Trouble Potty Training a 4 Year Old
By Ashleysc from Canada
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RE: Trouble Potty Training a 4 Year Old
I have 3 boys and pooping was always a little scarier than peeing. I will skip all the psycho-analysis as to why and tell you what worked for all of them: extra fiber sprinkled on food, extra frosted mini wheat cereal and. The ultimate, a big prize every time they pooped! (each child had a different prize they valued). I choose to think of it as rewarding good behavior, rather than bribing. Top it off with a "hurray for going potty song" and eventually, they no longer need the reward. In the end, remember, she won't go to college in diapers! Good luck
Post by rlw1
RE: Trouble Potty Training a 4 Year Old
I had that problem with one of my kids. He seemed to be afraid of it, so I did what all the experts tell you not to: I gave him an enema and stood there so he wouldn't get off the toilet. After he went once, he wasn't afraid anymore.
Post by GrandmaH
RE: Trouble Potty Training a 4 Year Old
I would get her a special toy or book that she really likes and give it to her only while she is sitting on the potty. This may help her to sit and not fight you.
Post by SarahAnn
RE: Trouble Potty Training a 4 Year Old
As long as you know there is no problem just keep working with her. No 2 children are alike and they develop at different rates. Some children are potty trained at 2 some at 3 or 4.
Post by Teresa Kay
RE: Trouble Potty Training a 4 Year Old
I don't have any advice, just camaraderie. Both my kids were 4 before they were trained and boy did I get tired of the superior attitude of those whose children were trained at 2. Just ignore those kind of comments and that kind of pressure. Know you're not alone and you're not a bad parent! You're little one will get it eventually.
Post by Mrs. V
RE: Trouble Potty Training a 4 Year Old
I don't know if this may be a problem with your daughter, but, my son did really well at that age on pee pee potty. But, would not poo in potty with out a struggle , fight, books, no matter what. Then come to find out, his bowel movements were so large they were painful, so a wise mother explained this to me, they won't go because of this problem, and to feed him more fiber, juice, fruit, veges, etc. And this really helped. We over came the fear after his bowels got easier to pass. Thought I'd pass the mommy wisdom on to others, hope it helps.
Post by glinda diane
RE: Trouble Potty Training a 4 Year Old
I did the same thing as mrs. story. I took her bottoms off at close to the "appropriate" time, & success!
Post by mulberry204
RE: Trouble Potty Training a 4 Year Old
I was potty training two girls at the same time and did the same thing with both of them Sat them on the potty seat and handed them their favorite books. I told them no getting up till they pooped. Unfortunately, some days it backfired because they would poop and still stay in there sitting and chatting and looking at their books.
Post by Leathersammie
RE: Trouble Potty Training a 4 Year Old
My daughter resisted pooping in the toilet, too. She would happily poop in her training panties. We tried many different things. Eventually we did a couple things;
We would take her bottoms off when she seemed like she wanted to go. I've heard some people say this didn't work for them (kid would just pee/poop on the floor). Of course, we were very happy when she would go poop in the toilet, but she wasn't consistent. So when we knew she was capable, we turned to bribery. I don't like bribing kids, but we needed some way of motivating her. We stopped buying toys for her, and told her that we would go get her a new toy once she pooped in the toilet five times in a row (no pooping in her underwear).
It took a few weeks to get the magical five-times-in-a-row, but we made good on our side of the deal. It was an Easter night, and although we were tired from the day's festivities, we took her to Wal-Mart right away (way past her normal bedtime!), and got her a new toy. Like I said, I don't like bribes. But they're few and far between. In this case, it worked and was very worthwhile.
Good luck! I bet your girl will come around soon!
Post by mrs.story
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