I am currently potty training my third child and thought I would share what I use to get the job done. My Potty Training Tips and Resources.
Let me first say, I am not promising some awesome hack for potty training. Sorry. Some things are just what they are, in my opinion, and you just have to find ways to make it lets’ say, more bearable (I can’t lie and say enjoyable, sorry again). My first daughter loved her potty, my second, not so much, and with the third things are looking promising so far.
I am currently potty training my third child and thought I would share what I use to get the job done.
Resources:
Potty– Safety 1st Comfy Cushy Potty Trainer and Step Stool. They replaced the original cushion with the hard foam made material. I personally prefer this over the more popular Summer Infant Lil’ Loo Potty. First because it’s soft on their little tush and it doubles as a step-stool. We’ve had ours for five years and all that needs to be replaced is the ring which cost $5.00. A separate step-stool will run you for about $8.00 and up.
Potty on the go– Travel Potty and bags (optional). I talk more about this here.
Potty books- I Have to Go (Sesame Street Toddler Books) and Potty Time. More popular ones include Potty (Leslie Patricelli board books) and this.
Training Pants– (Optional-I explain why in the notes below.)
Parent or guardian- With a lot of patience.
Tips:
1) Work together. I know this sounds crazy, but you might be surprise to find that your little one wants to help. For instance my little one tries to take her diapers of. So what do I do? Loosen them just so, so she can feel as If she’s taking part in this process!
2) Be patient with yourself and your wonderful baby. They’ll get it eventually. Because soon they’ll cross that milestone and you’ll be looking back at how fast they growing up!
3) We read them potty books prior to the actual training. As an adult, I always do better at something new if I read or heard some basic information on the topic before crunch time. I think it’s the same for them.
4) Read to her/him while they’re on the potty with your fun voice. If you’re excited, so will they!
5) Give them praise for doing a good job, but not too much. I talk about why here.
You Got This…
6) Use a timer. The timer is to remind me. As she is now starting off the goal is just to get acquainted. So I am setting the timer for every hour during the day. If you have one on your stove, those are usually pretty loud and would work fine! Putting them on often is key to them grasping it!
7) Try and wait till they’re ready. Examples of this would be, they notice when others are using the potty, he or she likes a little bit of independence, they are having dry diapers in-between changes and he or she is showing signs of discomfort in dirty diapers, especially the #2.
8) Let family members know you’re potty training. This way you get the extra support in continuing their training even if they’re not home.
9) As they progress along, you can have periods during the day where they use regular undies. This way they are more in-tune to accidents.
10) Allow yourself and your baby a break during bedtime! Especially when you first start training, you would notice because they are training their bladders during the day, they will tend to have less wet diapers at nap-time.
Notes:
- Not everything works for everybody and that’s OK! Nothing is wrong with you! Every child is different.
- It’s OK to try suggestions but don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t work for you. I tried the whole giving candy stuff with my second child and what I got in return is a child who now does not like sweets (which is not a bad thing! but was not my goal) and chose to use the potty when she wanted to. I am not bashing the method, but it just didn’t work for us.
- If you have tiny kids like I do, you may still need a potty training ring to add to your regular toilet after they’re trained. You can also use it to train them, however, I didn’t want to take the chance of one of them falling off the big potty. But again. totally your choice!
- Training pants are not always a must. My first daughter took to potty training like a fish to water! We were done in about two weeks. Luckily we did not run out and “stock up” on training pants. We waited a bit and it was the right call. For our second though we had to throw in the towel and get those big girl pants! We were in for a VERY long ride.. lol.
- Accidents are going to happen! Be patient, remind them where pee-pee and poo-poo goes and move on.
Wishing you all the best on your potty training journey!
14 Comments
Leave your reply.