Email From Customer:

Narmin,

I am writing in regards to toilet training my 2 1/2 year old daughter. I decided that since she has shown all the signs that she is ready, that I would try the Potty Training in Less Than a Day method. She has an older sister (big girl) and a younger brother (baby) that I thought would make perfect examples for her. I read the book, bought a wetting doll, had the drink supply and lots of treats, snacks and rewards. I felt that I fully understood the concept and steps to take. I even tried to memorize some of the mother/child conversation from the book so that I could "say the right things". My daughter took to the doll immediately and within no time at all was successfully teaching the doll to use the toilet. She even displayed to me that she could follow all the instructions to correctly use the toilet. I gave her at least 3 cups of juice (8 ounces each) and she still did not urinate! She did not refuse sitting on the potty at all. She continued to willingly sit on the potty and continued to pass the dry pants inspections.

It was not until she started complaining of back and belly pain that I became concerned about this method of toilet training. About 3 1/3 hours into training, she had a small amount of loose bowel in her panties (no urine). She was very upset about this. I helped her clean herself up, still went through the practice steps with her, and restated verbally how to use the toilet. Since she took to the doll so well, I decided to have her help Dolly go potty again...with much success. I even used the toilet, praising and rewarding myself. I stuck to the task even though she was becoming noticeably tired, but interested. She then (6 hours into training) had a urination (finally) accident and I handled it the same way the book described. She continued to drink many fluids. Basically, I am not sure what to do. She seems to have the concept of using the toilet. She shows interest. She has no issues with sitting on the toilet. What should I do? She seems to have some issue with relaxing her muscles. How can I help her? Should I seek a different method to train her.

Thank you so much for any advise that you can offer to me.

Sarah

Our Response:

Hello Sarah,

I am sorry that it has taken me a couple of days to get back to you. I have been out of town and had limited email access.

It has been a couple of days since your email, so how are you and your daughter doing? Have things gotten better? I certainly hope that they have.

From reading your email, I think you have figured it out. Basically she is not relaxing her sphincter muscles so that she can actually pass the urine. My suggestions on how to this are included in The Parent's Potty Guide: How to Potty Train in One Day. They are:

1) Run water in the sink while your child is sitting in the potty. The sound of the water may help the voiding reflex.

2) Let her play with water toys while she is sitting on the potty. The water should be lukewarm and if your child has a full bladder, playing with water may help her go potty.

3) Make a psss sound. The sound may also help the voiding reflex.

4) Try and make her relax by reading to her and talking with her. Tell her jokes and hope she laughs so hard that she succeeds by accident.

5) Timing, if you have observed and noted when she had her bowel movements, then have her sit on the potty when she usually has a BM and maybe she will urinate along with the bowel movement.

6) Last but not least, relax and make it fun. If you are tense, she will sense it. So relax, make it fun and do have fun with potty training. It is a developmental milestone that you are sure to remember for the years to come.

I hope these suggestions are helpful. Please let me know how you and your daughter are doing.

Narmin Parpia