Comments on Nonlinear Girl: Another Potty Post

ugh. I have this to look forward to, eh? I have a ...

2008-11-14T10:46:00.000-08:00

ugh. I have this to look forward to, eh? I have a feeling that Monkey will be difficult to potty train when the time comes (she's 18 mo. now). We picked up a little potty for her, just to sort of introduce her to the idea. She will sit on the toilet and go "psssss" with her mouth and then laugh like it's the funniest thing ever. And then she'll get up and go over into the corner and pee on the floor. (shaking head)

If I was you and Ada was so resistant I would just completely back off. She will do it when she's ready and I know it's a pain in the ass but....what else can you do, really?

Maybe it can be integrated into the whole 'big sister' thing, once the twins come she'll be the "big girl" and big girls don't need diapers. Maybe?

I just found your blog and am in the same boat. I...

2008-11-13T13:25:00.000-08:00

I just found your blog and am in the same boat. I have twin girls the exact same age as Ada. One showed interest in the potty almost a year ago and has been trained approx. 9 mos or so. The other WILL NOT use the potty or wear "big girl" underwear. I am at my wits end. Just about everyone else in preschool uses the potty... only her and a couple of straggler boys who are younger are in diapers. If you come up with any great ideas, please blog them!

re #2 - maybe if the choice she is offered is clot...

2008-11-09T19:06:00.000-08:00

re #2 - maybe if the choice she is offered is cloth diaper (hate!) or potty (hate!) she will choose potty? or if she is at all vain, she will not want to wear sweats all winter?

I know *nothing* about 3.5 year olds though. What I know of 2.5 year olds leads me to believe that normal human logic does not kick in until much later.

I hope things get better.

Potty training. That's more than a year away, I h...

2008-11-08T07:04:00.000-08:00

Potty training. That's more than a year away, I hope, though I have to confess that we were very lucky with dudelet. He's still very much in nappies when he sleeps, though.

Another mom of a diapered 3.5 year old here. Holla...

2008-11-07T19:27:00.000-08:00

Another mom of a diapered 3.5 year old here. Holla.

My daughter only uses the potty as a stall tactic ...

2008-11-07T17:52:00.000-08:00

My daughter only uses the potty as a stall tactic so she doesn't have to go to bed, otherwise she refuses to let go of the diapers. If she is naked, she either asks for the diaper (to poop) or pees on the floor/in her underwear. Being wet doesn't bother her one bit. It is sooo frustrating and I understand your pain. Not to mention that diapers are not cheap and a strain on the environment. Someone mentioned the book "Pottywise" to me today, but it doesn't have the best reviews. I'm not sure that this post helps, but at least you are not alone. Good luck!

This is not advice, because I think it could be na...

2008-11-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

This is not advice, because I think it could be narcissistic Jewish/Chinese mother guilt manipulation--but it is what I imagined myself doing if I were in your situation.

I think that I would end up talking to my daughter about how her refusing to use the potty was making me feel. I would apologize for any mistakes I'd made that were a result of the anger/fear/frustration I was feeling. And then I'd ask her to tell me why she was being so resistant and see if we could come up with a plan together. Letting her know that in the end, she was going to eventually be potty trained and it would bring happiness all around.

I didn't do this with potty training, but did have this sort of discussion around struggles over going to elementary school, learning to drive, and graduating from high school.

It'll happen. It will.

And if you hole you...

2008-11-07T12:03:00.000-08:00

It'll happen. It will.

And if you hole yourself up in the kitchen, you can leave briefly to pee. And Stephanie is a rockin' friend to offer to help.

it does suck.

however, i'd rather change di...

2008-11-07T10:28:00.000-08:00

it does suck.

however, i'd rather change dipes than wet clothes.

3.5 isn't too old.

do whatever you want.

Oh geez, that does sound desperate. I wouldn't kno...

2008-11-07T07:54:00.000-08:00

Oh geez, that does sound desperate. I wouldn't know what to do either. I know that for us it took our daughter quite a while to get the hang of it (like a month or more), but she was much younger and didn't have the rebellious streak yet. Maybe banish the diapers forever and hope she figures it out before the twins come? If you can stomach it, that is.

I'm happy to help if I can. Milo and I are home Tu...

2008-11-07T07:37:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to help if I can. Milo and I are home Tuesdays and Thursdays, plus MW afternoons, and we can come over and help with the tag-team effort. And the cleanup.

Ugh. You have my empathy. My daughter avoided the ...

2008-11-07T05:46:00.000-08:00

Ugh. You have my empathy. My daughter avoided the potty like the plague until she was about 3 and a half, too. It made me insane. Nothing I did had any effect; like you, I just stopped asking about it. It was especially challenging in the company of other children her age who had been potty trained for, like, a year already.

And what happened? She began using the damn potty when she wanted to -- all my efforts had been for naught; she apparently had her own agenda and schedule.

I know that's of little comfort or help to you right now, but I hope that it happens for you, too, and soon!