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Potty training can be a quick and easy stage in your child’s life if you know what to do and when to do it. Here are Becca’s top 10 tips to help you get started!
Tip 1: Your child should be at least 2 years old. There is some debate about this. I know that my pediatrician has explained that the bladder muscles are not ready before this point.
Tip 2: Do not start training too early. Toilet training should start once you notice that you child is staying dry for long periods of time. Children who go to a specific area to void in their diapers are also showing signs of readiness.
Tip 3: Start small. Begin by buying a small potty and letting your child sit on it with clothing on until they become comfortable with it. Also stick with the small potty in the beginning. Many children have a fear of falling into the big potty which can make potty training stressful.
Tip 4: Once your child seems ready, remove their diaper and sit them on the potty. Bring a book to the potty and read it with your child. This will help your child stay on the potty and hopefully go.
Tip 5: Do not become discouraged. Potty training can take from a few weeks to a few months depending on the child. NEVER yell or scold your child for having an accident. This will make the process stressful.
Tip 6: When your little one uses the toilet make a HUGE deal out of it. Our family has a “poopy on the potty” song that we sing when we have success. A few high fives and a “good job” here and there are also a great way to make your child feel that they have done well.
Tip 7: Reward with a treat. I was against this with my first daughter but half way through potty training realized that it was a great thing. One M&M or other little treat with each success is a life saver. As much as I hate to say it, it worked!
Tip 8: With Emma, my middle child, we developed a chart. We drew a road with a start and a finish. Each time she went potty we placed a Dora sticker on the road. Once she crossed the finish line she was able to pick a toy out of the prize box.
Tip 9: Let your little on in the bathroom when you have to go. I know that, as a mother of three, this can get annoying but it is helpful. After a while I would sit them on the potty every time I was in the bathroom. We would sit and chat until I was done then show off our successes.
Tip 10: Set the timer so they know when to go. The biggest challenge in the beginning is that your child has not yet realized that it is time to go until it is too late. What we do is to set the kitchen timer. In the beginning we set it for 15 minutes. Every time it went off we marched to the potty and tried. After a week we then increased the time to 30 minutes. This helps children remember to go potty and makes the potty training experience less stressful because there are less accidents and more successes!
I hope all of this helps! I would love to hear about your success stories!… Rebecca
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My son is potty training right now. We give him one M&M each time which seems to be working well. He loves that he knows he is going to get it when he is done.
Thanks for the tips, my two year old is giving such fight to make the transition. We almost had him a few weeks ago when he started nursery school, but he managed to turn the tide somehow
I like Tip #8 with the chart! I am going to try it out on my toddler, keep your fingers crossed
two down and one to go!
Yes Peggie I only have one more to go! There is a God!
Becca
This is a great article… Thanks for the tips!
Hey Mike I hope that they work as well for you as they do for me… Good luck!
Becca
I think I started too late with my daughter. We lived with inlaws and her little brother was born when she was 2 1/2 so we waited until after she was 3 and had adjusted to a new home and new bed. I tried to do all the right things, but it took FOREVER! She is very stubborn and doesn’t like to stop what she’s doing to go to the bathroom. She will be 4 in a few months and still needs much coaxing to use the toilet. She still waits until the last minute most of the time and she sometimes has accidents when she doesn’t want to be bothered with running to the bathroom. I will be starting younger with my son for sure. I read somewhere that kids are more responsive before they turn 2 1/2.
I like your tips, good things to keep in mind.
My oldest was done by the time she was three other then night time. My middle daughter has CP and we started around 2 and it took until about 2 1/2. She still cannot make it through the night though. My baby will be 2 in May and I am starting to think that it is time!
Becca
Those are great tips. I used some of them with both of my kids. I needed them most with my son since he was harder to potty train than my girl.
Everyone says that boys are harder. My youngest is so potty resistant that even my expert tips are not working. I think that she is just lazy.