Popular opinion says that it’s easier to potty train girls than boys, but for many of us that’s just not true. Girls come with their own unique set of challenges that you simply just don’t have to worry about with boys. Let’s cover them, and how you can handle things now!
1. It’s harder to tell when they’re peeing
It’s impossible not to notice when a boy starts peeing, because it quite literally flies through the air. With girls, the difference in anatomy means that it’s not nearly as obvious until after the event.
You’ll mostly just see a pool of urine on the floor after it has run down their legs. This makes it hard to encourage them to use the potty when you know that they need to pee as you probably won’t get any warning.
2. Proper wiping is even more important
While any child, including boys, can get a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), girls have them occur on a much more frequent basis. Wiping properly from front to back is especially important for them, though if they’re at the potty training stage this is probably a difficult concept for them to grasp.
Teaching a very small girl why proper wiping is extremely important can be a little tricky. But I’ve got you covered there! Check out my article on teaching your child to wipe that will give you some useful tips to help explain things to them.
3. They get more upset about accidents
Little accidents are all part of the potty training process but girls and boys often handle them differently. Boys are typically going to have an easier time at brushing off any accidents that occur if they don’t make it to the potty in time.
But for girls, this can sometimes be a much bigger deal, and even trigger a full blown meltdown when the inevitable accidents happen. This can make them a lot more anxious about things, making them more likely to have accidents in the future.
4. They expect a lot of praise
It’s good to praise your child when they get things right and this is definitely recommended. Boys are generally happy with an enthusiastic “yay” or “good job” to acknowledge their successes but girls can be more difficult to please.
They often demand more excited praise than our boys, and might want to turn every potty session into a literal song and dance. Making sure that you have potty training rewards to properly motivate them is crucial with girls!
5. It can be too much, too soon
It’s generally accepted that girls mature faster than boys, and many will in fact be ready to start potty training sooner than boys. And while your girl might grasp the whole idea of what to do, she might not have learned to get her body to cooperate yet.
This can be tough for girls because until she’s learned to understand the feelings and gained the muscle control to handle them, her ability to prevent accidents simply just won’t be there. If the will is there but her body is just not ready, sometimes you just have to accept that it’s not quite time yet.
6. They can be a lot more stubborn
When you start potty training, your child will be spending a lot of time on the potty when they don’t actually need to use it, so that they get used to the idea of peeing or pooping in it when they do need to go.
Many girls can tend to be a lot more stubborn or fussy about this compared to boys if they don’t feel like going on the potty. If they are not in the mood to sit on it, you’re probably going to know about it!
But of course, you’re not the first parent to have trouble potty training a stubborn child. A mom named Carol had the same problem with her little one and created a video to show other parents how she was able to finally achieve success. You can watch it now by clicking here.
BTW, if you found this info helpful I would love it if you could pin this. Thanks! 🙂
