[Mama2Rio]

we've just started doing part-time ec with 9.5 month old dd... she is very active (she can walk a few steps here and there) and she doesn't want to sit still on the potty. we've tried distracting her with toys and that works for a few seconds. we talk and sing, but she still just wants to jump off (unless she just woke up and is a bit groggy). occasionally she'll sit for the two minutes, but not often. we also have the problem with diaper changes, she wont lay down and practically climbs the walls.

i always let her go back to playing right after. i'm still trying to learn her ques and i seem to just miss her pees by a few minutes.

so how do you get an active little one to take a few minute brake?

 

[sgmom]

Seeing as you just started EC, I was wondering... Does she understand the cue sound/word? It sounds like she's just got more exciting things to focus on than peeing in a potty.

Someone correct me if this is the wrong way to go about it, but I would suggest concentrating more on when she does pee, and cue it, tell her what she's doing ("you're peeing!", etc), and not worry too much about where she's doing it.

Do you use cloth diapers? Cloth without a cover makes it easy to tell right away when she pees, so at the very least you can catch it and put her on the potty immediately (even if she's finished). She'll associate eventually.

 

[dpoupore]

great advice from the pp about focussing on cueing sounds for now.

even tho we started at 3 mo, when dd got really active and could move around on her own, pottying became very challenging. i just tried to stay pleased when it did happen, and not worry when it didn't. then, one day a few months later, she started really enjoying being read to on the potty and began having many more pees there.

i also agree that cloth diapering helped.

 

[TopHat]

I found that if I brought DD to the little potty with her legs folded up and sat her down like that, she was more apt to stay on the potty than if I had carried her by her underarms and tried to sit her down from that position- she would arch her back and not get on.

Also, I would read to her on the potty. That helped a lot.

 

[duckpond]

I make sure to have an activity table or tray in front of the potty. Something fun that we only play with during pottying. And I like to change it up to keep it new and interesting.

Also, check out Potty Charms on Charndra's Part-time EC site.

 

[Mama2Rio]

yes, we've been cloth diapering and i always try to change her as soon as she wets....

tophat- i will try the folded legs, see if that works better for her.

duckpond- i love the idea of the activity table! and the potty charm is a great idea!

thanks so much!

 

[pixiepunk]

we always try to keep something fun near the potty that's just for pottying. it changes regularly since she gets bored with things after a while. right now a toothbrush generally holds her attention long enough. or we read a book or make a block tower or one of my older kids comes in and does silly stuff to make her laugh.

on the diaper front, we use cloth trainers exclusively and they are so much easier to get on and off than diapers. i use non-waterproof ones when we're home so i know immediately if it is wet, and save the waterproof ones for when we're out and about. no wrestling with diaper changes, which i dealt with ec'ing my older two (i switched to trainers with DS around 15 months, i never used them with DD1).