5 Tips For Potty Training

Potty training can be frustrating. Or at least for me it can be. It has been such an up and down ride with our daughter that when looking back here are a few things I wish I would have realized.
P.S. Not my photo. It cracked me up. If you click it it will link back to its owner.

Accept your child's willingness and ability to go. Some children pick up potty training at a young age and it is easy breezy. For other children they take longer to understand the concepts and put them into practice. This may even change on a daily (or hourly) basis. My daughter used to love to go sit on the princess potty and try to go. Now it is a battle. Just because you are ready it doesn't mean they are ready. And on the flip side, your child may want to go every 10 minutes no matter where you are and no matter how inconvenient it may be. Also, we have had a ton of success since she has learned to do everything herself like taking off her pants, pulling down her diaper, wiping, flushing, putting on a Pull-Up, getting re-dressed, etc. She gets a sense of accomplishment even if she doesn't go.

Learn your child's cues. Do they do a potty dance? Or are they peeing (or pooping) in secret away from any supervision? My daughter goes pee while she is in her "zone" which is playing with her toys or watching tv. But she prefers to do the dirty deed in private, usually hidden in her room. Because I know she prefers these things it helps me to recreate that for her while she goes potty. I give her a toy or the iPad to hold while she sits and waits. I also let her do it on her own, door closed with no distractions or disturbances. She has had more success with this than with me sitting with her in the bathroom.

Set an internal and external clock to create consistency. I have yet to find a great app for this so I have to mentally keep track and if I am busy then I set an alarm on my phone as well. Besides the daily stages like waking up, naptime, bedtime I also do 5 minute countdowns after she finishes her sippy cup of whatever. That gives her time to do what she wants to do before we stop for a potty break and it helps me to give her reminders every minute. The alarm helps if I forget because I cannot tell you how many times I get distracted with child #2 and by the time I take her to the potty it is too late. Like 10 seconds too late. The act of creating a routine will help them to go easier even if every time isn't a success.

Find what motivates your child to go. When we first started it was stickers (here is a sticker chart I made last year). Then we moved to M&M's and now it is "candy bars" (granola bars). It will be different for every kid and it may change, but whatever is their hot button at the time make sure to stock up on it so that they know it is there waiting for them. The "big" potty can also be intimidating or scary, so a training potty may help your child to go easier. We got a 3-in-1 potty that is also a step stool so she can reach the sink and the seat detaches and can fit on a regular toilet. Plus it plays music when she goes.

Try several techniques until you find the one that fits. For some kids Pull-Ups are it. For others it is going commando and wetting themselves. We have tried several. For my daughter peeing herself makes her cry and there has been no connection that she should sit on the potty. Some kids resonate well with learning about it from others, like books, songs, tv, relatives, etc. Learning about potty time from Daniel Tiger then having us repeat the potty song to her and having her "re-enact" what he does has helped a lot. I also have had a lot of success having others take her to the potty. She has mom at home all day nagging helping her to go and refuses, but the second dad walks in the door she is putty in his hands.

Hopefully these tips help! Be patient and breathe :)

Side note, I "celebrated" once by clapping and congratulating her after she went and it freaked her out. So...don't scare your child either.