from potty to toilet

[shellbell]

hi everyone, i need some advice.

my daughter has finally mastered the whole potty thing, tells us when she needs to go, has mastered the pants and knickers and can even hold on for a decent amount of time if she needs to.

But, she REFUSES to sit on the toilet. we've bought one of those colourful steps and she checks it out every now and then, but has never sat on it. she doesn't seem scared of the toilet, just says that she doesn't want to use it.

we can't go out for long periods of time (unless we pack the potty in the car) because she just won't go on a regular toilet - even the little toddler-sized ones in westfield feeding rooms

HELP !!! any advice will be welcomed

[Rell]

Hi there
I didn't have too much problem with my daughter but I did start her a sticker chart for using the toilet. After 3 stickers she got a treat. I also got a great kids toilet seat from Bunnings. It actualy replaces the existing seat. The adults seat is on the bottom and the kids seat just flips down on top. You could also try putting posters up in the toilt to make it more appealing. Hope thinhgs start to work out ok.

[Baby Girl]

My nearly 2 1/2 yr old dd has always loved to sit on the toilet so that was no problem. She would tell us when she needed to do poo but wouldn't sit on the toilet long enough to finish properly so usually ended up doing it halfway down the hallway from the bathroom :eek: . I found that if I sat and sang her a song (row row row your boat, baa baa black sheep and twinkle twinkle little star are her most requested!!) or read her a book while she was sitting she would relax and her poo would come easier (& she would finish) because she wasn't trying to push it out and race off without actually finishing. I have even heard her singing to herself while sitting on the toilet lately. She is yet to master making it to the toilet for wee's every time but we are getting there. She has the idea but gets side tracked on the way occassionally!!

Maybe also try just sitting your little one on the toilet with her pants on and reading her a book or telling her a story (made up ones about a child that is going through the same things she is seem to be popular with people I have spoken to and books I have read) for five minutes once or twice a day might make it seem not so daunting at first as she will be able to get used to being perched up on the big toilet but without the pressure to perform. A friend of mine did this with her little one (she was 2yrs 8 mths at the time) and by day 4 she was keen to sit on the toilet with no pants on and by day 6 was going on her own on the big toilet with a seat insert. She told her daughter it was just practise for when she was ready to use the big toilet. No potty since!!

One of the books I found quite helpful but not too long and boring was "Mommy, I need to go potty". American, I know, but I have used a couple of the ideas and they seem to be helping my dd get toileting mastered.

Sorry to rave on.... Best of luck with the transition.

[LuvMyKids]

My son wouldn't sit on the toilet to start with either (was happy with the potty). He did eventually start sitting on one of those seats you put on top of a normal toilet seat. We would take this with us to the shops as he would happily sit on it there too.

We also ended up buying a new toilet seat from Bunnings (it has the normal sized toilet seat with a smaller toilet seat on top for kids). The kids seat can be flipped up and down like a normal toilet seat so you can use the adult one underneath. It cost about $30 and you just take your old toilet seat off and screw this one on. Easy, I was even able to do it without hubbys help.

It didn't take long and my son was happy to sit on a normal adult sized seat.

Hope this helps.

Felicity
mum to Connor (3 1/2) and Ella (14 months)

[LuvMyKids]

Just thought of something else. My niece wouldn't sit on the toilet to start with (only the potty), but when we went to stay for the weekend, and she saw my son sitting on the toilet, it used to turn into a fight to see which one of them could get to sit on the toilet first. My niece was happily sitting on a toilet within 1/2 a day of watching my son do it.

So, maybe it would help if she could watch another child she knows sitting on the toilet. It did wonders for my niece.

Felicity
mum to Connor (3 1/2) and Ella (14 months)