Really creative ways to get my child to use the potty?

Question

my daughter is three and very smart but refuses to get potty trained. we have been working at it forever.. or i have. i did everything... bought the potty chair... bought the seat that went on the toilet... bought a bag full of toys as rewards.. tried using sweets... bought the potty movies and books... took away her pull ups ( she didn't care she just went on the floor). i took her to the doctor and they said to stop for a few months and i did but we are at it again and again she has no interest. if she was younger i would deal with it but at 3 and a half it is time so have you had this problem and what can i do....please help!!!!!

Answer 1

dont work on it anymore.  once the pressure is off you'll wake up one day and she'll just use it like there never was a problem

all the people that are saying to give her rewards.. its not gonna matter you can promiss her a pony and she wont use it. you have to take a step back and let her use it when shes ready. no tricks.  just give her time. shes not gonna go to college in diapers I promiss =)

Answer 2

maybe.....everytime she goes to the potty you can give her a reward so she knows that if she pees on herself no reward

Answer 3

Try training her on the actual toilet seat.  It could be that she sees using the potty chair as too baby-ish for her, and she already wants to be like a grown up.  You might have to spot her on this, since the actual toilet might be too high for her.  Anyhow, see how she reacts to you letting her use the actual toilet seat and go from there.  If she's interested, let her continue in this manner (but know that you may have to help her until she's big enough to go on her own).  If she's not interested, well then you have nothing to lose.

Answer 4

duct tape her to it when you go to work, I'm sure she will have used it by the time you get home. Just kidding, She will use it when she is ready.

Answer 5

Tell her that she has to go on the potty, and if she doesn't the potty fairy will not come. Once she does go on the potty have her put some (unused) toilet paper in the mail box in an evelope addressed potty fairy. Than tell her that the next day the fairy will bring her a gift. Than put glitter all around the mail box and have her put out her surprise! Have fun, but don't tell her the surprise the suspense is what will make her want to go.

Answer 6

get her pretty pants to wear thin one and this can help just tak eher there every hour or so and keep doing it you will get her to work after awhile never spank her and reward her but not with toys and stuff maybe a good thankyou and words and stuff also not just things that is dumb cause no one can afford that she'll come to eventually yu have to have patience.

Answer 7

I have alway been told not to force a child to toilet train, they will do it when ready.

My eldest was showing interest, but never actually got anywhere for a while so i tried a star chart, (1 star per wee 2 for a poo), once he got 5 stars he got a special toy (nothing too extravigant) 10 stars special outing (McDonalds, trip to park etc). this work well for a bit then got bored of it.

It wasnt untill his sister started showing interest in toileting as well, and was getting more stars than him, did he actually got stuck into it (he couldnt let his baby sister be better at something now could he??). Within 2 days he was completly toilet trained and done it all by himself.

As for his sister, well...... we are still working on that.

Star Charts are good. Explain to your child what it is for and what happens after each 5 etc. I even let my lot pick the star off the sticker sheet and stick it on themselves.

Maybe this might help you. Good luck

Answer 8

My son is only 15 months old, so we haven't started yet, but I heard a cute story about something that worked, which might be worth a try.  The mom and the dad used to make a big deal of each other going potty, singing and dancing and making a big deal of it.   One of them would come back from the bathroom and say "Guess what!  I used the potty!"  Then the other would say: "You did?!  Wow! Oh, my goodness! That's great!  Come give me a hug."  The daughter didn't want to be left out so she started trying it too.

Answer 9

hi, i found with my grandson i bribed him with a gold coin every time he went on the toilet,he is four. i looked after him while his mum was at work,as he loves having his own money in his wallet this really worked,if he went in his pants i took a coin off him. when he lost a few coins he thought  i am losing money so sterted again using toilet now he is very good

Answer 10

The only suggestion i really have, is allow her to pee and poo in her undies. Dont give her pull ups. Giving her pull ups allows her to pee/poo and still feel dry.

If she starts feeling the wet and grossness of pee and poo maybe that will get her into using the potty.

If she takes her own pants off and pees/poos on the floor, then you need to sit her in the naughty corner for a very long time.

Answer 11

i didnt give my daughter anything to drink until she pottied, sometimes we would both go. then i would only give her a lil bit, so when i offer her some next, she will be thirsty. (and i would offer it to her when it was time for her to go)

worked for me, potty training sux.

i used this method and it took my 3 1/2 weeks to be fully over training

Answer 12

I  hear  that  for  girls ,  the  trick  is  to  buy  them  one  of  the  dolls  that  wets .

Have  her  train  the  doll  and  she  starts  doing  it  herself .

For  boys  I  hear  that  tossing  in  Cheerios  and  making  it  a   shooting  game  works .

Good  luck

>

Answer 13

My daughter only wanted to use a real toilet AND she wanted privacy.   I researched and found a very safe and very sturdy stool with sides for the toilet so she could hold on the whole time without touching the toilet with her hands.  http://www.amazon.com/Elite-Child-Corpor...

She loved the independence and I loved the safety.  She could relax and she potty trained right away.  The company says that they are the solution and I agree.  Well worth it.  Hope this helps.

PS.  Putting toilet paper over the water stops the splash and avoids trauma for your daughter.

Answer 14

Buy her a doll that goes pee pee and p**p p**p in the potty

Answer 15

I got something for you to try cause I was in the same situation with my son.  He was about your daughter's age when he FINALLY was potty trained and I started working with him at 17 months.  I know 17 months to start potty training sounds young but the pediatrition said that once they show an interest,  show that they CAN do it, and know what the potty is for then it is time.  In his case that interest came at 17 months.  He started out doing really well at first but then it almost seems as if he got bored with it.  It was kinda like, "okay yay, mommy and daddy knows I can do it.  Big deal!  Back to wetting myself again."  Anyways, by three years old I had had enough with fighting with him and at his check up I told the doctor about what I was going through and how he started out so good and then nothing.  The doctor told me that it's normal for kids to do that sometimes.  He said they do get bored with it but he gave us the opposite advice you got from your doctor.  He told us that you can't stop at potty training.  Once they show you they can do it, you have to stay with it.  Then he gave me the best advice ever.  Worked like a charm and my son was potty trained nearly overnight.  I'm so excited to pass this on.  Here's the trick and mind you, you HAVE to be firm with this or it will not work.  The doctor told me that now is the time to start bribing him.  Then he said, and when I say bribe, I don't mean tell him I'll give you a cookie if you go potty.  He said, no, wait until HE asks for something (ie:  wants a cookie, to go outside, a sucker, ANYTHING, etc) then tell him to go potty first.  If he refuses then he DOESN'T get what he wants.  This is the part where you HAVE to be firm on and DON'T give in for anything.  For example, if your daughter was to want a drink of water or whatever and you tell her "go potty first" and she says NO then you tell her then NO DRINK!  If she keeps persisting tell her calmly but firmly that we WILL get a drink as soon as you go potty but NOT before.  NO POTTY, NO DRINK.  Oh my God, you have no idea how well this works if you're firm about it.  But you HAVE to stand your ground cause she's testing you.  If you mess up even once and give in, it'll never work.  A couple more things to add to this that may also help.  First of all, put her back in "big girl" underwear, not pullups, so that she can feel when they're wet.  She will not like that feeling of them being wet against her skin.  They can't really feel it with pull ups on.  If push comes to shove, have her wear her underwear around the house for just a little while after she wets them.  Don't change her til she really starts complaining, which shouldn't take long.  Then wait maybe five to ten minutes before you change her after she starts complaining.  When you do change her ask her, "didn't like that did ya?  Yeah, next time why don't we try telling mommy you have to go and use the potty."  Chances are she will think twice about it next time.  This is a trick my mom said she used on my sister, brother, and me when we were potty training and she said it worked.  And please don't think I mean to make her wear them long.  Just a little longer than she would want to.  If she don't start complaining about being wet  after a short period of time, say ten minutes or so, then go ahead and change her.  Sometimes this don't always work.  Another idea if you're worried about her going on the floor through her underwear or on the furniture is to buy those little rubber pants that they use for cloth diapers and put those on her over her underwear.  Then when she goes she will really be able to tell she's wet cause it'll be trapped in, not all over the place.  That should make her really uncomfortable and make her want to use the potty instead.  It's a plus for you too cause you don't have as big of a mess to clean up.  The only other thing I wanted to add is not to force the "big potty" on her at first like one of the other answerers suggested.  They said something about putting her on it to use it.  The problem with that is that most little kids are scared to death of the big toilet.  Mostly because of the loud sound it makes when it's flushed.  Let her train on her little potty first and slowly introduce her to the "big potty" by letting her watch you flush it and be curious about it.  Hold her close while you tell her watch mommy is going to flush the potty.  Then say things like, "Ah water go all gone.  Where'd it go?  Wow!!!!  Isn't that neat?"  Talk to her when you go to the bathroom and show her it isn't scary.  Maybe even let her flush it and see for herself.  Well I hope these tips help you out.  They sure did for me and I will be using them again soon for my daughter as well.  Hope it goes as well as it did with my son.  Good luck and hang in there dear.

Answer 16

um there is a potty chair that plays music when you flush. and if you want to get one everytime she uses the potty she can flush it and it plays the music.. DOCTORS THESE DAYS ARE DUMB! I used to work at a daycare in Vegas and they told me that the right age to potty train was 4? 4??? and maybe mommies gonna have to make her go every time she drinks or eats or every 20 minutes if you really want her potty trained YOU are going to have to TAKE CHARGE. and show her this is what big girls do nobody is going to be friends with someone that doesn't use the potty might work! good luck. yea docotors and waitin til 4 or 5 to potty train?! i don't think so!

Answer 17

If she's really interested in bright colors, put a drop of blue food coloring in the potty and show her that if she pees it will change to a greenish color! She'll think it's cool and will want to go potty to see the color.

Answer 18

i remember pooping my pants when i was three. i thought it was dirt. lol

umm try taking her out to her favorite place such as the park if she does it.

Answer 19

Is there anything that's important to her. That she really likes? We used a sticker chart, and let her pick the stickers. She used to get so excited to put them on the chart. When the chart was full, we asked her what she wanted to do as a reward. It was usually a happy meal or something like that. We tried M&M's with our sons, but they didn't understand that they only got a couple. If nothing works, just wait another couple of weeks and try again. Good luck!

Answer 20

Okay, I feel your pain, My nephew lived with me for 2 years and I had that same problem, what I ended up doing is getting a bedwetting alarm and any time he went in his pants the alarm would go off and it sends a little vibration. I also took away dipers and only had him in plain undies. Anytime the alarm went off he went to the time out chair for 2 minutes, It worked very well and within a month he was using the potty by himself. In the event your daughter takers off her painties to go on the floor I would make it 5 minitues!

I have included a link to a website that sells the alarms, granted the are really marketed for bed-wetting the worked like a charm! Good Luck

Answer 21

Put a potty chair in front of the TV during her favorite shows and give her snacks even if she doesn't go and when she does go make a big deal about it and she will try to go more often.Also you should join us at our parenting group .

Answer 22

My daughter is 3 1/2 and at that age, they know what they r doing. Shes probably just messin with you. Instead of rewards, your gonna have to start punishing her instead. thats what I would do. Take off the pull-ups and let her run around. if she goes on the floor, put the potty seat on the big potty and make her sit there for about 5 minutes. Explain to her that she is a big girl now and that big girls go on the big potty. Or if she goes on the floor, take her favorite toy away. tell her she'll get it back when she pees on the potty. Something like that. if the reward methd doesnt work (which it doesnt seem to be) then you have to change yuor method.

Answer 23

Tell her that after awhile, her diapers will be too small and they will fall off. Tell her everytime she goes to the potty, you will buy her a candy bar. Everytime she doesnt tell her that she owes you a potty time (pees on the potty)

Answer 24

make a song up like when she needs to use the potty start singing the aong u should make up before she needs to go

Answer 25

What does she really like or look forward too, or look up too that excites her....tell her that she won't be able to do that unless she uses the potty. I know it is a little white lie but it works.

  For instance, say she really likes zoo animals and she told you she wanted to go to the zoo, then you would tell her, well, you are only allowed to go to the zoo if you use the potty, because only big girls are allowed to use the potty, and I guess you don't want to because you don't use the potty. You sort of have to use reverse psychology.

It can be a long process, usually girls are ready before boys, just keep going with it, and she should be interested when she is ready, you have to trick her into thinking it is something that she wants to do, and not something that she has to do for you, because it is also all about defiance sometimes at that age, and testing what she can and cannot get away with. Good Luck!

Answer 26

you could put a baby seat on the toilet...or perhaps some toys near the toilet..

Answer 27

tell her that if she goes potty then she can call her favorite person. say its dora the explorer. then you say, "go potty and you can call dora!" and then get a family member to pick up a cell phone and talk in that voice while you call on the home phone. she will be determined to talk to more of her favorite cartoons!