Effective Potty Training Tips for Girls Who Resist

Consistently use these five effective potty training tips for girls who are
resisting and your potty training situation will turn around relatively quickly.
Be patient and plan for things to take some time (especially during the first
couple of weeks).

1. Have Faith that She WILL Learn – No matter how resistant your daughter
is to potty training, she will learn (everyone does). Potty training is one of
the key skills preschoolers need to learn, and they do learn it—be patient and
know that some learn slower than others.

2. Stick with Your Decision to Forgo Pull-ups and Diapers – As you know,
accidents (many of them) will happen. But when kids aren’t given the opportunity
to experience the natural discomfort that comes with wet clothes—by using
pull-ups that soak it all up—this can prolong the time it takes for potty
training.

3. Stay Away from External Reward Systems – You don't need stickers to
reward your daughter for her success. The rewards of potty training should be
the internal rewards she experiences from feeling good about learning a new
skill that comes with growing up. Continue to encourage her when she remembers
to go to the washroom.

4. Get Her to Help Clean Up When Accidents Happen – Continue to not make
a big deal out of accidents. Let go of the many external reminders (verbal and
visual) all together. The next time she has an accident, have her help you do
the washing and thank her for it. Be consistent with this and allow her to learn
from the experience of wet pants.

5. Give Your Daughter More Responsibilities Around the House – The more
your daughter can do around the house to help, the more she'll feel good about
her position as “big sister”. Look for ways for her to help you with the baby
and ways for her to help you out with the housework. Then thank her! Give her
the opportunity to pass on what she learns to her “little sister” and your
situation will improve even more. All this can go far in boosting her sense of
contribution, responsibility and her desire to grow up.

I also suggest finding a way to let go of your own anger around the potting
training issue. It appears you have a very strong-willed daughter on your hands
who is pushing back. The more anger you feel (even when not outwardly
expressed), the more she will resist and push back. Unfortunately, parents who
get into this type of emotional tug-of-war lose! If you start to see her
accidents as quality time you can have together doing laundry, you might feel a
shift. I would also highly recommend reading Chapter 7 (“Secret to Solving
Sibling Rivalry Once And For All”) of my book When You're About to Go Off the
Deep End, Don't Take Your Kids with You, so you can quickly nip any other
future sibling-related issues in the bud.

Article by:

Kelly Nault, MA author of When You’re About To Go Off The Deep End, Don’t Take Your Kids With You shares time-tested tools that motivate children to want to be well behaved, responsible and happy! Sign up for her free online parenting course here. You are free to print or publish this article as is, provided the bio and link to www.mommymoments.com remain. © Ultimate Parent All rights reserved