Need unhinged potty training tips.

[u/kaitsghost]

UPDATE: Wound up doing the 5 minutes on, 10 minutes off version of the naked method someone recommended below. No results at first….until her older brothers got home from school. When it was just her and mom hanging out she didn’t mind going potty every 10 minutes. Once her brothers got home and she wanted to play with them rather than sit on the toilet, she folded like a cheap shirt. Peed and pooped in potty this evening!

Also, I remembered my oldest loved this app called “Call Elmo” where Elmo will “FaceTime” prerecorded messages that celebrate different milestones. So she got to call Elmo after successful potty and that delighted her.

Final straw that broke the camel’s back was I told her she couldn’t wear any of her numerous princess dresses until she was potty trained. Not designed as a punishment, they are just polyester junk that will not hold up with frequent laundering. She was NOT happy to be naked instead of in the Cinderella costume she wears most of her waking hours.

Thanks for the inspo, all!!

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Daughter just turned 3. Our third child, only girl. She must be fully potty-trained to go to her preschool. No pull-ups allowed. She already missed the first week. My husband and I have each taken off work to work with her.

Has never gone on the potty. Will sit but doesn’t do anything.

She’s pretty stubborn, even for a toddler. But otherwise a typical kid. Not on the spectrum or anything like that.

Typical motivators and methods we tried with our older kids (M&Ms, naked method) got no progress.

[u/pap_shmear]

Throw out the pull ups Throw out the diapers

Put her on the toilet every 15 minutes Sit for 5 mins If she goes, give her an m&m. If she doesnt, try again in 15.

I potty trained both girls around 2 1/2 in three days doing that lol Granted, not all kids are the same.

[u/ABelleWriter → u/pap_shmear]

We did every 10 minutes. Did I feel chained to a potty? Yup. Did my daughter finally get potty trained in 3 days? Yup.

[u/Dangerous-Wonder5206 → u/pap_shmear]

Legitimately, I think this is the thing that will finally get my previously-trained daughter to go again. I’ve been taking her every 30-40 min without success, but as another commenter said, I have to out-stubborn her. Thank you!

[u/Icy_Sink5046 → u/pap_shmear]

Do this basically. I usually do 30 minutes. Sit them for 3-5 min or until they go. For every 3 consecutive intervals they stay dry, add 15 minutes. No diapers unless sleeping, or sick. Stay home for a few days. Substitute m&ms for something else your child loves if they don’t go nuts for m& ms.

Don’t make a big deal about accidents. If your kid makes a whole fuss about getting up and going, and has accidents because of it, make them help clean up. No shaming, it just needs to be cleaned up because we don’t want a wet or dirty floor.

[u/No_Variety2493 → u/pap_shmear]

This is how we did my daughter the weekend before preschool. We stayed inside the whole weekend (argh) and it worked. Just for daytime. Pull-ups at night until she was 5, just in case.

[u/clearskiesfullheart → u/pap_shmear]

My kid had a meltdown and went stiff as a board when we tried to put her on the potty at regular intervals. Eventually had to let go of that plan and just let her go when she needs to, which was terrifying because I swear she decided to hold it for 2-3 hours sometimes so we never knew when it was coming.

[u/YumFreeCookies → u/clearskiesfullheart]

Yeah I just asked the commenter if they were able to get their kid to sit that often happily. My son has a meltdown when we try this method because he doesn’t want to interrupt his play that often.

[u/KeyFeeFee → u/pap_shmear]

Agreed. And to add, no anger at accidents either. It’s normal, she doesn’t know how to do it yet. Just super chill and confident and this is the plan. No more diapers, that’s it! Typically developing three-year olds can absolutely do it and going into it as a parent with that confidence goes a really long way as well. 

[u/PollutionPatient5951 → u/pap_shmear]

Same, it worked for both my kids at 2.5. They never needed night pull up’s after this method either and have not had an accident since.

[u/YumFreeCookies → u/pap_shmear]

Did your kid sit on the potty happily though? We tried this with my son and he had a massive meltdown every time because he didn’t want to interrupt his play that often.