Anyone else had a terrible first day then had success?

DD is 2 1/2 and this week we have decided to TT her as she has shown many signs of readiness. In fact the only thing she won't do is ACTUALLY wee or poo on the toilet or potty. She likes sitting on them and is happy to but we're timing it all wrong - 3 accidents today so far.

So should I just stop because she clearly isn't ready or does she need a few more days of trying to get used to the idea? I certainly dont push her and don't want her to feel like she HAS to go but on the other hand if she just needs a little more time and practise to get used to it she might?? I would hate to give up after couple of hours when she might be close to clicking.

What are you thoughts? I have planned a quiet week at home so we can do it and we have a timer that we set for every 30 mins or so so she can sit and try. So far all the accidents have happened about 2 mins before timer has gone off - even with us watching her like a hawk! We ready a potty book lots for the last few days so she gets it all - just doesn't know when to actually go.

Anyway just wonder what your thoughts are.

Not sure I'll be much help here, but this is what we're doing.

The potty has been around the house for ages and we talk about it a bit. There have been a few accidents during the last few months when she has wanted to wear undies, but we have had some success too. We've generally left it up to her, sometimes she just decides that she wants to wear undies for a while.

On the weekend, we sort of pushed the undies a bit more - but got a bit of resistance, she still wanted to wear her nappy. But because we've been talking about it more (and she knows she gets a smartie if she wees in the potty), we've had a bit more success. This week she has wanted to wear the nappy more often than undies, but she will tell us when she is doing a wee and will sometimes run off to the potty even if she has a nappy on. We haven't had any accidents all week, probably more than 10 successes.

I highly recomend the Big W training undies (or similar). If there is an accident, it will catch it.

Did you have any more luck today?

i would hold off and wait until she tells you she is doing a wee.. that is the best sign they recognise it! and you dont need to have a blaring thing every 30 minutes to remind you or her(the point of it is she knows and doesnt rely on being told) that she needs to go..

i have one child who i did the timed tting and one who i let decide when she was ready and i can tell you which one has very few accidents and didnt actually take any training (well except to teach her how to get on the toilet) 2 yrs on eldest still has accidents and doesnt listen to his body...

DS was at that stage late last year, he wanted to wear undies, but then would just pee in them, come and ask for a new pair :rolleyes:

He toilet trained himself basically about a month ago. He has had about 5 accidents all up. Mostly poos.. LOL.. but is now pooing in the potty as well.

I realised that he just wasn't quite ready, and I wasn't willing to push him in any way. Plus I hate cleaning up wee and poo.. LOL

I would say wait a few months.

DD was TT at 2 1/2 too and it was really slow going to start with. The first few days we had all accidents - I think I might have caught one or two by sheer luck. I used the sticker reward chart and that worked ok and then she got a treat for every 5 stickers. I gave her a week where we stayed at home and I honestly think we were getting anywhere and it got to the stage where she wouldn't even sit on the potty but then "bang" all of a sudden it clicked and she was brilliant. Of course she still had accidents (and still occassionally does) but it was really like a light flicked on and it was all go from then onwards. I think it took about a week. I think hang in there because it does take them a while to put together the sensation/urge and getting to the toilet and doing the wee. We used the 30 minute timer too and everytime it went off I jumped around, clapping and singing "It's potty time, it's potty time". It goes without saying that I did all the over the top celebrations when she did wee/poo.
Good luck!!

Well update after 4 days = it's working!!! First day was okay but VERY hard work always setting the timer and watching her. After the accidents all morning she did 3 wees on the toilet! Since then she has def had the "click" that Liviam was talking about!

On the second day she had 2 accidents only and even asked to go during eating an Easter egg!! The past couple of days have been alright though she has had pull-ups on for going out a couple of times. More often that not though they are dry too!

Poos is a bit harder but I think that's cause she's always had really soft ones and so it doesn't take much for them to come out.

All up I am very pleased with how she is going because she has learnt so many new things this week and really seems to be embracing it - and no rewards other than lots of praise and high 5's and the occasional phone call to someone to brag!!

So I am sticking with it cause I honestly don't think she is being pushed - she likes going (too much sometimes!) and I think the little dribbles and accidents will stop soon as she learns more and more about holding it in for one big wee.

Oh and no more timer cause that wasn't working - we always missed it by about 2 minutes!

That is fantastic to hear - keep up the great work!!