herself, pulling up her pants, washing her hands, etc. Each time she did this, she would get the chart (and when we ran out of their stickers and chart, I had to make one of my own as she just loved this concept). Both of my children basically potty trained on their own between three and four. They were ready themselves, and potty-trained quickly. Both potty-trained in the Spring, too. I didn't have many accident's because they were at the age where they could contol whether to hold it and comprehend. The less the child is pressured, the easier time you will have.

I have the same problem. I also have a 3 year old girl. She knows that she is suppossed to go on the potty like a "big girl" and she knows what it feels like, but yet nothing. Sometimes she goes on the potty, but more often then not in her pull up. I don't really have any advice, I just wanted to let you know that you aren't alone!

Your description of your daughter reminds me of mine...very aware of things around her and likes to do "big" things. She is also ver determined and likes to do things when she decides she's ready. She showed some interest in the potty just after turning 2 so we got the potty seats out and encouraged her, but it was right before the hoidays and our schedule was simply too irradic to devote a solid week or more of being at home and practicing so we just took her lead. After a month or so, she lost interest and even got to a point where she didn't want to sit while we got her bath ready - that had been a favorite and very successful time in the past. My husband and I just backed off, but we left her little potties out and left her underpants in a place where she could see them. A few months later around May (about 2.5), she woke up from nap and said she wanted to wear underpants. She put them on and has been dry since - with a couple exceptions. Honestly though I can only think of 3 occasions where she had accidents and in at least one case, I should have suggested she try before going outside where she got distracted and then didn't have time to get to the potty. Because she is so sensitive to this and I just think it's right, if I know we are going to be someplace where going to the potty will take a long time or may not be possible, I have her wear a pull-up. She still asks and we still try to get her to the potty, but we have back-up if it doesn't work out and then she doesn't feel uncomfortable needing new clothes. She still wears pull-ups for naps and bedtime, but we're taking the relaxed approach there too and she is having more and more dry naps/bedtimes each week. She's probably about 50% now. Oh, I forgot...you mentioned not rewarding with food....I did follow my family's potty training tradition and used M&M's. My kids hardly ever get candy or sweets (usually only from my in-laws!) so this was huge for her. She got to pick ONE M&M (and sometimes I had those mini ones!) for each successful potty trip! So, the "potty treats" didn't add too much sugar to her diet. She felt very satisfied with it and never asked for more. I kept them in a special little container in the bathrooms which she loved picking them from. Now we have encountered allergy issues with my younger son, so we've switched to sweettarts, but we do the same thing with dry nights/naps...one sweettart when she's dry. Other than the reward, we don't really fuss at her or make a big deal about it either way. It's her thing and she has control over it. Another piece of info about my daughter ... she is a perfectionist. She gets really upset about not doing things right so she tends to sit back and watch and wait until she is confident that she can be successful with something before trying it for others to know about. She was this way with walking, talking, potty training and other skills. Try to just relax and not make it such a big deal. Eventually they all potty train. It seems that when you let them decided when they are ready, you are rewarded with many fewer accidents to clean up. Oh, one last thing - another bonus with waiting....basically from the beginning, my daughter has asked to go when she needs to which is so nice because with the little one you don't have to watch the clock and remember to ask every hour or two. Good Luck

Hi! I think you may have started potty training her a little too early. Every child is different. I tried to start my daughter right after she turned 2 and she was not ready. A few months went by and then she started showing interest and was going pee pee on the potty all the time. Poop took a while longer. Once she started pooping on the potty, she started doing pee on the toilet, by her own choice. But she would still only do poop on the potty. She turned 3 in August. She just started doing poop on the toilet, but still prefers her potty for poop more than the toilet. I just praise her and let her decide. Take away the pressure. I think they use it as a means of control and also they are asserting their independence. I know it's frustrating at times, but just follow her lead for a while and see what happens.

Hi S.! I'm S. as well. My mom got my name from that TV show Bewitched. But anyway I had the same problem until a couple of months ago. I tried potty training my daughter at 18 months and she enjoyed being a big girl but wouldnt use the potty she wanted the pull ups. So what I did was I quit the pull ups and diapers cold turkey. I had her see what it was like feeling wet and told her big girls use the potty. Majority of the time I used the potty she would come with me and I would say see Mommy is a big girl and uses the potty. If we went some where I just brought a couple of change of clothes. It took about 1 week of many accidents but she was using the potty. At night I even let her wear panies but I made sure before bed she went potty. It was a hassle because she wanted pulls ups but I said you are a big girl now and you can wear panies no more pull ups. It was a little harder during the middle of the night because she may have an accident but she would wake up and I would have to change her sheets but eventually her body got used to holding it until the morning. One thing my mom told me to do during this whole process was 10-15min after drinking take her to the potty. It helped me. Hope you find something that works.

My boys would not potty train for anything. I broke down and tried the candies, the "aim for the cheerios", everything. Finally I sent them to a daycare, and they had a "star chart". Its a chart you hang on the bathroom wall, something simple like construction paper with colored markers, etc. Each time she goes potty, she gets one of those simple star stickers you can get pretty cheap and can put it on her chart. For every ten stars she gets something special, like helping make cookies with you, etc. Also, put her favorite book in the bathroom, and every so often take her in and have her sit on the potty while you read the book together. Sometimes children that age don't really realize they have to go to the potty until its too late, so don't always wait until she says she has to. Hope something here helps, I feel your pain!

Hi S.!
A couple of things...yeah, just moving into a different home and environment is quite a shake up for a child. Give her time to get used to her new surroundings.
Also...wow! 18 months to try potty training? I've never heard of doing it that early. Try giving her a little break from it. My daughter (my third child) turned three this past June. Like my other children, I started trying to train her once she turned two. It just didn't work so I waited until 2 1/2. Then it worked. But I can't get her to stay dry during the night. I even got up every two hours to take her potty and by morning, she had a wet bed. It is frustrating but I'm not pushing the issue. After the holidays she will be 3 1/2 and I will try it again.
I'm told that the bladder is sometimes too small and isn't keeping up with their growth (not sure if it's true).
As far as rewarding, you are right...we should never use food as a reward. I've heard from other moms different things. One friend of mine made a chart and used stickers for each time the potty was used. Once the "line" on the chart was full of stickers (you determine), then her child was able to pick out a small toy when they went shopping. Another friend took away the child's favorite toy and said they could have it back when they use the potty regularly. Personally, I've never used toys as a bribe. When my kids successfully used the potty, I made a big deal about it like dancing throughout the house singing, "Virginia used the potty, yeah, yeah, yeah!" She thought that was the funniest thing in the world and would dance and sing with me! Then we would brag about it to other family members to make her proud.
Potty training is a tough subject because it's all a matter of control on the child's part...not ours! I hope I've helped you! Good Luck, mommy!

S.
When my daughter was 2 my mom took her to the store and left her pick out a pack of big girl panties like mommy and nan and told her that she could have them when she started using the big girl potty like mommy and nan we also told her that we had to go potty and took her with to sit on her potty. the on other thing that was kind of messy was we left her run around at home with no diaper it meant a lot of spot cleaning of the carpet but when she went we just said oppsy you forgot to sit on the potty it wasnt long before she got it down but the once she got her panties we had to get her to remember to take them off before she say on the potty hope this might help good luck

Manda

HELLO S.!
MY DAUGHTER TRAINED LATE ALSO. SHE WAS 2 1/2 (NOW 13) WHAT I DID WITH HER WAS TO LET HER WALK AROUND THE HOUSE WITH NOTHING ON HER BOTTOM. OF COURSE WE HAD ACCIDENTS BUT THAT IS WHAT CLEANING SUPPLIES ARE FOR. IF SHE HAS THE COMFORT OF A PULL UP SHE WILL CONTINUE TO USE IT. BUT IF SHE HAS TO CLEAN UP HER OWN MESS IF SHE DOES NOT MAKE IT TO THE BATHROOM. SHE WILL THINK TWICE ABOUT MAKING "A MESS" (LOL) HOPE THIS HELPS
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!11

Hi S.. I have a three year old son and we have started potty training him about the same time you started with Madison. Dylon has big boy underwear and pullups too. But he has no desire to go, except when we r out in public, like Walmart, or dinner. I tell him all the time big boys go potty, but he just seems to busy playing, talking and doing his own thing. I dont bribe him either, he just tells me "no". I am so frustrated. If u have any suggestions that may help, maybe we can figure out something.