My kitten will not stop pooping in the bath tub!?
My 5 month old kitten is litter box trained. I have had him for 6 weeks now and until 3 days ago we had no problems. He keeps pooping in the bath tub. I try to leave the bathroom door closed as much as posible but i have 2 young children that sometimes forget. Every chance he has has sneaks in there and does his business. He does not go anywhere else just the bath tub or litter box. I clean his litter everyday. I fo not know what the problem is. If he does not stop soon my husband will make me give him away and it will break my kids hearts, please help!
What should you avoid doing when potty-training a toddler?
I would say there is more to do than to avoid. :)Beginning earlier rather than later for a toddler as a new thing to do can work - praise hugely for anything that gets delivered into the potty - do not force or make it unpleasant or have the toddler sitting for too long - and when there is an ‘accident’ in the pants - maybe just say to the child, ‘Oh well, next time we’ll try to catch this in the potty’. Smile. Treat it lightly - like a game. Like fun. ‘yippee’ when there is success. Big hugs. Lots of positive reinforcement. Never any negatives or scowls or displeasure - your child will want to prove him/herself as capable. Very satisfying for a little one to get that happening. They can feel really in charge of their bodies then. Watch for signs - little changes of expression when the time to sit is ripe. And - reminding your child to go to the potty or show you - ie. tell little one, ‘You can show mummy (or whoever is caring for the toddler) when you WANT to sit’……’Let’s see if ‘we’ can do this’. rather than ‘you’ , may tend to take some pressure off and help little one to not feel anxious - ‘we’ are doing this together is always a great way to achieve something with the tot. Lastly, DO have fun verbally with the process. Singing silly songs with your child while he/she is sitting, helps. Lets his/her brain relax. Lots of expressions of how wonderful this is that little one is ready to try this. No bad words about not getting it right - ever. This time is so important for the little one’s self esteem now and later in life.Wishing you all the best with this.
My mother-in-law said that babies should be potty trained by 6 months of age. Is this even possible?
We had an interesting potty training experience with our first child. She was adopted, from China, a couple of weeks after her first birthday. When we received her, late in the evening, she was not wearing a diaper, but had a cord around her waist (we later realized this was used to secure a cloth diaper, which was removed when wet). We put a disposable diaper on her. The next morning it was dry. We went with our group to finalize the adoptions, and one of the new dads was accompanied by his parents, who lived in the states, but were Chinese-born and happened to be in China when we were. One of the other new moms asked me “has your kid peed yet?” The Chinese grandma took her kid, walked to a sink, made a whistling sound, and the kid peed! On command! We then tried it with our kid. It worked! This will be a breeze! I emailed my brother, who is a doctor and a dad, and he was skeptical- at 12 months they do not have the muscle control to hold their urine and release it with a signal. Well, with the travel and long flights, letting our kid run around bare bottomed or in split pants was not practical, so she wore diapers. When we got home, I put her on the baby potty, and made the same noise, which was like “pst, pst.” She just stared at me as if to say “what’s the matter with you, spring a leak?” Well, her potty training went just like every other kid in day care. Really started to get the hang of it around age 2, with occasional accidents until age 3 or so. I think your MIL has a revisionist history in her memory, disregarding many “ accidents” until the kid gains muscle control, and accepts disruption in activities for bathroom breaks. Toddlers tend to adamently refuse to use the toilet until they desperately have to go, and there is often a standoff over emptying the bladder before a car ride or waiting in a long line.
Have we missed the "window" for potty training?
First of all, is he peeing in the potty or are you just having poop issues? If he is not doing either one, you may want to talk to your pediatrician to rule out any physical problems. Otherwise, his problems are probably behavioral. He could like all of the attention he gets for not using the potty. Or he could just not see the point if he is still wearing mostly diapers or pull-ups. He may have a special place that he feels more comfortable going that isn't the bathroom. You could try keeping a little potty in the living room or his bedroom until he gets the knack of things. My daughter, who is the same age, was three and a half before she decided to start to start peeing in the potty. She felt the sensations and understood, but she just wouldn't do it. It was a power struggle for her. Two things that I did was put panties on her whenever we were at home (and prepared to clean up the messes). I also tried not to obsess about it, but I would praise her if she attempted to go. We finally got her peeing on the potty within a few months, but she refused to poop at all. She was scared it would hurt really bad. I limited her dairy intake and increased her fiber intake. We had to establish a system where every three days if she didn't poop I gave her a suppository. She hated "booty medicine", but I couldn't allow her to go too long without pooping. Every time she pooped she put a sticker on the calendar. (This served as a reward for her and a reminder for me.) After about six months of this, we are just now getting to the point where the stickers are no longer a necessity. Good luck!!
My nephew is 3 and we can't get him out of nappies, how did you get your child to use the toilet?
You haven’t stated what you have tried so far. I know nursery/kindergarten often requires them to be out of nappies by the their third birthday. Reasonable given that most are around that age.I wonder if it has become a control issue, in the same way that food can. Your nephew feels under pressure to do things one way, and one way only, the parents way. Part of healthy development of independence is making their own decisions, or feeling that a choice is theirs.He could be afraid of failing and disappointing his parents so refuses to try. Setting him up for success builds confidence.Stop spending time and attention on specific training. Give him pull ups instead of nappies, the price is similar. Let him see his parents routinely use the bathroom and casually ask if he needs to use it too. Don’t insist. Accept a No with a calm Ok. He will soon notice the change and his own attitude will shortly change. Watching for signs that he is about to use the pull ups and giving the same calm invitation and answer will prompt him without pressure.Some children find a comfort in a wet nappy because it is familiar. If they are just starting nursery they may need this. Seeing other children use the the toilet causes them to rapidly train themselves as they don’t want to be seen as a baby anymore. Nursery staff will agree to pull ups for the first couple of weeks to allow this. If the child finds he can’t go and have fun after that he will learn pronto.Boys have an advantage in that competing with their father to hit a ping pong ball in the toilet is a fun way to make them aim well from the off. They can’t win in a nappy. ;)Finally, just remember that no ordinary child goes through elementary school in nappies. We all learn to control our bladder and bowels regardless of training.