[Shaddim]

than it is to potty train a child, apparently. We've been at it a week and there's been very little progress. She did actually pee in it once, but I think that was just incidental. That one time I praised her and she laughed and we clapped our hands, but most of the time she acts like she's purposely avoiding doing anything on the potty. She'll wait until I get the diaper back on her, and then do her business within a few minutes. Mostly she just likes pushing the potty around and trying to stuff her toys into it. This is going to take quite a while.

[shifuimam]

Insert obligatory post about how freakin' happy I am to be childfree...

But, seriously, good luck! I imagine you, your wife, and your washing machine are going to need it.

[andi*pandi]

takes more than a week. How old?

Take her favorite dolly and put it on the potty. Pretend it "goes" then praise it and love it and give it M&Ms. She will want to do what dolly does.

We had mixed results with a sticker chart, with an older 3ish child.

[Spheric Harlot]

It will happen.

Remember that there are two things you have absolutely no control over: what goes into her, and what comes out of her. Never, EVER build a power struggle over food and excretions, because if you let those things become about power, she will learn that there's one way she can always beat you.

Potty training will come naturally, especially if she interacts with other children who are toilet-trained. Don't force the issue, be patient, keep enough spare clothes on hand, and don't scold her when she forgets to go once she's no longer in diapers. Also, don't rush it, and be prepared for big things like this to happen in waves. It may look like it's working well for a bit, and then completely relapse for a couple of months. That's okay. It'll work even better next time, and maybe for good then.

Also, according to our pediatrician, some 40% of 7-year-olds still occasionally wet the bed, so that should give you some idea of how difficult it is for a child to learn to reliably control those devices.

[Shaddim]

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

Insert obligatory post about how freakin' happy I am to be childfree...

But, seriously, good luck! I imagine you, your wife, and your washing machine are going to need it.

Hogwash! Having a child has been the most awesome experience of my life. She's my wingman and we go practically everywhere together. I just put her in a car seat and off we go. Everything is high adventure for her and she loves checking out new things. We've gone to the zoo and aquarium a half a dozen times each already, last time at the zoo she was allowed to see and pet a recently born tiger cub and she was like "ki-ki?" and I said, "yes, that is a tiger kitty". "Foozy." I nodded and praised her, "Very good Emma. Yes, it is fuzzy." She was quite proud of herself. Then we went and got a lifelike plush one from the gift shop and it's her new favorite toy. She has to show it to everyone, everywhere, and talk with them about it (even complete strangers).

She's a little over 17 months now, and I know that's too young, but I'm not pushing her. This week we simply introduced the potty to let her get used to seeing it, and no, I absolutely didn't scold her... so far I've not scolded her for anything. I just get the feeling this is going to be months of work on this goal.

[Spheric Harlot]

Well, if you include not wearing diapers at night, it's going to be years, probably. But if there's no pressure, it's probably a lot easier on everyone.

[andi*pandi]

Yeah, at 18 mos the potty is a novelty to introduce but not push. It will be months.

Nighttime is a different story, depending on how heavy a sleeper she is.

[Shaddim]

She's actually a light sleeper, got that from me. If there's much stirring around she's up and wants to investigate. She's already trying to climb out of her crib, so that's something else to keep an eye on too. It won't be long until she's building a ladder of bears and dolls in an attempt to escape.