If you need rewards your child isn't ready

beachgirl1977 · December 2013

I see so many posts here where kids are potty training for months and getting candy. If you are doing this you started too soon and your child isn't ready. Once you go to undies you should have 2-3 days of accidents. If you ave more you should stop and try again Ina few weeks. I swear its a switch. When they are ready, they are ready. If your child is staying dry because you take them every 20 minutes they aren't potty trained, you are trained. It happened for both my kids overnight around 3. No candy, timers, clocks, stickers, etc. one day they could stay until they told me they needed to go.

momof2buggs · December 2013

I disagree. I used rewards with my son, and he was trained within a few weeks. He was totally ready, and potty trained very well with the reward system.

ktnicole · January 2014

I'm just going to put this right here...

Smootchy · January 2014

@beachgirl1977 sure knows her stuff!
Said no one ever

sschwege · January 2014

While I agree that no amount of rewards will PT a child if they just aren't ready, I do think they make the process more of a positive experience for those who are ready or may give a small push to those who are sort of indifferent. DD got two M & Ms every time she used the potty, she almost never gets candy so it made it very exciting for her. When I stopped giving her M & Ms, guess what? She kept right on using the potty. It was a positive experience for both of us, so I guess I'm not seeing where the problem is?

Oh and lose the condescending attitude, if parenting has taught me anything it's that I know next to nothing! Trust me when I say, you may think you have it all figured out, but you don't, none of us do.

L0L0 · January 2014

I really don't want to wait until age 3. Rewards seem to be highly motivational to my 22 month old. I am trying to keep it a positive experience for her, but on my timeline.

dairygirl19 · February 2014

This is so kid dependent, so you might want to step down on that horse.

For my kid, I agree with you. I know her and her personality. She's a rule follower, easy going by nature and loves to please people. She does a lot of what I tell her to because it makes her proud/is fun for her. She's also stubborn and no sticker chart is going to make her do anything before she's good and ready.

The bribery thing, just isn't my parenting style either. There's nothing wrong with it and I have no opinion on what others do, it's just not something I choose to do.

I have nieces and nephews that were a little more difficult in the personality department or needed a TON of motivation. Treats, charts, toys etc. all worked well for them.

To some extent though, I do agree with you. I think people have a tendency to push too hard too soon and then are still stuck with a chart 6 months later. I do feel that needs to be taken into consideration. Just because you want your kid PTd by 2 and he used the toilet once, doesn't mean he's ready. It's not just PTing specific though, I think parents sometimes push life stages too fast in general.

mommytoconnor · February 2014

You seem to know everything that works for everyone. Many of us have successfully potty trained out kids with rewards, I used sticker chart for mine and guess what, it worked. It won't work if they aren't showing any interest but if they are then go for it because it is an incentive to do it in the potty. So don't go tellin other parents they don't know what they are doing with their children, because clearly you are perfect at parenting and couldn't possibly learn anything from any one of us. Believe it or not, we aren't all stupid and actually do know a few things.

veetveet · February 2014

Because every kid is the same? Seriously- shut up.

DawnLilly · February 2014

Reward can mean praise, a treat, or a sticker... If you weren't rewarding your child at all and just expecting them to want to use the toilet on their own then I'm not surprised it took until age 3

Meery82 · February 2014

Quit talking out your ass, OP. Every child is different. You do what works best for your kid. My mother potty trained me using M&Ms and I rarely shit my pants anymore.

bigday111111 · March 2014

I would agree in saying that you can throw all of the prizes, stickers and candy at a kid that isnt ready and it wont make a difference. However, I will say that if you have a child that shows even the slightest bit of interest in potty training it can make the whole process really positive and rewarding for the child and give them that little extra confidence boost!

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