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Parenting
Anyone done the 3 day PT method?
Anyone have any experiences to share? Any pointers?
I need to get little missy trained and out of these freakin diapers! She has had big girl panties sitting in her dresser for months and that is all they do...sit there. : )
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Re: Anyone done the 3 day PT method?
I didn't exactly do the 3 day method. I just decided one day I'd had it with diapers for two kids. I started on a Sunday, and she was accident free by Thursday.
I told her we were out of diaper so she had to wear her big girl panties. I put them on her (no training pants, no pull ups) and off we went. The first day was all about accidents. The second day was too, until the very end of the day. She finally got it. I didn't have her go naked, but didn't put pants on her-just the panties. I gave her lots of pretzels and apple juice. We even watched a few Disney movies, and I had her sit on the pot the entire time-juice and snacks in hand. She peed a few times on the potty while watching the movie.
By day 4, she was getting it, and though she still doesn't tell me when she has to go, I can get the signals.
I think some kids who are smart enough just need that extra push. I know that was the case with my DD. I'd had enough, and she was smart enough, so away we went.
Good luck-it was the most dreaded thing in the parenting world for me.
Yes. It really worked for my DD. She had just turned 3 and wasn't showing any "classic" readiness signs, but when she told me, "Mom, I'd just prefer to wear diapers" it made me know she was really ready. . . if you're verbal enough to express that to me, you're ready to go on the potty.
Finding 3 days to be home was the tough part and pushed it about a month later than I wanted to do it, but it's crucial.
General method: Take away ("throw away") all diapers on day 1. My DD would have had a cow so I hid them in the middle of the night and said, "Oops, we're out of diapers, you need to wear panties." Child should wear underwear and a shirt. No pants. No nakedness. Show them the potty. If you have a little potty, keep it in the bathroom. . . don't take it to where you're playing. You want them to be able to get to the bathroom.
Say to them, "Tell me when you have to go." Don't ask them. . . have them tell you. It puts the onus on them. Repeat this phrase 10 million times a day.
If they ask to go, take them to the bathroom but don't let them sit and "try" forever. If they don't start going in a few seconds, take them off. If they start to have an accident, get them to the bathroom and help them finish on the potty (this is why you have to stay GLUED to your kid the whole time. . . to catch accidents in progress). Praise them for finishing on the potty and tell them, "Next time let's get it all in the potty. Let me know when you have to go."
Expect accidents ALL DAY on day 1. It's not that fun. My DD was actually running for the bathroom during and accident by the end of the day, but she had no actual success.
You can suggest they "try" before/after nap and bedtime, but again, don't leave them on forever. This is the only time you can suggest going.
Have some kind of reward system in place. (We did stickers and small prizes. 10 stickers = 1 prize). We also had a giant prize. . . a trip to the movie theatre for her first move when she was accident free for a week (day and night).
DD was pee-accident free a couple of hours into day 2.
She wasn't poop-accident free for a week (but I figure it took her about 8-10 pee accidents before she really got it down and about 8 poop accidents).
We did venture out of the house at the end of day 3 because she was doing so well. We got out of the house on day 4 for several short trips. I put a waterproof pad on the carseat just in case. By the following weekend we were back to our normal madness (out and about all day).
I also did no diapers for nap/night for the 3 days (put a waterproof sheet on the bed to assist in cleanup) but she was peeing in her first moments of conciousness in the morning and I can't wake her up earlier for various reasons so I put her back in the pullup after the 3rd day. I'm glad I took them away at first though so she didn't get in the habit of saving it up for her nighttime diaper. She never got them back for naptime, though.
She has had some random accidents the last few months, but is essentially trained. We ditched the nighttime pullup after about a month (because she asked to get rid of it and she'd been consistenly dry).
We did buy a travel potty ring (folding) for trips out of the house and it really helped her. After a few months she didn't really need it, though. We are on the go a lot so I needed her to be able to go in public restrooms and such.
That was long, sorry. More questions?
thank you!! No more questions...I think you covered it. : )
We didn't follow any 'official' 3 day method, but it took DS 3 days to get it. We just ditched diapers one day and went in big boy underwear. I had read something about getting them to sit on the potty every 20-30 minutes but DS HATED that so we ditched it. Like PP said day 1 totally sucks, by day 2 you want to pull your hair out (I think this is when most people give up), but stick with it b/c at the very end of day 2 DS said 'I need to go potty', and that was the beginning of the end. Day 3 he had 1 accident, and then just random ones for the next month or so, then none.
However I did always keep the potty near us for this time. We simply didn't have enough warning to get to the bathroom. After a couple of weeks I put it back in the bathroom. Also I didn't even attempt nap/nighttime pt during the 3 days. I just told him his body couldn't let him know he needed to pee if he was asleep. We ditched those about 2-3 months later (and he had been dry forever by that point).
GL, I am trying the 3 day method with DD this weekend, so I feel your pain!