how long to try "cold turkey" potty training

"Chris" wrote in message
oups.com...
It happens to be the main thing to look for cited by my pediatrician
as a good first indicator. Considering if a child is definitely able
to hold their urine overnight for 8 hours and more, you can be
almost
absolutely certain they can hold it for 3 hours here and there
throughout the day as well.

Okay, so *if* they're dry at night, it's a good indication that
they're ready during the day too. But I don't think the inverse is
true. That is, that if they are not dry at night, it doesn't mean
they are not ready during the day.

Also, taking into consideration the
average child doesn't have nighttime wetting accidents for that
length
of time

Perhaps not, but it's quite common for them to be wet at night even
after they've potty trained.

Bizby

On Jul 11, 2:08?am, "Tai" wrote:
Chris wrote:
It happens to be the main thing to look for cited by my pediatrician
as a good first indicator. Considering if a child is definitely able
to hold their urine overnight for 8 hours and more, you can be almost
absolutely certain they can hold it for 3 hours here and there
throughout the day as well. Also, taking into consideration the
average child doesn't have nighttime wetting accidents for that length
of time, no that wouldn't be the case in your child's case and
therefore not a good indicator of daytime readiness. The problem in
that case is more so the duration of time sleeping, soundness of
sleep, growth rates of the organs and child, etc. It can be a good
indicator within reason and IS a good indicator that the child has in
fact established bladder control considering the duration differences
from night to day -- it is just something to look for.

I agree it's probably a good indicator of readiness, it's just that it's not
a good indicator of daytime unreadiness if the child can't make it through
the night dry.

Tai

Right, I guess the difference is words is hard to see a bit. I had
mentioned it as an indicator for self-control in my OP and it seems it
is being perceived as "readiness" in general.

Okay, so *if* they're dry at night, it's a good indication that
they're ready during the day too. But I don't think the inverse is
true. That is, that if they are not dry at night, it doesn't mean
they are not ready during the day.

The first sentence was all that was meant to be inferred. I don't
believe the inverse is true in all circumstances, but at an age of
barely two, IMO more likely.



Also, taking into consideration the
average child doesn't have nighttime wetting accidents for that
length
of time

Perhaps not, but it's quite common for them to be wet at night even
after they've potty trained.

Bizby

I know this happens. I used to take my son around midnight to the
potty to guarantee a dry night. It seems that even going just before
bed wasn't enough ot last throughout the night, but that one last trip
in before I retired was.

The reason I don't want to spend money on the cotton training pants is
because I wouldn't be able to tell when she's gone any better than in
nappies and she doesn't have the idea of pulling anything down so for
her it wouldn't be a change, it is if they've been in disposables, as
suddenly they feel wet, but she's used to that.

Cheers
Anne

Cotton training pants don't catch all of the urine, allowing a cold
and uncomfortable wetness to prompt a run to the potty. They can help.
Cotton training pants are just like cotton panties, just thicker with
a padded crotch area. Nothing like disposables.

On Jul 11, 4:58 am, "Sue" wrote:
Personally, after the fiasco with trying to potty train my first child, I
decided then that I am not going to try and "train" them. I decided waiting
until they were ready was much better and had better outcomes.

How can you tell? Micah 29 months) has peed on the potty a few times,
and talks about it *occasionally*, but only shows any interest when
his friends use the potty around him. Up until last week he was saying
that he wants to go poo and pee in his diaper, but after a week with
family who spent lots of time talking up the potty, he's starting to
say he can go on the potty like a big boy. I was thinking about
switching back to cloth diapers so he can feel the wet; DH wants me to
let him run around naked, but I'm not enthusiastic since I'm the one
who has to clean up. :P Anyway, I'm trying to decide how much of my
not being psyched about potty training is just laziness; maybe he
really is ready.

Em
mama to Micah, 11/14/04; Shiloh, 4/22/07

On Jul 11, 12:05 pm, wrote:
On Jul 11, 4:58 am, "Sue" wrote:

Personally, after the fiasco with trying to potty train my first child, I
decided then that I am not going to try and "train" them. I decided waiting
until they were ready was much better and had better outcomes.

How can you tell? Micah 29 months) has peed on the potty a few times,
and talks about it *occasionally*, but only shows any interest when
his friends use the potty around him. Up until last week he was saying
that he wants to go poo and pee in his diaper, but after a week with
family who spent lots of time talking up the potty, he's starting to
say he can go on the potty like a big boy. I was thinking about
switching back to cloth diapers so he can feel the wet; DH wants me to
let him run around naked, but I'm not enthusiastic since I'm the one
who has to clean up. :P Anyway, I'm trying to decide how much of my
not being psyched about potty training is just laziness; maybe he
really is ready.

Em
mama to Micah, 11/14/04; Shiloh, 4/22/07

At 29 months he probably has the physical ability but only he knows if
he has the emotional/social maturity. Also, is he verbal? How are his
motor skills? If you are guessing that he's ready but waiting for you
to rally, then I think you know that he probably is ready. It's a
hassle but not for a very long time. Just get your cleaning supplies
handy and be prepared to clean up and stay close to home for a few
days. You may be pleasantly surprised. Jessica didn't have her first
accident until the fourth day and I honestly can't remember her last
one. She was 2y4m when she trained and is now the same age as Micah.

You can do it! You can do it!

JennP.

yikes there's been a lot of response in the past 13hrs, I haven't read
them yet, I promise I will

When DD got up this morning she quite clearly asked for her bum to be
wiped and a nappy put on, I'm respecting her on this issue. I may try
again with her sometime before school starts.

Anne

If wetting early in the night is causing the rash problem, she should
return back to sleep fairly easily after a quick diaper change in the
dark before you turn in for the night.

I don't think it necessarily is, so last night I expected she would wet
early, and that was what the morning nappy seemed like, damp, but as if
it had had some time to dry out, but other times that's clearly not the
case, last night was predictable, other times less so. I think it's
partly just wearing a nappy rather than the condition it's in as we
switched to disposables for a week once when we were on holiday and it
didn't help at all. At least now, all the open sores seem to have healed
over, so it should continue to heal even with a nappy, it's when the
sores are open that it's a big problem.

Anne

If you're doing the "cold turkey" method, then try all of the following:

1. It can take up to 5 days for the child to figure out his own body
signals. I wouldn't go on longer than that.

thanks Beth, this was the kind of info I needed, though due to her
request for a nappy this morning, we've stopped after 4 days, but I have
the info for next time!

2. Make sure that YOU are low key about it. If you or your child are
starting to get upset about the accidents, then try a return to
diapers.

Easier said than done! I don't think I was as chilled as I could have been.

3. Have the potty constantly available. About 30 minutes after a meal
or a drink, as your child if he'd like to try using it. But remember
that the skill of making oneself go is not the same as holding it in
(long enough to reach a toilet) once you realize that you need to
go. (This is why some kids, despite going to the toilet right
before a road trip and failing to put anything in, then need to make
a pit stop 15 minutes into the trip!)

this is exactly where she seems to be, she holds on for ages, whether in
a nappy or not, on 4th July, we were out for the whole day, we had a
pile of reusable nappies in a ruck sack and she never needed a single
one and I was checking fairly regularly, she only wet it once she had a
nap when we got home.

4. Give your child LOTS to drink so he has lots of opportunities to try
to use the potty.

She's always a big drinker, but I think just now, she's sweating it out
a lot so urine volume is decreased, I read the relevant section in a
toddler book I didn't know I had last night and it gave a list of the
things to watch out for with urine infections, apparently they are quite
common in girls this age.

I hope this works, since your child clearly wants it to!

it seemed like she did, but without any apparent distress over accidents
she's asked for a nappy, so I guess we'll just see how it goes!

Anne

Chris wrote:
It happens to be the main thing to look for cited by my pediatrician
as a good first indicator. Considering if a child is definitely able
to hold their urine overnight for 8 hours and more, you can be almost
absolutely certain they can hold it for 3 hours here and there
throughout the day as well. Also, taking into consideration the
average child doesn't have nighttime wetting accidents for that length
of time, no that wouldn't be the case in your child's case and
therefore not a good indicator of daytime readiness. The problem in
that case is more so the duration of time sleeping, soundness of
sleep, growth rates of the organs and child, etc. It can be a good
indicator within reason and IS a good indicator that the child has in
fact established bladder control considering the duration differences
from night to day -- it is just something to look for.


your paediatrician may need some reeducation, I discovered a toddler
book on the shelf last night and here are some figures it provided,

average age for staying dry in the daytime 32.5mnths for girls, 35mths
for boys, compared to 30% of 4yr olds being wet at night and 10% of 6yr olds


Being dry for several hours whilst awake is not the same as being dry
for several hours whilst asleep.

Anne