Did I get your attention? Here it is my 5 easy steps for potty training a toddler;
Buy your favourite wine
Open wine
Pour wine
Drink wine
Repeat
Bet you weren't expecting that? LOL!
All joking aside there is no rule book or steps that are all going to work perfectly for you and your child. My first piece of advice for you is don't push or rush potty training! Let your child tell you when they are ready and don't try to stick to a rule book. The best thing we did was let Lily tell us when she was ready to potty train and then she basically did it on her own from that point. No two kids are alike, what works for one isn't going to necessarily work for the other and I find that when we try to stick to a specific set of potty training rules we and our children get frustrated and disappointed more easily.
I am going to share with you what worked for us in hopes that maybe one, two or heck all of these things work for you. However I will also share some other tips and ideas that we tried that didn't work because hey they may work for you!
When Lily was about 2 years old we started to put the potty out for her. We left it in the playroom area so she could get used to it being around and explore it as she wished. I think that was helpful in normalizing it for her. We chose to get the
that looks exactly like a normal toilet to avoid any confusion. There is a spot for wipes in it and kids can flush it to get the full experience. When Lily was just over 2 years old she one day sat on the toilet and peed - we were so excited gave her lots of praise and this went on for about a week. Off and on she would use the potty and even pooped a few times. Then she outright refused to use it anymore. We decided not to push it because she was really resistant and we didn't want to scare her off.
Then in May Lily decided she wanted to start using the potty again. On her own she just went and sat on the toilet and peed. She had no accidents for the first week and I couldn't believe how easy and smooth it was going. We had her wearing pull ups only when we left the house otherwise she was in underwear. We could tell by her demeanor that she was ready for potty training this time. So we ditched the diapers and never went back. Tip: when you know your child is ready do not go back to diapers. Stick to underwear and pull-ups if need be. The best thing we did was ditch the diapers. After the first week Lily did start having accidents and we went through a rough phase. She asked for diapers a few times but we were firm on no more diapers and eventually she stopped asking (within a day or 2).
I think the best thing we did was listen to Lily. About a month into potty training she was refusing to wear a pull up to bed. So Chris and I were over fighting with her about it and decided to let her go without a pull-up. She woke up dry in the morning and was so excited about it. So we went another, then another, then another night with no pull up and she is now not wearing anything but underwear. She hasn't had an accident at night time or during a nap in weeks! Does she still have accidents throughout the day here and there? Yes, and I think that is going to be that way for a while. Kids get distracted, they are having fun with their friends and forget. Its part of learning - potty training is an ongoing experience. We learned as we went through the experience together and I am sure when it is time to potty train Mason it was will be a whole new learning experience for us.
Tips for distraction and making potty training fun:
put your child backwards on the toilet and give them a dry erase marker. let them go nuts on the toilet seat. it is a great way to get them used to sitting on the toilet and make the experience fun
pull-ups instead of diapers because they can feel the wet sensation more in the pull-ups. They are also easier to get on and off than the diapers and mimic wearing underwear. It helps increase their independence as well as they can do pull-ups on their own.
let them pick out their underwear. Lily had so much fun going to the store with me and picking out her underwear. She chosen Frozen and Paw Patrol. She also likes to choose which underwear she wears everyday.
figure out an incentive that works for you and your child. Incentives work for some and not for others. Lily was not impressed with Smarties or sticker charts. What worked for her is getting a coin every time she went on the potty. We had a ton of change at home so every time she would go she got a dime, nickle, quarter etc. if she pooped it was usually more and then she saved it up to put in her piggy bank. You have to find an incentive that your child will respond to otherwise it won't work. It also has to be one that you are willing to keep up with. Don't tell them they are going to get a big prize at the end if they aren't.
Is potty training easy? NO! I think the hardest part was not getting frustrated. When Lily started to have accidents, was peeing in her underwear on purpose it became really frustrating. There were a few days where I wanted to throw in the towel and got really upset with her. Looking back I feel awful about that and wish I could take it back. She was still learning and honestly I think was wanting attention. Instead of giving her the attention she needed I got angry with her. Which only pushed her away from wanting to potty train more. Once I got my head back on straight things became a lot easier and we got back on track together. But know it is okay to get frustrated and you will. The other hard part of potty training is all the laundry. If you think you do a lot of laundry now wait until you start potty training. We were washing our sheets often and Lily's clothes. Tip: buy lots of extra underwear. If they will let you, let your child run around in just the underwear in the house so you don't have to wash shorts/pants as well if they have an accident. You can also put a towel underneath them on the couch or use puppy peed pads.
Tips for parents:
Try not to get frustrated. You will get frustrated I promise you that, but try not to do it in front of your child.
Have the potty seat and stool always ready. At the beginning we were always running to the bathroom with Lily to make it there in time. Having the potty seat already on the toilet and the stool beside the toilet made the process at lot easier. We chose to use a potty seat upstairs and keep her potty downstairs so we always had one close by and weren't carrying it all over the house. Eventually Lily ditched the potty seat and prefers to just pee on the toilet.
Always know where the bathroom is when you go out. It avoids chaos and reduces risk of accidents
Make sure your child pees before they leave the house. I find it helpful if we all pee before we leave the house to show Lily that it is part of all our routine.
Bring a potty with you when you go out our buy a folding potty seat
Don't put your kid in pants that are difficult to get on/off . We made the mistake of putting Lily in jeans with buttons that were difficult to get off on her own so she had a few accidents because of that.
Use puppy pee pads in the car seat to avoid having to clean the car seat all of the time. You can purchase a big package at Walmart and leave them in your car.
Minimotivation Magnetic Chart was very helpful in encouraging Lily to continue with potty training. What I liked about this chart was that it was magnetic so easy to use and was very visual. Lily is still young so words don't resonate with her but pictures do. So seeing the poop, pee and underwear symbols on the magnets made it fun for her. I also liked that it had a spot for each day of the week so we could also talk about what day of the week it was.
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