Question About Potty Training

[Greenshadow]

I have a 2 year old girl who is able to go potty in the toilet. The issue is, she cant pull her own panties and outerwear up by herself or down by herself. With other toddlers in the house, its hard for me to go help her pull them down, leave and then come back to help her pull them up. If I ask her to do it herself she tells me she cant and starts to cry. She just stands there. Her parents think she is potty trained but she isnt to me if she cant pull up/take down her own panties and outerwear. What do you do for potty training? Do you make them pull up their own clothes or do you do it for them, every time? I dont see how my doing that for her is helping her learn. Her parents want her in preschool by December. No preschool has time to go in and assist her with pulling up her own pants, etc every time she has to go potty...atleast none that Ive ever worked at.

I have talked to her parents about this and they dont seem to think its a big deal. I guess it isnt to them, but they dont have five other toddlers running around the house while they are in the bathroom helping her.

What advice do you have for me?

[laundryduchess@yahoo.com]

I put pullups over panties and unders. they still get wet, but dont leak. =-) my policy is below

I do not push to potty learn. I believe that a child will only learn when they are ready and no amount of coaxing is going to make it happen any easier. All children become ready to toilet learn at different ages but it is generally considered to wait until the child is at least 2 yrs of age, before that time he or she is not physically or emotionally prepared to control his or her bowel or bladder movements. Work with them first at night and on weekends. As they progress and experience success at home I will work with them during the day. Once everyone has decided the child is ready to toilet learn, the only time diapers should be used is at naps and bedtime. When your child is ready to toilet learn please dress them in easy to remove clothing. No Belts, zippers, snaps or buttons that your child can not manage alone. Elastic waistbands are the easiest for the child to control.

[Greenshadow]

Well she is going potty (#1 and #2) in the potty. She wears a pull up at naptime. She wears tight fitting leggings/shorts/pants alot. Maybe I need to have her come in dresses or something instead.

Do you assist your potty trainers with pulling up/taking down their panties and outerwear though?

[laundryduchess@yahoo.com]

I dont have a problem with it, I follow them to the potty, pop them on it, walk back out and listen whie watching the kids play, then wipe them, pull their pants up and wash my hands, then theirs. Mine are never alone in the potty

[Unregistered]

I have a 2 year old girl who is able to go potty in the toilet. The issue is, she cant pull her own panties and outerwear up by herself or down by herself. With other toddlers in the house, its hard for me to go help her pull them down, leave and then come back to help her pull them up. If I ask her to do it herself she tells me she cant and starts to cry. She just stands there. Her parents think she is potty trained but she isnt to me if she cant pull up/take down her own panties and outerwear. What do you do for potty training? Do you make them pull up their own clothes or do you do it for them, every time? I dont see how my doing that for her is helping her learn. Her parents want her in preschool by December. No preschool has time to go in and assist her with pulling up her own pants, etc every time she has to go potty...atleast none that Ive ever worked at.

I have talked to her parents about this and they dont seem to think its a big deal. I guess it isnt to them, but they dont have five other toddlers running around the house while they are in the bathroom helping her.

What advice do you have for me?

Dont you wipe her? With my kids and daycare kids when they where 1, 2, 3 they needed help wiping and help with pants pulling up and down I just pull there pants down sit them on the toilet wait for them to tell me they are done I wipe them pull up there pants help with flushing and handwashing. I have to disagree with you ladydutchess some kids ARE ready before 2 my little girl WANTED to be trained at 1 she didnt wanna wear diapers anymore and I trained her in 5 days the normal age is usually 2 thou.

[Greenshadow]

It must depend on the age of the children you are watching..because this little girl needs help taking down her panties/pants, help to sit on the toilet, then I leave to tend to a toddler, come back to help her off the potty, wipe, pull her pants up and wash hands. When I worked at Headstart or any other daycare center, we did not assist the children with this. They were capable of doing this on their own. Am I the only one who thinks that children should be pulling up their own panties and pants when they go potty? She is capable of washing her hands, etc on her own, now that Ive taught her how.

[JJPlaycare]

I feel for you I have the same situation going on! Only it is a little boy and he is 3, yes 3!!! I cannot believe it, but nope he cannot pull his pants up or down, not even elastic waist pants - absolutely no clue!! I have resorted to standing there and making him do it, with little assistance - which does take time away from all of the other kids! It really stinks! He is going to go to preschool in the fall and it is the same preschool I just sent my daughter too! I keep telling him that he needs to pull up his pants cause they aren't going to do it for him at school! He just says "I can't" and stands there looking completely helpless and for someone to do it for him!! In the prechool contract it says this is one of the skills they need to have, being able to pull there pants up and down! I always wipe poopy butts and my little girls bottoms, until they are capable of doing it themselves, but it gets really frusterating when they do nothing for themselves! He is extremely spoiled and someone is doing this all for him and it isn't ME! I have talked to mom and again not a big deal, OBVIOUSLY because it wouldn't have come this far if it was a big deal to her!! My kids wanted independence and it makes me think when I get a kid who is lacking in such independence and wonder how that even happens!! I guess I would just ask for easier clothes and show her a few times how to do it and assist as little as possible and hopefully she will figure it out soon enough!! The little boy I have does the same thing for shoes and outerwear, really frusterating!! Good Luck! : I

[laundryduchess@yahoo.com]

yes I have had kids train before 2, but Ive also had them way later. Which is why I said,.. generally best to wait. because it is generally best to wait.

[fctjc1979]

I had a three year old boy who could get his pants off but couldn't get his pull-ups to go down. I showed him how to put his thumbs between his skin and his pull-ups and push down. It usually works best if their thumbs are more toward their back then their front. It took him a few days to really be able to do it on his own but he got it. He tried for a while to pull off and pull up his pants and pullups at the same time but it really works better to have them do it one at a time. We were still working on pulling the pull ups back on when I terminated the family.

[Janet]

Potty training

I figure it this way, if a child is going potty training then the child should be learning to wipe by herself/himself and to pull underwear and pants down and up on their own. Nothing bothers me more than hearing a child say "Come wipe my butt". That happened to me only once and that was enough. The parents were wiping her butt at home and she figured that she could try it on me (even though she has always wiped her own butt here). Her parents were shocked when I told them at pick up time that dcg knew how to wipe her butt and how to wash her hands on her own. Potty training is more than just peeing or pooping in the potty. It involves teaching the child how to INDEPENDENTLY do everything from pulling down their pants to washing their hands, and everything in between.

[Greenshadow]

I figure it this way, if a child is going potty training then the child should be learning to wipe by herself/himself and to pull underwear and pants down and up on their own. Nothing bothers me more than hearing a child say "Come wipe my butt". That happened to me only once and that was enough. The parents were wiping her butt at home and she figured that she could try it on me (even though she has always wiped her own butt here). Her parents were shocked when I told them at pick up time that dcg knew how to wipe her butt and how to wash her hands on her own. Potty training is more than just peeing or pooping in the potty. It involves teaching the child how to INDEPENDENTLY do everything from pulling down their pants to washing their hands, and everything in between.

Thank you! Thats how I feel exactly!!! Now, what can I do to get her to do it?? LOL. I cant stand there helping her. If I dont help her, she cries and says "I cant" the whole time. I have to do it or she just stands there helpless.

[mac60]

I am having the same issues, and the same questions. At age 4, shouldn't a girl be able to go potty alone, wipe, and wash hands? At 3 1/2 shouldnt a girl be able to take panties down and up and snap them back up and wipe too?

This came up in conversation yesterday about a 3 1/2 yr dcg. I figured out why there was always pee on the seat from her. She doesn't unsnap her pants, then doesn't pull her pants and panties down far enough to sit on the toilet right and spread her legs a little to let the pee go into the toilet....She gets it all over the seat, and doesn't wipe either.....Mom says they do it all at home. OMG, part of going to the toilet is learning to pull pants up and down, snap and zip, wipe own self, and wash hands. If you can't do this after 6 months to a year, maybe you better go back into pull ups until you can......or else parents need to teach their children self help skills. I have started going in with them each time, but it does get overwhelming, as a 4 1/2 yr old should be able to pee, wipe, and wash with no help and not getting it all over the toilet.

[Janet]

It's a process...

I've had luck with just encouraging the crap out of them and praising them when they pull up their pant, etc...

Talk to the parents about your concerns and ask them if they can just do what you do at home. It helps to make things go more smoothly. Also, if the kid makes a mess on the seat, then have them clean it. That tends to help them to be more careful, .

[melissa ann]

I have a dcg who is 3, she was potty trained right after she turned 2. But even back then, mom would bring her in overalls, pants w/snaps, zippers, still does. Dcg has trouble with them. So on those days, I put on a pair of shorts (elastic) or a dress and change her back before pick-up. I only wipe her butt when she poops or she will go through a half roll of tp.
Her cousin, who was 4 months past 3 yrs when I started working with him about potty training, wouldn't pull up/down his pants. I helped him at first then left him in the bathroom until he did it himself. g-pa treats him like a baby and does everything for him.

[QualiTcare]

that's bull.

i haven't met a two year old yet that has a problem pulling their pants down when they wanna run around naked!

she can do it - you just need to use your mean voice.

and HECK NO i wouldn't be wiping butts. they can do it just fine and the sooner they start doing it on their own, the better.