Toddler wont potty train?

Question

I have a toddler that will be 3 on August 9th that absolutely REFUSES to use the toilet. She says she doesnt like the toilet. We have tried singing to her, talking to her, giving her stickers, special wipes, pull ups (we told her they are big girl pants), told her big girls go on the potty. We have tried her on a potty and on the toilet with an adapter for kids, but she just wont go! So we aren't sure why she is doing this. We thought maybe she wasnt ready? She did go on the toilet about 4 months ago and was loving it then one morning she just wouldnt do it anymore. Please help!

Answer 1

My daughter did the same thing.  They have to decide on their own that they want to do it.  She will eventually.  When my daughters younger cousin started using the toilet at daycare, she decided she wanted to too, but whenever we pressured her at all she would refuse.  She went back of forth with times she would want to use it and times she wouldn't.  So I think it is normal.

Answer 2

You waited too long.  Dragon Lady is right.  What you do now is you slap some underpants on her with her favorite character and tell her that Dora  (or whoever) doesn't like to get wet and this is how it's going to be from now on.  Offer rewards for production.  (Everyone has their price.)  Don't be too solicitous about it and don't have any reaction at all about accidents, whether intentional or truly accidental.  Time is time.  You could also couple it with a big time reward like now that you're a big girl, you get a big girl bike (trike / scooter / whatever), if she doesn't already have one.

Answer 3

My daughter wasn't potty trained until 4-1/2 yrs old.  My friends kept telling me not to worry because she won't be walking down the aisle in diapers!  I was skeptical of this at times.  The doctor told me not to push her.  She did accept pull ups at 3 yrs old, but used them like diapers. Then she was getting ready for pre-K in August of that year.  I was at the doctor and the doctor "matter-of-factly" told my daughter that she does not need diapers anymore and that mommy could spend the diaper money on something fun like going to the amusement park.  The doctor told me privately not to buy diapers or pull-ups anymore and throw the other ones away. Horrible thoughts went through my mind, like soaked car seats, stinky car, puddles on the floor of Toys-R-Us, etc.   When we got home, I wrestled with myself to throw out the diapers.  It was such a hard and scary thing to do. Then, I told my daughter that I had no more diapers and that besides, there are no diapers in pre-k.  She said "ok".  And that was the end of that!  I did buy a portable potty for the car just in case--and she loved to use it. Maybe it was a fluke. But it did work.

Answer 4

Our questions are pretty much the same, except I have toddler (boy) who will be 3 years old August 6th.  Don't worry people we're not the same person:  Hopefully we'll both get some excellent advise. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 5

She's not ready.  She will be.  Have patience and be positive.

My third son did that, too.  We thought he was going to be pretty easy to train, but then he stopped and wouldn't have anything to do with it for a long time.

Answer 6

Calmly give her no choice.  It is the only thing that works.  Put the diapers or pull ups away, except at night, and tell her that her life as a big girl toilet goer has begun.  If she pees in her pants, calmly help her clean it up and tell her to try to listen to her body and put her pee in the toilet next time.  Repeat this procedure as often as necessary.

If she says she doesn't like it, say, "I'm sorry, but you're a big girl now.  You have to use the toilet just like everyone else."  If she freaks out, walk away and let her have her tantrum, but if she seems receptive to the conversation, make it fun by going through the list of people who use the toilet, including yourself, her Dad, other relatives, big kids you know, etc.  (Kids enjoy hearing their friends and loved ones listed for some reason;  I have entertained children for long stretches by coming up with songs that list friends and relatives.)

Answer 7

My son is working on this too.  We made a clean break from diapers and he has to help clean up all messes.  It is not as big of a deal as it seems.  He is able to hold it a lot longer now and sometimes remembers to tell me he needs to go.  He does about the same whether I stay on him and act stressed out or if I just let things be, so I'm just going to let him pee in his pants and we'll clean up and when he gets tired of that, I think he'll start going to the bathroom everytime.

Answer 8

Judy's right. Don't pressure her. If you try to push, it'll just cause problems. Just be patient -- for a lot of kids, it happens all of the sudden...

good luck :)