Potty Training Fiasco

Did you have an easy time potty training? Maybe I need some tips because I don't think Zoey is ever going to be potty trained. She's already almost 2 and a half, I'm starting to worry if she will be in diapers when it's time to start kindergarten!

The last few days I've been talking up going to the potty. I've been going on about how she's a big girl and she will wear no more diapers. Her response has consistently been "No Potty!"

I suppose that should have been a sign. But, I continued with the bare bottom technique today as planned thinking that she would get into it when we started.

Nope. I was wrong.

It started off really well I thought. I gave her the whole spill again about how she is a big girl and not going to wear diapers anymore. I told her about the treat she would get if she peed in the potty.

I brought the kids potty into the living room and explained how she was to sit on it if she needed to pee. She understood, I know she does. She even moved the potty to her approved location (about 6 inches into the middle of the floor from where it was), circled it a couple times and then sat down.

At this point I'm thinking, "All right! This is going to be easy, this time she will really get it." After about one full minute she jumped up ready to play.

So we did. We played, we started watching Cars 2 and was having a great time. Until...

She was ready to pee. I encouraged her to go potty and she stopped peeing, but she wouldn't move. So I sort of swooped her to the potty (like a foot and a half away) and she FREAKED OUT! This was a meltdown and a half. She flailed and screamed, but she didn't pee anymore.

"NO POTTY!"

After giving her a minute to calm down I asked her again to sit on the potty. She looked me in the eye and with the most sincere voice said "No Potty!"

She then preceded to get me a diaper, kick the potty chair for good measure and then lay down to put a diaper on. I suppose she made her choice.

At this point I'm thinking I have failed as a mother and my daughter is never going to be potty trained. I'm sure that isn't true, but I would say that Zoey is not ready to go in the potty yet. She acts like it.  I'm pretty sure she even makes the connection between peeing and going to the potty. She knows the potty and has the whole routine down so she knows what to do, but she doesn't want to do it. I have no idea why.

She hasn't had any traumatic experiences with the potty, that I know of anyway. She doesn't seem scared of the potty itself, but anytime I encourage her to sit on the potty I get the same response to some degree.

In fact, I have been/am dreading potty training because Zoey DOES NOT CARE if she is wet or soiled. Absolutely does not care. Pee could be dripping down her legs and she doesn't care. She will tell us when she has peed or pooped, but she doesn't want her diaper changed. She runs away and fights us to change her diaper, but she refuses to go in the potty.

I give up, I have no idea what to do.

So I'm putting a diaper on her after this and laughing to myself a little. I ask her, "Are you going to go to school in diapers?"

She answers, "No, Mommy."

So I ask, "Why don't you use the potty now?"

A very stern, "No Potty" is her response.

So I have no idea what to do next. All the books say that once you commit to potty training to not look back. I feel like I'm giving up, but my mother's instinct is saying not to push it, at least not right now. I don't want potty training to become a traumatic experience.

I suppose she is still young in the grand scheme of things. And she has a way of deciding for herself when and how she is going to do something. I figure she will decide in her own time when she is ready and that will be that, presto potty trained. Hopefully it is before kindergarten.

Do you have an funny or horror stories when it comes to potty training? Were there any tricks that worked for you? Was your kid an early potty goer  or did he/she go at her own pace?

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