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Thursday, April 8, 2010

Potty Training Woes-HELP

I get so frustrated with potty training in general, and I find it extremely hard to find help online or in books on my exact problem. I know that other parents have been where I am, but no one really talks about the fact that their kid was still having accidents a year and a half after they were "potty trained." I usually hear the phrase "oh, my kid was potty trained at ...months!"

Is it really true? I doubt it. What is the definition of potty trained? Is my definition different from theirs?

Most days I think that K is potty trained, until an hour later when he confesses that he pooped in his underwear. He's gone for days without accidents at all, and suddenly he's having several a day. We had him basically potty trained last October, and we're still dealing with accidents. Is this normal? How long should I plan on stuff like this?

I've read all the suggestions (candy, stickers, reward charts)...I just want to know if others have dealt with this issue, and how they dealt with it.

Basically, I need a support group :). If you have had any issues with potty training, please comment...help me feel better...please.

5 comments:

  1. Sorry you're going through this. I hear that boys take longer to potty train than girls, but my only experience is with girls, and all children are different.

    I know that for my oldest, I tried everything, and she finally had an accident, got hurt, and she decided it was time, and never looked back. my second is pretty much potty trained, but she still has accidents---for a while, she would be motivated for a couple of weeks, do really well, and then stop trying. I finally had to bribe her with chocolate, and we still have to regularly remind her. Most of her accidents now are in the bathroom right next to the potty.

    I hear that sometimes, it takes until 5 years old to have total bladder control, and BMs are a lot sooner.

    Don't get discouraged!

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  2. OH that MUST be frustrating! Well I'm anticipating needing a support group of my own pretty soon but we're not quite there yet (still trying to adjust to the 'big girl bed')
    I'll let you know when I join you in this...

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  3. Even though I have so far been unsuccessful at potty training my almost 4 year-old, my sister was able to PT her twins (they were just over 2 when she started). I would say it was a good 9 months before they were using the potty without (a lot) of help. And at age 3 they still have an occasional accident. PT seems like a good deal--no diapers--but, it's still a lot of work!

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  4. Hi Judy. Thanks for stopping by my blog! I have 4 kids and 3 of them are potty trained. The last one is 2 and we are in the middle of it. Each one was different. My first (girl) was completely done by her 2nd birthday and she has NEVER had an accident...even at night. I thought I was the best mom in the world, but I was so wrong!

    My 2nd (a boy) was the exact opposite. He wasn't potty trained until he was 3.5 years. NOTHING I tried worked. It wasn't until he saw his cousin using the potty that he decided to give it a try. That was it. DONE!

    My 3rd (girl) started acting like she wanted to train when she was about 2 and it took until she was almost 3 to stop having accidents. We tried everything with her. It finally just took me sitting down with her and talking to her about her body and how it works and why it is important to be potty trained. Once she understood it all, then she was done.

    Now with my 4th, I decided to try something different. I knew about the time he did #2 everyday, so I would just watch him. When he got "the look" I would run him into the potty and let him do his business. It took a few weeks, but he now tells me everytime when he has to #2. I haven't changed a poopy diaper in about 3 weeks and I am quite happy about it. As far as #1, I just need to let him have some time in underwear. I don't think it will take him too long, it is just hard to be consistant when I have 3 others to take care of too. We'll get there, but I'm not stressing about it...not yet anyway.

    Sorry so long! I hope this helps a bit. I have been there and it is frustrating, but soon enough it will just be a memory.

    Sarah

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  5. My daughter potty trained pretty early. She never wet her bed and DH and I couldn't believe it. About a year after she was trained she started pooping in her pants. She knows when she has to go, just doesn't want to stop playing. So after a few months of dealing with this and not really knowing how to get her to stop we did one thing that "seems to have worked" (famous last words). Anytime she poops in her pants she has to go to bed RIGHT after dinner. She only needed to have that happen twice and we've been without poop in underware for over two months. So, that's just one thing that has worked for us. Not looking forward to PT the little man!

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