20 Tips for How To Potty Train [From The Mouths of Moms]
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Can’t find time to read all of those parenting books and magazines? Don’t have a lot of mommy friends to bounce ideas off of? Kids go crazy every time you get on the phone to ask a friend their advice? No problem; I’ll do the work for you!
Each Thursday I bring you kid-tested tips and parenting solutions for a specific parenting challenge “from the mouths of moms.” We’ve already shared lots of tips for dealing with picky eaters, getting kids to sleep better, ensuring stress-free play dates, and cooking with kids. Now here are direct quotes from a diverse group of mom bloggers (with kids of all ages and tons of ideas) on POTTY TRAINING. Yep – meet your new mommy friends!
Alright, Mamas, what are your best tips for potty training?
1. Make Sure They Are Ready
“My top tip is to wait until they are ready! My three potty trained at 3, 3.5, and 21 months.” MaryAnne from Mama Smiles
2. Make Sure YOU Are Ready, Too
“My main bit of advice, do it when YOU (the parent) [are] ready. I am convinced it is as much about the parent than it is about the child… as the parent needs to have the patience and calm of the first 1-3 weeks of mess and stress. Then go for it.” Maggy from Red Ted Art
3. Let Them Lead
“Possibly not a top tip given that Goblin isn’t potty trained yet (31 months) but we are trying Child led potty … not really training, maybe acquisition? We just talk to him about it and let him choose whether he wants to wear a nappy or pants and when he wants to use the toilet. He has done quite a few pees and poops in the toilet. No accidents so far.” The Monko from Taming the Goblin
4. Steer Clear of Life Changing Events
”Everyone was pressuring me to try to get Priscilla (then barely 3) out of diapers before the new baby came. But I had always heard that kids can regress when a new sibling comes or during another life changing event. So I didn’t stress about it, and just a few weeks after the baby was here, she expressed interest on her own and was fully trained within 3 days. I’m so glad I waited!” Krissy from B-Inspired Mama
5. Start Young
“My best advice is to start young! In my ten years of being a nanny, and with my experience with my older two, younger is much easier.” Allison from Train Up A Child
6. Have Them Help Get Rid of the Diapers
“My mom told me that I was easy to potty train. She just announced I was a big girl now and made me watch her throw away my diapers. I can see where having them watch you get rid of the diapers (by throwing them away or donating them to a baby friend) could make it more concrete for a little one.” Krissy from B-Inspired Mama
7. Focus on Dry Underpants
“Focus on keeping their underwear clean and dry more than focusing on going to the potty. The goal is to stay clean and dry, and we do that by going on the potty. If you only focus on going on the potty, they might go in their pants between potty trips even if they are successfully going on the potty.” Allison from Train Up A Child
8. Get Them Acquainted with the Seat
“Get your child a potty or potty seat and get them acquainted with it. Have them sit on it whenever you change their diaper. Eventually they will pee in it, and that will help them start to make the connection.” Amy from Z is for Zel
9. Or Skip the Little Potty All Together
“We had a lot of luck with not using a special potty chair. We got a built in potty seat. I didn’t have to spend time cleaning a potty chair, and it got my daughter used to using a real potty.” Rebekah from The Golden Gleam
10. Stay Home for a Few Days
“Plan on staying home for a few days, and just let them hang out in underwear with no pants. That way they can get onto the potty quicker. Eventually the accidents will taper off.” Amy from Z is for Zel
11. Don’t Confuse Them
“Don’t confuse them by putting them in diapers sometimes and underwear sometimes (except at night).” Amy from Z is for Zel
12. Try Cloth Diapers
“Both my kids started going #2 in the potty by 18 months old. I am SO lucky!!!! I really think that using cloth diapers made a big difference.” Amanda from The Educators’ Spin On It
13. Celebrate Being a Big Kid
“What worked best for my oldest (a girl) was to make it a fun, grownup activity. She loved being a big girl.” Chrissy from The Outlaw Mom
14. Let Them Earn a Toy or Fun Experience
“My son gave me such a hard time with #2. He was trained for #1 for months before #2. He’d go once and then would refuse for days at a time. I had tried star charts, but they weren’t a big enough incentive. I bought a toy that I knew he really wanted and put it on top of the refrigerator. I told him he could have it after 10 poops on the potty. Worked wonderfully- almost a little too well! After he got the toy, he wanted to know what he got for 20 poops on the potty!” Danielle from 52 Brand New
15. Try a Small Candy or Sticker Reward
“We just potty trained my 2.5 year old son this week. Hooray!! It went quickly and only took a day and a half. I’m convinced that our key to success was waiting until he was ready…. and we let him pick out a jelly bean (his favorite) every time he went to the bathroom in the potty. He has a sweet tooth just like me.” Malia from Playdough to Plato
16. Always Be Prepared
“Keep Pull-ups in the glove compartment. Even after you are ‘done’ potty training keep a Pull-up in your car for emergencies when traveling. Trust me, you’ll hear ‘Mommy, I need to go potty.’ right after you pass that Next-Rest-Stop-in-60-Miles sign.” Zina from Let’s Lasso the Moon
17. Scope Out the Restrooms
“Even though my kids are ‘trained,’ they still aren’t always able to fully control their bladder. There isn’t always a lot of time between the ‘Mommy, I’ve gotta peeeeee!’ and it actually happening. So it’s always important when we’re out and about to know where the nearest rest room is at all times!” Krissy from B-Inspired Mama
18. Try Again Later
“We first tried when she was 2, but she wasn’t ready, so we trained again at 2 1/2, and she was fully day trained in 2 days.” Rebekah from The Golden Gleam
19. Don’t Stress About It
“There are so many factors involved in potty training: life circumstances (new sibling, a move, travel, illness, etc.), your child’s development, your capacity and so on. My biggest piece of advice is ‘Don’t Fret.’ Your child and you will come to an agreement one day.” Marnie from Carrots Are Orange
20. Quit Comparing
“Oh, and stop looking at how quickly or what age everyone else trained their children. Every child is different, and as I kept telling myself, chances are they won’t be an adult in nappies. It will happen.” Deborah from Learn With Play @ Home
What are your experiences with potty training? Do you have any tips to share?
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About Author
Krissy @ B-Inspired Mama
Krissy Sherman Bonning is a former art teacher turned full time mama of 3 who authors B-Inspired Mama to share inspiration for simple kids crafts, family recipes, learning fun, and creative parenting.
Krissy, thanks for including us even though we haven't actually managed to get to the no nappy stage yet.
You're welcome – I think you've got the right approach!
I love #20
Fantastic list of ideas, Krissy! Love, love, love this series you are running!
Thanks, MaryAnne!!
So many wonderful tips. What a great resource to have these all in one place since, of course, every child is different!
YES – I know. It's so true that every child is different. So it's important to be open to lots of different ideas and viewpoints!
Hi, I would just like to add, as a Home Daycare Provider for over 15 years, I find the very best trick is “routine”. Start by putting them on the potty when they get up in the morning and after afternoon naptime, then just before bathtime when the water is running. If you see good results, your timing is good. Continue this and add after morning playtime, before lunch, before afternoon nap and so on. Your child should be able to keep dry for at least 2 hours. I also find letting them run around in cute little underwear a good reminder for them.
YES! I'm not sure why I didn't include that. I did that with both of my kids for quite awhile until they were able to tell me they needed to go. Thanks for the reminder!
We just recently got our 2 1/2 year old potty trained. It took several naked days at home, but it worked. We tried special underwear and character underwear, to no avail. When I let her run around naked, something clicked. We rewarded her with stickers, 1 for sitting on the potty, 2 for peeing in the potty, and 3 for pooping in the potty. I think this was the best reward system, since no one else in the house could stay out of her reward treats! It's been 3 weeks now, and she is in her big girl panties full time.
Great job, Mama! Stickers worked wonders for my Priscilla, too.
So I have twin boys who are 3 yrs old and we have been doing the whole potty training for probably close to 2 months now. They stay dry all night and I have phased out the little potty. One still likes to sit on the seat cover on the toilet when he pees and the other likes to stand up..which is fine by me. One of them always tells me when he has to go and has maybe had 2 accidents. My other boy never tells me and has accidents constantly. He is fine if I take him & tell him it's time to go potty but if I leave it a little too long he will simply mess himself. Anyone have any advice for this? He went to the potty on his own a couple times during the first week of training but has never again.
If you've been training for 2 months and it hasn't “stuck” then it might be time to take a break. Your one son is a perfect example of a kid who was ready. It sounds like the other isn't, though. Try again in a few weeks or a couple of months, but if it's been 2 months of accidents and not taking initiative to go on his own then he isn't there yet. Give him and yourself a break.
It took my kids awhile to be able to tell me they had to go, too. Maybe a couple of weeks for Priscilla and even longer for Sawyer. It gets really frustrating to have to remember to remind them and tell them constantly, I know. Maybe Jamie is right – that he just isn't quite ready. Does he EVER tell you he needs to go? Do you know that he can and is just being lazy and not wanting to? With my son, we knew he had control (he had proven to us a few times and he was over 4 years old), but he just never wanted to leave his playtime and toys to go. Since we realized he was capable and just choosing not to go, we kept persevering with him – making him stop playtime to clean up his accidents, even losing a toy once because it got messy. It started to kick in then!
I'm going to have to look at these again since my son is up for potty training next! I heard aiming at Cheerios is a good trick
Never really worked for us, but I've heard it has for others!
Any suggestions for night time bed wetting. 6 years old, goes fine during the day, sleeps like a rock and doesnt wake up. We usu. get him up every night, about 12am and help him to the bathroom, sometimes he is fine the rest of the night others not. If we dont get him up, the bed is wet every night.
Sorry to leave you hanging so long. Are you still having trouble with this? I didn't have much trouble with night wetting, but I did find this post that might help:
http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/KUDiseases/pubs/bedwetting_EZ/index.aspx
We are still dealing with the issue. Thank you for the link and I will keep persevering to help the child through this stage.
My youngeest Son, who is now almost 31 yrs old, wet his bed till he was about 12. Dr. said it was common in boys. we didnt give anything to drink 2 hrs before bedtime, woke him up, but nothing worked. One day it just stopped. I know it is not much consolation, just wanting you to know that you are not alone.
We are so in the throes of potty-training right now and I am definitely stressing about it, so this is helpful–and makes me feel more normal! I will be following along now!
I'm so glad it's a help, Meredith. I hope you had good luck with your little one!
Ive been trying to potty train my grandson.He does grest with the peeing but he refuses to go number 2.He acts like he is so frightened to even try.Ive tried the no pants,putting him on the potty,reading to him and even telling him stories.Nothing has worked any advice?
The “I Went Potty” iPhone app has worked really well for us, better than any other incentive! It plays a fanfare and counts the number of times that she goes. There is the option to hook it to your Facebook account to update your friends, but I don't think anyone I know really wants to hear that much about it. For us, 99¢ well spent!
AmyK – My little guy trained himself to stay dry at 14 months….but refused to poop on the potty until his 4th birthday. As in, on his 4th birthday. I’d tried everything: and finally, I let it go. My caveat was that while he was actively pooping, (that would be moments after requesting a diaper) he had to be IN the bathroom. Then we’d flush his….recycling. Looking back, Mr. I Do Myself had fallen in, not wanting me to help him sit up there, when he was about 15 months; he had to get over the fear all on his own. Once on the potty, he never looked back!
I totally agree – when they are ready, they are ready~