The Stubborn Potty Trainee
By Contributing Editor: Pamela Gifford

Your child's old enough but she refuses to take any interest in using the potty.  You know she can understand you when you tell her about the potty but she gives you a "Hrmph," and refuses to sit.  Does this sound familiar?

While many parents don't have very many problems when it comes to potty training their toddler, there are those other children who defy all the odds, who don't care if you give them stickers or rewards.  They just don't want to go.  Period.  And likely, if you're reading this, your child is one of those children.

This is where the standby of offering rewards goes down the drain.  You must try a different approach.  And once you start, you must stick with it.

1. Use pull ups to start.  You can move to underwear when he gets the hang of going.

2.  Set your egg timer for forty minutes (you can adjust the time for sooner or later depending on how often your child has to go.)

3. Take him to the potty every time the timer goes off and set him on the potty for a few minutes, regardless of whether he goes or not.  If he does go, make a big deal of what a big kid he is.  Hug him and praise him.

Eventually, your toddler will start to get the hang of it.  You must be persistent and patient.  If you start and then don't set the timer and ignore going on schedule, you will lose the work you've already done with your child.

In these cases, it has less to do with your toddler wanting to go and more to do with the persistence you must show when training them.  It is tiring to stop what you are doing every half hour or so to take them, but the persistence will pay off in the end. 

Please note that the programs that encourage potty training in one day or even three days, do not have a basis from which to stand, even for eager children.  Potty training is more then just getting your child to go to the potty.  It is also about you doing what it takes to train them correctly.  Potty training is an ongoing process and will very likely last for months as she learns to not only pee in the potty but also how to poop in the potty.

It is up to you to make it work.