Potty training

[Monkey]

My little girl, who turns three at the end of August, is still not potty trained. She is starting school in September and needs to be clean by the time she starts. I am really starting to worry about it especially given the fact that I don't have any time off this summer. Has anybody here got any tips? Or maybe knows a "potty training consultant" who could help? I feel bad "outsourcing" this issue to someone else but I am really getting nowhere.Thank you.

[fufton]

Hi Monkey

As you know I am in exactly the same situation with O. Took the plunge this week and went cold turkey, has worked brilliantly at the nursery as all his firends are training now too and he is so proud of himself - not one accident on Wednesday. That said - at home he is the opposite - he point blank refuses to use the potty and will hold and hold it until its bed time and has a nappy on. Im not giving up this time as I know he can do it but my concern is that by potty training him at the nursery and 'outsourcing' he does not have the routine of doing it at home. I'm probably worrying over nothing and when it become second nature at nursery it will at home too. As you can't take time off my suggestion would be to speak to the nursery and kick start it there, find out if C has friends who are training now too?

Oh - and a small 'well done' present and the end of each day seems to work too -nothing like a bit of bribery!

[esme]

I'm doing this with my childminder's help at the mo and would suggest like above you just give it a whirl and see how your daughter responds. Main thing is to avoid force / pressure of any kind and let her do it in her own time. Well done presents great idea, we give stickers and generally make a big fuss every time he goes on the potty. After a few weeks he is now asking to go on the potty and is almost trained except for at night time and naps in the afternoon. Good luck but don't worry!!!

[Didster]

My second daughter was a bit resistant to potty training - she didn't actually want to sit on the potty at all so we went straight to toilet I think some children just want to copy you exactly and the potty doesn't seem to work, maybe this is an issue? This combined with a bribe of two smarties everytime she went worked a treat!

[apenn]

Maybe try going nude from the waist down whenever you're in the house? Don't know if this would work for others or my son is just peculiar - but when we started potty training in earnest he would ask to go if he was naked from the waist down but always wee in his trousers/underpants! For a while I would just whip off the nappy as soon as he got up and only dress him from the waist down if we were going out. Quite amusing to watch the reaction of people who ring your doorbell . . .