teach me about potty training

[womet]

My sister has decided to get my niece potty trained while we are all at the beach together, since she will have the time to see it through. Which means, we'll all be participating in potty training.

G, my niece, has her own little potty and gets M&Ms when she uses it. Oh wise moms, any suggestions so that can help us out? Thanks!

[womet]

May 8, 2013 8:34:20 GMT -5 @mrswindycity said:

How old is she? I would probably start with underwear, so she can instantly tell when she's wet and take her to the potty really often in the beginning. And give lots and lots of praise.

She's almost 3. My sister has some princess undies that G is excited about. She's interested in the potty, in general, so I'm hoping it's easy for her (and us).

Other than praise (and M&Ms), anything her favorite Auntie can do?

[ryry]

If you're comfortable with it, let her hang out in the bathroom while you pee (and I know this isn't for everyone!). But the more she sees other people do it the better. DD comes into the bathroom with me a lot (for a while it's because I didn't want her roaming the house while I couldn't watch her, then it was because she'd barge her way in every time I went). I'd tell her what i was doing, or she'd tell me what I was doing...and I think it helped a lot when it was time for her to PT.

Otherwise, don't pressure. The first day I used a timer and kept reminding her every 20-30 min to go to the potty. It resulted in a huge power struggle, accidents, and me giving up by nap time. Just give lots of praise and encouragement and let her take the lead!

Oh, and if there's a favorite character besides princesses pick up some more character undies. DD LOVES picking out her underwear every day, and she's super picky about them. Sometimes it's an Elmo day, sometimes putting on Elmo underwear is the worst thing in the whole wide world (according to her) and only Minnie Mouse will do.

[womet]

May 8, 2013 8:59:58 GMT -5 @chloe77 said:

I put my kids in underwear with no pants on top, showed them how to use the potty, and they when they started to go, ran them over to the potty to finish.  They figured out  how to realize that they had to go and how to get to the potty in advance.  Lots of praise and potty parties when they go on the potty.  For us, we were homebound for a few days and I had to focus ALL my attention on the kid so I could catch accidents while they were happening.

IMO, vacation isn't a great time to train, when regular routines might be disrupted, you won't really want to stay in the house (how are you going to train her on the beach?), etc.

I agree that it might not be the best time. But I can also see my sister's view that it's the only time she has available to do it. She works, and my niece spends time with both grandmas during the week.

There is a community center just off the beach that has bathrooms, so I guess she'll have to take her there. We will probably spend more time hanging at the pool at the house, so bathroom breaks will be easier.

[Deleted]

A lot of people are giving you great tips, but I can't imagine that she is going to get potty trained while out of her routine, staying at a strange house, on vacation. The grandmas who watch her during the week are going to need to help out with PTing either way.

[womet]

jenny1980, YGPM