What are your tips for getting a stubborn toddler to potty train?

Jump to Last Post 1-7 of 7 discussions (8 posts)
  1. ChristinS profile image37
    ChristinSposted 13 years ago

    What are your tips for getting a  stubborn toddler to potty train?

    both of my kids were slow to potty train and I was wondering what tricks/tips other parents had that finally convinced their little ones to give the potty a try smile

    My "baby" is 3 & 1/2 right now and he just isn't interested yet.  I try not to get uppity about it because if he knows how much it matters to me he'll dig his heels in even more.  Any "magic" tricks any of you tried that worked ? smile

  2. CJ Andrews profile image83
    CJ Andrewsposted 13 years ago

    We had a hard time with our daughter - then rented a bathroom movie from the library and it took no time at all.  The movie was cheesy as all get out, but it worked.

  3. Cre8tor profile image80
    Cre8torposted 13 years ago

    We had a book our children liked to read at bedtime and seemed to help. One thing I know is that kids don't like to be "messy". Near the end (after standard potty techniques for awhile) we would take off our child's diaper and make them wear underwear. Inconvenient for us? Yes, for a week or 2, but in all 3 cases it was smooth sailing after. A couple tough weeks for a lifetime of proper pottying. Good luck.

  4. cobrien profile image60
    cobrienposted 13 years ago

    Try switching to cloth diapers. They are bulky and uncomfortable. A cool potty chair with a book rack and T.P. holder might also be encouraging. Don't forget the potty books and the big kid pants.

  5. bandmwright profile image61
    bandmwrightposted 13 years ago

    Ugh... Potty training! My son is 3.5 and we were having the hardest time! It was work and my husband and I both work, which made it even more difficult when it came to potty training.  I tried everything from color dye in the toilet to books... you name it!!
    A few things that worked:
    1. Consistency - schedule a time when you have him go to the bathroom.
        - I discovered my son would always have an accident around 9am, anticipate it and be proactive. Get him to the toilet!
    2. Accidents will happen - Let him wear underwear when he's home. Accidents will happen, but the diapers nowadays are so good, that kids pee their pants and don't feel a thing!
         - On long trips or out and about, he should wear pull ups until he's ready!
    3. Reward System - find out what he really enjoys. My son has been wanting to go to Chuck-E-Cheese forever! (not sure why, but hey!)  Get a picture of the place or the toy he really wants and make a chart.
          - I made a chart with a ladder and got a picture of him and taped it to a popsicle stick. Everytime he pees in the potty he goes up one step, for poop in the potty, he goes up three.  If he has an accident, he goes down 3. He has 21 steps to get up. If he reaches the top! He can have the prize.
    4. Praise - Of course, everytime he goes pee or poop, he's going to want to share it with you.  Make a REALLY BIG DEAL about it! and make sure to call grandma, or auntie to rave about it!

    Good luck... it's not easy! but it will happen. smile

  6. charmingkids17 profile image60
    charmingkids17posted 13 years ago

    This idea worked for me, my daughter is 3.8 yrs and i just told her that Santa Clause will give her drawing books and different toys, the very first day was very difficult  but  after that when i gave her the drawing book she just got trained.

    1. Laura Schneider profile image79
      Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Great idea! You could also call it the "Potty Fairy" or something other than Santa Claus, otherwise she might start thinking that if she holds out learning something long enough "Santa" can come any time of the year and give her presents.

  7. Laura Schneider profile image79
    Laura Schneiderposted 11 years ago

    See my answer to "Potty training tips for toddler who goes every 2 minutes?".

    It's not necessary, I don't think, to wait until the kid is interested: diapers are expensive (or messy to deal with, if you use cloth), and should start being phased out at an early age. Potty training in the US has gotten out of control; kids can be potty trained at fairly early ages whether they show interest or not. You can create interest by taking them to the toy/children's store and being very excited about helping THEM choose a big-kid potty for potty training. Hype it up, let them make the choice no matter how young they are, and you'll probably see a very motivated kid. Also, make sure they use diapers that make them feel uncomfortably wet, so they're motivated to learn how to go potty like the big kids.

    Check out a copy of the old classic "Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care" (I think that's the title) for more tips and advice.

 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)