Click here for Potty Training Part 1Hi! I am back to share how I have potty trained all 4 of my children. I was lucky enough to have a neighbor and good friend in Utah share this method with me just before I started potty training Kaylee. That was over 8 years ago. I will be forever grateful to her for that. As a new mother who didn’t have a clue where to start and really hadn’t given it much thought; she gave me the tools I needed to be successful. I was sold when she told me her own mother potty trained all of her children this way. She happened to have10 children. She also potty trained her own (4 at the time) children the same way her mother did. Double sold. I thought it was definitely worth a try. Maybe this will help you too. Because of that, I share this info. with everyone.
Potty Training in one day
Supplies to get
-A lot of candy, snacks, kool aid, juice, sweet and salty things
-Underwear (heavy ones for first couple of days and normal ones)
-Plastic cover pants to go over the underwear for naps and night
-An apron for you to wear with pockets to put treats in (instant rewards for going in potty)
-Potty seat for toilet, stool and portable potty chair (so they can decide which to use)
-Poster board (you need to make a calling chart. Something where they can see to choose who to call when they go potty, photos helpful) * I have used scrapbook pages before just to save on prep time. Confession - I didn’t do that this time. I did not have time. Instead I made a list for myself of who to call and then Ady decided by the names I said. If she wasn’t my fourth one, I would have gone all out. That’s my excuse anyway. :)
-Baby wet doll – *I had a hard time finding one of these. I had one with the first two, but with Drew and Ady I just used one of the dolls we had around the house. The point is to have the doll go pee pee in the potty to get your child excited. I just sneaked a medicine dropper full of water behind the doll and pretended she peed. It worked fine. It’s up to you.
-Something to clean the “oopsies” with. * There is probably a better way, but I use an ammonia and water mixture in a squirt bottle and Febreeze when it is on my rugs (that can’t be washed) or carpet. Or you could just hang out on the tile for the majority of the day. That is a safe place! You will need something to clean up the carpet anyway. It’s bound to happen.
-Don’t forget about treats for you. This is important. You are going to NEED them! Coke, chocolate and potato chips are always on my list.
Very IMPORTANT rules not to break
-It should be just you and the child you are potty training ALL day - no interruptions *I understand when you have multiple children it can sometimes be hard to find a place for them go, especially when they are not school age. See if a family member or good friend can take them. Maybe your husband can take the day off work or plan it for when he has the day off. I have done all of those. I can not tell you enough how important it is to have it be JUST the two of you all day. And when I say all day, I mean until dinner time or later. Plan on pizza for dinner! (My friend Sara brought us dinner. I was very lucky). Not only is it easier to teach your child when you are one on one with out interruptions, but they feel so important when they have you all to themselves. Especially on a day like this. Ok, I’m off my soap box. Moving on.
-Do not answer the phone or the door. This is not the day to chat on the phone or text. I always tell the people I communicate with regularly that I will be unreachable. There will be moments of boredom, but I promise you, the second you get into a conversation or get lost in texting you will have a pee or poop mess to clean up for sure. It’s all about staying focused and not being interrupted.
How it Works
Start your day like normal. Feed him/her a good breakfast since it will pretty much be junk the rest of the day. (I will explain why in a bit) After breakfast, as soon as everyone is out of the house (and maybe after you have at least showered. You will be glad you did because once you start there will be no time for you.) start by playing with the baby wet doll. Say “Look! She has big girl (big boy) underwear on! You can wear big boy underwear too! Let’s go put yours on! When he puts his on, have him wear just his underwear and a shirt all day. No shorts or pants. It’s just easier that way and one less thing for you to wash. Then go back to playing with the doll again. All of the sudden the doll goes pee pee on the potty! “Oh my gosh! Did you hear that!? We are so proud of her! She gets to have a special treat!” Make sure that you have your apron on with “special” treats. Ones that are only for when he goes in the potty. Not for snack time. Give the doll a treat and say, “You can have a special treat if you go pee pee in the potty too.” Have him sit on the potty and try right then. If he goes potty then get SO EXCITED!! He gets a special treat and then gets to choose someone’s picture from the calling chart to call and tell about going potty on the big boy potty.
This is pretty much what your day consists of:
1. Go to the kitchen, start pumping him/her full of snacks (sweet and salty) and juice and water. Lots of liquid and food to keep him/her drinking. This step is very important. You want them to be drinking constantly, at first anyway. The sweet and salty snacks will make them want to drink, which is going to make them have to pee and that is what you want. Then you will have plenty of opportunities to teach them to use the potty. Remember this is potty training in ONE day, so it’s a good thing to be running to the bathroom every 15 min.
My friend Tami, who has the same love for Coke as I do, dropped me by my daily drink. It never tasted so good! I usually don’t ever share my drink. It’s MY thing. Hands off kiddos…or you just might die. ;) Today was a little different. Ady always begs for sips of my soda. Today I shared a little bit with her. I happily let her sip through my straw knowing it would go straight through her and come out the other end in no time.
2. Set the timer for 15 minutes. In that first 15 minutes, start to play with the doll again and this time make the doll have an accident. When she has an accident run with her from the spot of the accident to the potty saying “No pee pee on the floor pee pee on the potty!”, really fast 10 times back and forth. Each time saying that and pulling her underwear down and setting her on the potty. Do that same thing with your child when they have an accident. They might start to laugh and think it’s a joke, but don’t give up. Before you know it they’ll be saying it too. Make sure and do that every time there is an accident, even if you really don’t feel like it anymore. It’s a very important step in the teaching process.
3. When he/she isn’t eating, or running back and forth to the potty, stick to reading books or playing cars, Legos or some other toy or game. No T.V. or movies. They get too involved in that and lose interest in the day. Stick to activities that can be easily interrupted. Don’t let him/her go outside. They’ll lose all interest!
We stuck to Legos most of the day. I think she stuck to one thing because she loved that I was doing it with her.
4. Eat a normal lunch and put your child down for a nap at a normal time.
*As far as your day goes, the main things are eating lots of things to make them drink. Going potty every 15 minutes. (Don’t forget to set the timer). Reward them instantly when they are successful.
Ady loved pulling treats out of my apron.
She also loved talking on the phone.
*Don’t forget to run back and forth 10 times when there is an accident. I really think this is a vital part of the learning process. I have seen the lightbulb go on during this step with every single one of my children.
Tips and Suggestions
-Stay overly excited!
-Try not to get frustrated… you can do anything for a day and it’s completely worth it!
-As far as the timer goes, sometimes it seems like they have an accident a couple of minutes before the timer goes off. It is the worst when you miss it like that! It makes me want to pull my hair out. If that happens adjust your time and remember to follow your instincts! If the timer goes off after 15 min and they still don’t need to go potty (even after they tried sitting on the potty) then it is pretty safe to say that if you set the timer for another 15 min. they are going to pee on the floor. Instead, set the timer for 5 min. intervals until you catch them being successful on the potty. Then start it over at 15 min. again.
-I find that we end up sitting on the potty for awhile waiting for something to happen. If it’s been 15 min. I want them to sit on the potty and wait. I can’t stand missing it and then having to deal with an accident because we weren’t patient enough. I will sit in front of them and sing songs or play some kind of hand game to keep them entertained. (like itsy bitsy spider, this little piggy, pat a cake, pat a cake or whatever else you can think of).
-It seems like after lunch or nap time they lose interest a little. Save some tricks for when that happens. Make up a potty game or song. Instead of a timer on a microwave use one that rings or sounds different. If he/she gets tired of the real potty put out the portable one. Brainstorm about some things like that.
-This is pretty much common sense, but when your child has an accident make sure and say “EWWW! Pee pee is so stinky! We don’t like to clean up accidents!” not “You stink!, Your pee smells so bad! Or Your Gross!”
-Make sure and have some kind of plastic cover over the mattress under the bottom sheet in case there is an accident at night. You could buy a water proof mattress cover.
-Don’t go back to diapers. Not even pull- ups at night. Once you start just keep going. No matter how hard it is! They’ll get the hang of it. They need to know that he/she is a big boy/girl and they don’t use diapers anymore. This is up to you and all children are a little different when it comes to night time. I personally feel like they have to learn some time and I am all about diving in and not looking back. Plus Pull-Ups pull the moisture away from them so they aren’t as aware of an accident.
-Consistency, consistency, consistency!!!! There is really nothing else that needs to be said about that one.
*So you train in a day and then you have to reinforce for about a week. I’m not going to sugar coat it and tell you that after ONE day they are fully potty trained. There will still be accidents here and there. They are going to get distracted or lazy. It happens. Don’t expect them to all of a sudden go potty all by themselves every single time. You are still going to have to do some reminding. Did I already mention being consistent? I will assure you that the majority of the teaching happens on the first day. You will see it click sometime during that day. However, do not expect to go back to your normal routine the next day. The second day was worse for us then the first day. I always forget that until I am experiencing the second day, but it has been that way for us each time. It’s not quite as exciting for them on the second day and you are ready to have a “normal” day. The third day is better. It clicks for them again and you are back on track. You probably won’t want to leave the house for the first week, unless it’s a very quick errand and you take a change of clothes. (Keep the change of clothes with you for longer than that) Always have them go potty right before you leave the house. You will probably have to ask every 30 minutes or so for the next couple of days if they need to go potty. If the answer is no, you might need to be a little persistent and just get them to “try” every so often. It’s a busy, tiring week (you might even wish for diapers again), but it’s all worth it when you can tell it has finally clicked! Don’t forget to have them stop drinking at least an hour before bed and don’t let them go to bed with a sippy cup until there are no more accidents at night. We always wake our kids up to try before we go to bed.
That’s a rap for the big potty training post. Phew! Thanks for hanging in there with me.
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!! You can do it!
*Questions answered in the comments.
94 comments:
This is so great Krysta. thanks for sharing. I may need to use this with C. He goes #2 in potty but will sometimes do #in pull-up. I can't get him in underwear either.
Thanks for posting this, I'm def going to try some of these tips!
Thanks for gearing me up again. I have always been thankful that you shared this with me. Now just one more to go. Way to go Ady!!! you are awesome. Oh, and you are pretty awesome training here. I think potty training is the most frustrating event ever.
Go Ady!! And Krysta! I think it's just as hard for the parents as it is for the child, more work for the parent for sure. Those little people are way smarter than what we give them credit for. And like Christian said, you deserved it to be easy with your sweet little Ady. You more than earned it. :)
Oh boy, I don't think I am ready for all of this. Luke has no interest but maybe I can be dedicated to getting it done. Thanks for the tips!!
Good job, Krysta. Do you want to come potty train Colton? His teacher thinks he is ready because he likes to play with the toilet. Yeah, right.
Umm will you come train Ethan because he seriously has no intention of EVER wearing his big boy underwear! He hates them. I know you're thinking hate is a strong word, but I don't think it's strong enough for how he feels about them! Did I ever mention to you he is on a pajama strike right now. Yep wears his jeans to bed every night. I may have the most particular child in the world!
Oh sorry, good job Ady!!! Yay!!! I'm excited for you guys. Hopefully we will be there before Ethan is 4 :(
Wow, you're amazing! I tried that once and I failed . . . probably because I didn't follow all of the steps exactly and didn't do a very good follow through. Congrats!
How do you train your child at night? I thought that it has to "click" for kids during the night at different times. With my first child it clicked after 6 months. My second it's been longer. I could use any help I can get! Thanks for your suggestions. We did potty train during the day time in a week using this method. Night is so much harder for us.
this really works it has worked for my 4 children.
Will you please suggest what age to potty train? Thanks!!
I saw this through Pinterest (my new obsession btw). We are currently potty training our first so it hit a chord. I love your blog. The pictures are amazing! I have just started blogging so I'm always looking for other mommies trying their hand at it as well, gathering inspiration. My blog is makingraspberrylemonade.blogspot.com. How do you find time to blog? I try so hard to keep up with it but I get overwhelmed with life and kids that I forget that I even have a blog!
Having potty trained 4 kids myself I think you're spot on with how it works for pee. Poop on the other hand, can be really difficult (and terrifying) for little kids to comprehend and master. Not that I have any advice except patience...
I saw this on Pinterest and immediately loved it! My only problem is I don't know if my daughter is old enough to potty train like this... She is only 17 months, but she is showing so many signs that she is ready. She even lets me know when she is about to go potty. What age would you suggest for this method? I really don't want to push training on her so I may hold off for a while still, but I was just wondering what you thought. Thanks!
This method is actually from a book written in the 70's. After unsuccessfully training my son for a couple of months, I got this book from the library and went for it. I did the timer different. I started at 5 minutes and then made the interval longer by a minute. My son was rewarded for being dry, not going in the potty. We had missed that emphasis before and it made all the difference. Before he would pee a little in the potty, get his reward, and pee the rest in his pants 2 minutes later. His reward would be something as little as a smarty. I call this the intense therapy method. It took 2 days, but after trying for months other ways, I considered that a success. Also, I didn't use the doll. He had seen his parents use the potty plenty and fully understood that part of the process.
I am on child number four and potty training is BY FAR the ONE thing I dislike the MOST! My two youngest have speech apraxia and hyperactivity and delayed potty training is one of the most common parts of it! My last one didn't potty train until he was FIVE! My youngest is 3 1/2, so I am SO TRYING THIS ON MONDAY!!! I can't not tell you how EXCITED I am!! What a great way of doing it and a great day of "special time" with Mommy for him! Thank you so much for sharing and I will update you on how it worked! Have a blessed day!
When should I start this potty training method? And when they have an accident and you say run back and forth 10 times. You mean literally run back and forth from the accident area to the potty?
These are wonderful tips. I am about to embark on my first potty training experience in the next few weeks so I will be using these for sure! Thanks..Megan
This sounds wonderful. Do you have any tips on kids who do not want to sit on the potty? Just to get him interested we have put out a little potty seat, the regular toilet seat with a potty top and the regular toilet seat where he sits backwards -- every option makes him scream. I am worried he will NEVER be potty trained!
Love this! Came over from pinterest, thanks for sharing! My mom did basically the same thing, it's nice to have it in so much detail, especially before the day of- right?
Paige
I saw this on Pinterest, and am excited but nervous to try with my first child. I also am confused about the run back and forth 10 times. So you run from the scene of the accident to the bathroom, try to go, run back to the scene, then run back to that bathroom and try again, etc 10 times? If it works, I'll try it! :)
What age do you suggest?
So I have twin boys....do you think I should set two separate days aside to do one at a time?? Love the tips!!! I have potty trained one girl but she practically did it herself...now I have three boys and I am at a loss:). Candace.guy@gmail.com
I'm confused about the running back and forth too. Can you dumb it down for me? Are you running to the toilet after the accident and having the doll pee in the potty then going straight back and having the doll pee at the accident and then back to the toilet? Or are you having the child go on the potty during that time? Also, what age do you usually start at?
Hi, I also found this on Pinterest...and I just wanted to encourage others to try this way as well! I read the book mentioned in an earlier comment and this is how I trained my three girls. It really works!
Just came across this post. Fantastic idea! Based on the fact that you've now done this four time, what would you recommend to do with twins? I'd like to try it next week with them, but don't know if I should do one by himself on one day and the other one the next, or just do them both. What would you do?
Have you found that they learn #2 pretty easily this way too? (I realize every child is different). We started something similar with our son about 6 months ago, a few months before he turned 2, and he did great at first, but then after a couple weeks had more accidents than success, so we went back to diapers, because I thought maybe he just wasn't ready yet. But we started a slightly modified version of this today (since he woke up this morning saying "I have to go potty") and so far the only accident was at lunchtime! Here's to the end of diapers for him! :-)
Hello Ladies! Here I am here to answer your questions.
AGE - Between 2 and 3. Signs of them being ready are helpful, but I do not think you should wait until you see signs. I personally do not go over 2 1/2 years old if I can at all help it. The closer they get to 3, the harder it is. It should be terrible
"3's", not "2's". The closer they are to 3 the more set in their ways they are and tend to be a bit more stubborn. I also have been nervous to start it before 2. My personal magic number is between 2-2 1/2.
TWINS - I have not personally experienced potty training twins but I can imagine it would be a little intimidating. If it were me, I would do them both on the same day. I think the other twin might feel left out. I don't know, plus I wouldn't want to do a potty training day one right after the other. I would recommend having someone help you potty train both of them on the same day. Grandma, friend, husband, sister...whoever. They have to be completely on board though and hang in there with you no matter what. I think it would be MUCH to hard to potty train both of them by yourself. Send everyone away for the day except for the 4 of you.
RUNNING BACK AND FORTH - I hope I can explain this a little easier...the doll has an accident first for the purpose of showing your child what happens when they have an accident. This is what you would do with the doll as well as your child when they have an accident: You litterally RUN from the spot of the accident to the toilet saying "no pee pee here, pee pee in the potty" pulling underwear off and sitting them on the toilet 10 times back and forth. This all happens VERY fast. You really don't need to pause and let your child try to go to the bathroom while doing this since they would have just gone, but obviously if they are screaming that they need to go then take a break and try. The purpose is repetition. They will not forget this process because it is repetive, you will be consistent about it and it is definitely something out of the ordinary. Plus they come to realize that you aren't just going to look past an accident saying, "Darnit! It looks like we had another accident." They really won't remember that. You get the idea.
Keep reading comments below for answers to your questions.
NIGHT TIME - This is all my personal opinion and what has worked for us. I decided before I even started that I was not going to do Pull-Ups. I didn't want to mess with them, pay for them and I just wanted us to be done with the whole thing and move on. Having said that, I know that isn't right for everyone, but I also know that using Pull-Ups prolongs the process of being potty trained at night. That is your personal battle. Because I chose not to do Pull-Ups, I realized I was going to be changing sheets more often. What I did to help me out with that was use plastic cover (vinyl, I think) underwear over the top of their regular underwear. You can also find the real potty training underwear that are a little bit thicker and use those two things together for night time. They still feel the moisture on their skin completely to let them know they have had an accident, but it helps hold it in one place for you, which is much easier to clean. I don't let them drink for an hour or more before bedtime. I don't want them to go to bed with a full bladder. I always take them to the bathroom right before they go to bed (obviously) and until they are accident free at night I wake them up before I go to bed and have them use the potty again. I would highly recommend buying a water proof mattress cover or protect your mattress some other way. I also pulled the top covers down to the bottom of their bed and layed a thick blanket (folded in half or something so it is even thicker) underneath them that they slept on instead of sleeping directly on their sheets. Then I covered them up with another blanket instead of their sheets and other bedding. This helped out so much! Most of the time all I had to do was wash two blankets and jammies instead of having to strip down the entire bed. It is a lot of work and laundry gets old fast, but it is so worth it. My kids were potty trained through the night with in 2 weeks this way. I still have one that has accidents once a month or so, but it is common for kids to wet the bed every once in a while.
POOP - I realize that some kids are terrified of going poop in the potty. It is scary for them to see that and then flush it away. I have heard a lot of mothers talk about this. I have not personally experienced this with my own children so I do not have advice to give that I know works. Does anyone else? I would recommend patience, consistency and a lot of encouragement. I wish I could be more helpful!
TIPS ABOUT GETTING YOUR CHILD TO "WANT" TO SIT ON THE POTTY - Being overly excited and full of encouragement to start with. Give them choices...the portable child potty, the child seat that sits on top of the toilet and the big normal one. Let them choose which one, but also let them know that there are no more diapers. At all. After a couple of accidents I would hope that they should come around. Try playing with the doll to get your child excited about sitting on the potty. You sit on the potty too. Give them a reward for just sitting on the potty if it is that hard for them. Maybe not a food reward, but a game, toy or doing something that they really love. To keep them on the potty (if you get to that point) play games while they sit, sing songs, talk about everything and anything except for potty talk (to give them a break from it). Don't talk about the potty so much before hand. Try to act like it isn't a big deal, but be firm letting them know that they have to choose between the 3 potty options. I haven't had a child who wasn't excited to sit on the potty. Does anyone else have anything to suggesst?
I hope that helps!
Last but not least, I need to mention soda and treats. I have recieved a couple of e-mails, comments on the blog and Pinterest about letting my child drink soda and feeding her too many treats in one day. I don't feel like I need to necessarily "defend" myself and I am not opening up a debate, but I will say that those are annoying things to read and I hope after explaining myself a little bit I won't recieve them anymore. If you read through my post completely you would have read that your child should have a healthy breakfast to prepare them for the day. I also mentioned them having a normal lunch before they take a nap. Normal meaning whatever you feed them on a regular basis. Ours was PB&J, grapes and water. The salty and sweet things you feed them in between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner is up to you. The whole purpose being to make them thirsty, needing to drink more which in turn makes them have to go potty more often. Our snacks throughout the day were crackers, pretzels, graham crackers, peanuts and potato chips (the chips mostly for me). The sweet things with her snacks was juice and koolaid, but she actually prefered water. I saved the treats for her reward when she went in the potty. I did not feed her candy all day long. She only got ONE dum dum sucker or M&M or smarty or whatever at a time. She did not get to eat however much candy she wanted all day long. As for the Coke, that was mine. If you read my post you would have read that I don't like to share my soda with my kids. It is my thing. However, on a day like that I did not want to fight that battle with my daughter, so I used it to MY advantage and let her have sips of my soda knowing that soda makes you have to pee. She was not carrying around a sippy cup with soda to drink on her own terms. So, let me ask you...Do you take your kids to McDonalds ever? Do they ever get a soda with their meal? Do they eat treats during the holidays? Do they get Easter candy? Do they go trick or treating? My kids do all of those things, but I ration ALL of it. Which is what I did on this day. I also wanted to make it exciting for them and let them do something that they normally don't get to do on a daily basis. They get to eat a little more fun food for a day and I get a child that is happily learning to use the potty. Sounds like a win/win to me.
Lisa - That is awesome! Congratulations on your success today! I am glad you tried again. I think someone else mentioned wanting to start potty training their child before they were 2. I don't think I responded to that one yet. That is the main reason I was always a little bit nervous to start before 2 years old. I think even a couple of months can make a difference. I don't feel like they are quite old enough to grasp the whole concept yet. I know some mothers who have been successful potty train their child before they were 2. Every child is so different. Just follow your gut.
don't you hate it when people criticize you when you are trying to help. My theory...If you don't like it don't do it. I love what you have written and how you have described the routine. I have a little guy who has Down syndrome and we have been working on potty training from some time now, he is 5. But after reading your post I know that he is ready to make the jump to "big Boy Underwear" and I think I am going to try out your method this weekend!! Again, I just wanted to tell you that I love how you responded to your critics and I understood fully your reason behind the treats and soda....Great Job and thank you for putting your self out there.
I have 4 kids ages 29, 25, 11, and 8. 2 boys and 2 girls. We used this method with excellent results!
Your response to your critics was eloquent and restrained. I like your no nonsense/common sense attitude!
I have 4 kids ages 29, 25, 11, and 8. 2 boys and 2 girls. We used this method with excellent results!
Your response to your critics was eloquent and restrained. I like your no nonsense/common sense attitude!
I have 4 kids ages 29, 25, 11, and 8. 2 boys and 2 girls. We used this method with excellent results!
Your response to your critics was eloquent and restrained. I like your no nonsense/common sense attitude!
I have 4 kids ages 29, 25, 11, and 8. 2 boys and 2 girls. We used this method with excellent results!
Your response to your critics was eloquent and restrained. I like your no nonsense/common sense attitude!
I am getting ready to potty train my almost 2 ½ year old daughter and I kind of have a silly question: when you first started, did you have your daughter wear her new underwear or did you use the "bare butt" method? For obvious reasons I know why she is wearing her underwear in the pictures, but was curious if you started her out in them? My best friend swears by the “bare butt” method, but I wonder if she would get the same uncomfortable wet feeling without something to catch the pee…thanks for any unput.
Oh thank you, thank you! I found you via pinterest & it couldn't be more perfect timing!!! My first child was pretty much potty trained by the babysitter, but now that I'm home it's a whole new ball game with my middle child.
Thanks for sharing...I'm your newest follower.
Hope you can stop by www.thedranefamily.blogspot.com
Thanks again!
Kali
Thank you ladies for all of your encouragement. I appreciate your kind words and for taking the time to share your success stories. That is so helpful!
Amanda - I didn't do the "bare butt" method. I have heard good things about it though and don't see anything wrong with it. I wanted all of my children to learn from day one how to take their underwear off themselves and put it back on AND to really know how yucky it feels to sit in wet or other "yucky" kind of undies. :) I want them to be as self sufficient as possible from day one. Most of the day she was just in a shirt and underwear. We started out the day with her in comfy shorts too, but that didn't last long. They are just a pain on the first day.
found this through pinterest, like many other moms.
reallyyyyy excited to start this. my youngest (of 4, also!!) is exactly between 2 and 2.5 and i also think this is the perfect age to start training.
i, sadly, don't remember how i potty trained my other 3 kids! ahh! their ages are spaced out but i would think i would remember something. lol but i don't.
my 2 yr old loves wearing her underwear, but i usually put it over a pull-up - which she also calls "underwear" and we always stress how we have to try to keep it dry.
Since trying to train (many, many months ago, but never putting 100% into it then) we've had maybe 5 or 6 pees on potty, and many farts. lol and i really felt it was time to start when the other day, trying to get her to pee--she on her potty, and me on mine - and sometimes we hold hands while sitting on our pots ;) she loves that) well, she came running to her potty yelling "fart coming!!" and sure enough sat down and let out a little one. and i totally praised her, and she was so proud of herself, and it was just a sure sign that she's becoming aware of her body and knowing what to do, so it's time.
cross your fingers for me please :)
heidi
I started at about 2.5 with my daughter, but after potty training my son (after he turned 3) in one day, I wish I had waited longer with my daughter. She had a lot more accidents and it was a more trying process on both of us. There is no perfect age, but they have to be mature enough to understand the process and have their bodies mature enough to be able to "wait" that brief time it takes to get to the potty. We used food treats with my daughter, but it still was a process and not very effective. My son never showed interest in the potty and in fact said he wanted to wear diapers forever. At 3 years and 1 month and after talking to him about starting for quite some time, one day we just put him in regular underwear with his absolute favorite pair of batman pajamas. As soon as he peed in his favorite jammies for the first time, he was done. It was the potty from their on out. He has never had an accident and always makes it through the night dry too. He can wait too if he needs to go in the middle of a grocery trip, if I tell him he has to wait, he can because he's mature enough to understand and his body can hold it for a bit. I felt pressured to potty train my daughter before 3, because people always said it should be done well before then. I wish I had waited a bit and made it a much more pleasant experience for both of us.
Kay - Thank you for sharing that. I think we need to remember that we are the only ones who know our own children, no matter what anyone else suggests. We have to do what is right for our family and the situation we are in. 2 1/2 is just a good rule of thumb. But then you hear success stories where someone's child potty trained themselves before they were 2. They are all so different!
Thank you so much for this post! I have been struggling with how to even introduce potty training to my 18 year old daughter (we aren't starting just yet, but I have been racking my brain) and now I know how to do the whole shebang! The only question I have it where do I find the plastic cover pants you were talking about that go over the underwear? Thanks and I can't wait to read more- you're my new favorite blog!
What a great thought...however, what happens when you are full time single mom who works full time? I have basically a full sat and sunday to do this then I work. I can't just take a week off, I can't afford to.
Also I have no tile in my house...
It seems easy yet hard all at the same time and my son is so impatient...
Help!
Elyssa - Thank you for following along with my blog. :)I'm glad this post can help you. The brand is Gerber. They are just plastic/vinyl covers that go over underwear. I have two different sets. One that is padded and one that isn't. If you can find the thicker, padded ones, (they are padded like training underwear is) I would get those. I have just found mine at Walmart, Target, I think the last set I got was even at Kid to Kid. You never know where you might find them. Even maybe, Toys R Us or Baby R Us. If those stores don't work then try an online search by the brand Gerber. I hope that helps! Good luck when the time comes. :)
Krysta,
When they have accidents at night, do you still do the run back and forth thing? I didn't, just had her repeat the words as we cleaned her up. What has worked best for you at night?
Thank you so much for this post! It was just the right tips and motivation to get me to potty-train my girl who has been asking for "no more diapers!! Underwear! I a big girl, not a baby" off and on for a few weeks. She only had 3 accidents the first day and I am hoping we keep progressing.
Deni - I thought about this exact thing a lot after I posted it. I have been waiting for someone to ask this question because I know there are a lot of single mothers out there struggling with this also! I know you can't take a week off work. Honestly, even if you could, who would want to take a week off to potty train? All you really need is 3 days. I just like to give myself extra days so I don't feel stressed about it. Do you think you could do it on a holiday weekend where you have either a Fri. or Mon. off? If that doesn't work, maybe you could take just one day off? If neither one of those are an option do you have someone reliable who could take over for you on the third day? Someone who will be able to take the time he needs and be consistent with the things you have taught him on the previous 2 days. Is it someone he trusts and feels comfortable with? Hopefully those ideas might work. As for the tile..that just makes things easier, but it isn't necessary. Do you have hard wood or any kind of solid floor surface other than carpet? If not, just be prepared with something to clean your carpet with. I did that plenty of times with my other kids. It isn't ideal, but it happens! About being stubborn...that is always a hard one! Sometimes I feel as parents we get a little intimidated by the stubbornness of our children. I know I do. I dread outbursts and tantrums and try to avoid them at all cost. The only thing I can suggest is to start with the excitement factor. Think about him personally and what he gets excited and happy about, the small and big things. Try to incorporate those into the potty training process. Be consistent. You are the one in charge, not him. Stand your ground while being positive, assertive and consistent. Give it a try at 100%! It's only a couple of days and is typically extremely successful.
Jill - Congratulations! It souunds like your daughter is on the right track and doing great! I do not have them run back and forth about night time accidents. It typically takes my kids a good two weeks at night to learn. Even then some of them have still had occasional accidents. Just don't give up and remember not to have them drink awhile before bed time. Also, take her to the bathroom right before YOU go to sleep at night. They usually sleep through this one and go a little bit, but it seems to help.
Krysta-
Thank you!
Jill
Does this work the same with boys and girls?
I am so sorry that you had to justify your potty training process to people who are being ridiculous. Folks can either try it or not. It's their decision...some folks are just unrealistic. *eyeroll*
So...on to my question. :) My husband and I work full-time and I'm trying to figure out how this would work for us. My 3 year-old is close but I think this system would seal the deal. I just know that the teachers at daycare would look at us like this if I asked them to oblige. O_O What do you think?
Saw this on pinterest. Great Blog! I did a version of this potty training w all 3 of my kids and wouldn't do it any other way. Wish I had known/thot about the doll tho, that would have been hilarious! Just did my 2 yr old about a month ago. My Mother-in-law had just sent a tiny porcelin tea set so we had a "tea" party all day long! she loved pouring the water and drinking it over and over again. I do the pull-ups for bedtimes altho i can see the benefits of not using them. Night times clicked for her in about a week. Keep up the good work!!
Has anyone had a child that they just can't catch the right moment to go on the potty? My daughter is a little over 2 and I really think she is ready, but it seems she pees right before the timer. We have been at it for nearly 2 full days and have had only 1 success. I have been having her go every 5 minutes and it seems she goes at some point in between. I feel like I'm doing it wrong, but even after re-reading the post I think I have done it all. If you ask her where we want to pee pee she tells you in the potty and she definitely doesn't want the wet panties on her, but she just doesn't go on the potty. Any advice would help because I'm at my wit's end and I really want her to feel the pride of going on the potty.
Hello! I answered this question in the comments of potty training part 1. Here is what I said:
In answer to your question, with my own children I have noticed a small difference between boys and girls. The potty training day is pretty much the same, but after, in the weeks to come, my boys have had more accidents than the girls. They get a little lazy and distracted. I have had to remind them more often. I think that is pretty typical of boys in general. Boys aren't as detailed oriented as girls are.
Hello! Thank you for your supportive comment. :) I touched on this in an earlier comment. Is there anyway one of you could take a day off? Then you would have 3 days together which would be very helpful. The daycare providers might look at you like you are crazy, lol! But if you can take your child in there feeling pretty confident that he will tell them when he needs to go that would help. Even if they can remind him and ask him if he needs to go to the bathroom fairly often. He might get distracted which would possibly cause some accidents. Be open with the daycare and let them know how hard you worked on potty training. Just see what they are willing to help with and make sure to get an accurate account of how the day went so you can address whatever needs attention. Remember to stay positive no matter what!
Grace - Thank you so much for your comment! I love the tea party idea! How fun. Thanks for sharing that
Isn't this method great? I saw this on pinterest and wondered if it was what I was thinking--and it is. This is all from a book called "toilet training in less than a day" By Nathan Azrin (I have a copy from the 80s that my mom used) that has been around for decades. Maybe some of your readers would like to read it, or have that reference, though you've done an excellent job of describing what to do. He does give some nice guidelines for how to tell if they are ready for training, which I think he says can be as early as 18 months? I did it with my oldest before she was 2 very easily. I just finished my 3rd child and I have to echo that this is definitely the way to go!
Natalie - I would be ready to pull my hair out too. I'm not sure what to tell you yet and I feel frustration for you! Do you think she is drinking enough so she has plenty of opportunities to go to the bathroom? She needs to be drinking more than normal. Have you tried having her sit on the potty for awhile to wait for her to go? Maybe set the timer for 15 min. and if she doesn't go then, set it for 5, hopefully you'll catch her and then set it for 15 again. Keep going like that. I think alternating long time periods and then short might help. Concentrate also on talking to her and asking her if she needs to go. Talk to her about recognizing that feeling of needing to go potty and when she feels that to hurry and tell you. A reader shared that her and her daughter had a tea party one day. That is how they ate their snacks and drank their water. I thought that was a cute idea and a fun way to switch it up. I don't know. I feel like I need more information about your day to help you. Let me know how things go and if there is anything else I can do to help.
Does anyone else have advise for Natialie?
Thank you for sharing Laura! I haven't read the book, but it would definitely be a wonderful resource. Especially if you want more info. or need specific questions answered. Thanks for sharing the author.
Krysta,
You sound like supermom! I'm very thankful to have come across your blog. I'm about to be a first time mom, pregnant with three girls. Yes, triplets! While reading I was trying to imagine how to contain three girls while trying to teach them all to use the potty! The tea party idea sounds promising, at least to keep them all drinking and going on with the day. And perhaps they will look to eachother (like the doll) as examples. I hope? :p However it happens, these tips are great and I thank you for sharing. (and taking the time to share!)
-Tina
Krysta,
You sound like supermom! I'm very thankful to have come across your blog. I'm about to be a first time mom, pregnant with three girls. Yes, triplets! While reading I was trying to imagine how to contain three girls while trying to teach them all to use the potty! The tea party idea sounds promising, at least to keep them all drinking and going on with the day. And perhaps they will look to eachother (like the doll) as examples. I hope? :p However it happens, these tips are great and I thank you for sharing. (and taking the time to share!)
-Tina
Krysta,
You sound like supermom! I'm very thankful to have come across your blog. I'm about to be a first time mom, pregnant with three girls. Yes, triplets! While reading I was trying to imagine how to contain three girls while trying to teach them all to use the potty! The tea party idea sounds promising, at least to keep them all drinking and going on with the day. And perhaps they will look to eachother (like the doll) as examples. I hope? :p However it happens, these tips are great and I thank you for sharing. (and taking the time to share!)
-Tina
Krysta~
I have a 2.5 year old little boy who seems to have ZERO interest in potty training. I often wonder if this is due to his premature birth (he was born @24 weeks...just 1lb). Thankfully he doesn't have any issues, other than his speech is at a 1.5yo level and his comprehension isn't where it should be either. This is why i haven't pushed the potty training issue. BUT, I hate diapers and I am ready for him to start using the potty! Any ideas???
Thanks,
Aubrie
Krysta~
I have a 2.5 year old little boy who seems to have ZERO interest in potty training. I often wonder if this is due to his premature birth (he was born @24 weeks...just 1lb). Thankfully he doesn't have any issues, other than his speech is at a 1.5yo level and his comprehension isn't where it should be either. This is why i haven't pushed the potty training issue. BUT, I hate diapers and I am ready for him to start using the potty! Any ideas???
Thanks,
Aubrie
Hi Aubrie! I don't know if I would push him yet. You want to make sure he is showing some small signs of readiness. Is he able to listen and follow instructions well? Can you get him excited about things? Does he lose interest easily? Those are things I would think about first. I would probably talk to his pediatrician too about being developmentally ready. You can always test the waters and try having him sit on the potty and see what he does. Talk to him about the process. Get him excited about being a big boy. You are the only one who knows how he will react and if he might be able to grasp the whole concept. Once you start, it's best not too turn around and have to start over. So watch him carefully and see how he reacts when you bring the subject up. I hope that helps a little!
When my brother was potty training, my mom had "bigger" treats for when he did his business (#2). There was a dinosaur movie he wanted really bad. When he went #2, she had the movie with a big bow on it. When he asked to use the bathroom, he also got a bigger treat. He a toy car or small toy item that he had wanted.
To get him to wear the underwear, she had bought his favorite character. He wore scooby-do underwear and got excited to put them on.
We did something similar with my daughter when she was 2-1/4 years old. My husband called it "commando training". We got a small potty and put it in central location. We would then practice running to the potty from several locations in the house. We did use pull ups at night but she really didn't need them and we didn't even go through a whole package. After a week of training she only had two accidents total...including nights. I think we were lucky.
Going with the flow here...I found this blog post through Pinterest. I also just used this method (though I found it in the book 'potty training in less than a day') with my daughter. I'd tried potty training twice before and failed miserably. Part of our issue has been that my husband is deployed so the whole schedule is upset right now. But a friend recommended the book and I figured I'd give it one last shot. And wow did it work wonders! It took more than a day, partially because she really could have cared less about her panties being wet - we had to do the "bare bottom" training. She might not mind her panties being wet but she sure didn't like not wearing them at all! Now we are almost accident free even when we are out and about! I do use a pull-up for sleep times and when we are out but I've been making a big deal about keeping them dry and she's doing really good with that. I think I may be able to transition her out before we use up the whole package :)
One thing that I would like to add, when I first started potty training (the failed times) I would make my daughter sit for a long time on the potty chair trying to have a success. She got to the point that she didn't even want to tell me when she needed a diaper change and she certainly didn't want to sit on the potty even for a short time. So I changed tactics a little. I started making her sit on the potty until she stopped crying (kind of like a time out) once she was completely done I'd let her get up and give her a "reward." This helped transition the potty from being a negative thing to a positive. We had the same issue when we started using the big potty (especially in public bathrooms). Now she'll go just about anywhere with no issues. This might help some of the moms who are having problems getting their kiddos to sit on the potty :)
CLOTH TRAINER INFORMATION:
I have some information on cloth trainers for those who are interested. For convenience sake, just go to my Pinterest page http://pinterest.com/boisewiebers/cloth-diapers/.
P.S. You are welcome to reference this info in your original blog post if you wish.
A quick question. when did you start taking your children out after starting to potty train? Or what about leaving them with other people or in a nursery? We have to leave him in a nursery for 1hr, (it'll have been a week after we started) in the morning coming up. I'm just not sure of the best way to go about. So far, it's only been two days, but we've had TONS of success and I sure don't want one little hour to mess us up!
My son is 26 months and I am wanting to potty train soon. I think he is ready but my concern is that we do travel a lot.. my husband works out of town and we generally end up traveling (about 2 1/2 hours each way) about once a week or once every other week. How would you recommend handling that?
Thank you so much for such diteal/step by step potty training day. You are awesome!!
My 2 year old pretty much one day decided he was going to start going #2 in the toilet and he said poopoo pointed the bathroom I didn't wanted to bealieve him since we hadn't try anything with potty train, well 2 minutes later I find my self very surprise and changing a Diaper. Next day he did the same so I took him to the toilet, and he did went #2 after that time he didnt wanted to ever again going #2 on his diaper but however he was very scared of the toilet, we found this very estrange so we whent to the store and bought a toilet trainer sit with Elmo his favorite character, with not luck :( we didn't understand what was going on. The next day we had to take him to the doctor, he had a flue, and so we ask the doctor for any advice and he ask if he had he feet on the grown or a stool when he has sittin down, we say no, so he explained that of his feet aren't touching the grown and are in the air the rectum contracts and won't let pass anything with out pain. I felt so bad that my son had to go through pain when he was being a big boy. So we did got him something to step on with going #2. Also to keeping siting while waiting to go we read book and talk about the book not about pushing or anything like that. Eventually it'd come down and get you show him how excited you are about it and wait another min or 2 until he tells you he is done.
That said, now I have to said that a have to set a date for me and my little Tyson and start traing him on #1 he would not tell me or show any signs of #1 discomfort with a wet diaper. I guess I can only be that lucky.
Great advice. I think I know what I am lacking in TT my daughter. We was trained and going well before I had the baby 1 yr ago but once baby came she want back to the beginning. I need to have a full day of me and her sitting with each other and giving her more attention that day. I think that's what she is lacking with me having to look after the baby and her two older siblings as well its hard. She is by far the worst one toilet training. The older two were so much easier. And found this on pinterest.
We have a little toilet seat that sits on top, but I have found with my little boy that we have to literally hold him down so that he doesn't spray everywhere. Is this normal? Does anyone know if there is a better way?
@Autumn,
We have had to help point our little boys down too. One thing that helps is to put boys on the toilet backwards with no pants on. This helps prevent the pee coming out between the seat and the bowl and helps boys learn that ultimately they will be facing that way when they are big enough to pee standing up. I hope that helps.
This is how I potty trained both my boys. Worked awesome! That first day can be so frustrating, but it is so worth it in the end.
Wow! My little guy is only 9 months old right now but I have been wondering how and when to introduce potty training. Almost all my friends who have boys talk about how hard it is to potty train boys and most of theirs are almost 4 before they are trained. I am so happy to have found your blog. I will certainly be trying this in a year or so!
I wanted to share some thoughts from a childcare provider's perspective. I have been in the business since the 90's and just wanted to say that as a provider I have had more issues with parents not wanting to potty train their child than ones that do want to train. Most providers would love to work with you on potty training and if they don't, I would respectfully say that you should look for a new provider. The only thing I would recommend thinking about is that your provider wont be able to give the one-on-one attention that this method requires. The follow up days are the appropriate roll for a provider to play a part in. As for knowing when a child is ready, I always suggested to parents that when a child can undress and dress (especially the underwear) is a good starting point. If they show signs of discomfort when they are wet or have a B.M. and if they can verbalize needs such as being hungry, thirsty etc. If they are telling you when they have urinated or had a B.M. That is a big sign. This method takes some of the guess work out of the equation because you are reinforcing and training the child to dress and undress, How it feels to be wet (one thing that is delayed in pull ups and diapers!) and how to recognize when they have urinated or had a B.M. I have always said that potty training happens when Mom is ready, not when the child is ready and it can take hours... days... or months depending on how much dedication Mom/Dad has to having it done. Finally I have to say that the method you are describing shows so much respect for the child and that is the most important aspect required for success. The respect and language you used in this post during the process is soooo important. You showed that mistakes happen and there are consequences but with a focus on how the child feels or is affected not on how angry or disappointed Mom is. That is huge! Good Job Mom! and great advice.
I am so thankful for your post! My son is almost 2, so we'll be trying this soon. I was really apprehensive about it, but after reading this I feel so much more confident and am now excited to start! Thank you!
I seen someone post the same thing that i was thinking about, when you say run back and forth 10 times do you litrally mean run back and forth 10 times from the accident site? and what age would you suggest starting your kids with this?
So this sounds awesome, thank you for sharing! My daughter is almost potty trained during the day, but its night we struggle with. Should I do the whole day intensive thing, or just take off the diapers at night? Any suggestions?
Thank you!
Thank you everyone for all of your awesome comments and feedback!
Myranda - I would spend a day or two really staying on top of the daytime potty training. I don't think you need to do the whole day intensive routine, but if she has an accident during the day, try the running back and forth 10 times that is talked about in the post. Just be extremely positive and focus on tying up all the loose ends she might need to work on as far as potty training goes. After a day or so just take the diapers away at night. Night time can be really frusturating. Changing bedding over and over again gets old fast, but hang in there with it. She will get it. I posted more on night time training in a previous comment somewhere above. Try reading that also. Hope that helps! :)
One accident by doll or the child and you run 10 times EACH accident? does the child or doll sit on the potty in between "laps?"
One accident by doll or the child and you run 10 times EACH accident? does the child or doll sit on the potty in between "laps?"
Hi Megan - The doll has just one accident at the very beginning of the day, mostly to give the child an example of what is to come. The doll sits on the potty during those laps. It isn't necessary for the doll to have another accident, unless for some reason you feel it is. Every time your child has accident during that first day, your child sits on the potty in between laps.
So excited to try this!! thanks so much for sharing!!
I really want to try this, but I'm having an incredibly hard time trying to figure out an entire day's activities with just me and a 2-year-old without even leaving the house for anything that requires a car ride (since neither of us are homey people), much less going outside the front door. The whole first floor of our house is carpet other than the foyer, bathroom and kitchen. And if day 2 is harder...don't even know where to start.
Hi! I started this today w/ my 2 yr 9mon old son and before nap he peed in the potty every 15 mins and only 1x did he start to pee in his underwear but stopped and finished on the potty! He also pooped in his underwear but I've heard pooping is sometimes harder. Anyways, I know you say no pullups ever, not even at night. But my son is still in his crib (sleeps wonderfully and I'm just not ready to fix what's not broke) so would pullups be ok in that situation? I even thought about putting the pullups on top of the underwear. I am planning on getting the pullups that have the cool sensation.
my daugther was ready to potty-train at 18 months.. she pretty much jumped on the toilet by herself! unfortunately, i decided discontinue it because our living situation wasn't stable and she was always going back and forth from her fathers and mine home, and he wasn't on board with it. anyways, she's almost 2 1/2 years old and i am done with diapers and i know she's just being lazy and is comfy in the diapers. she can do it and i am confident with this potty training technique and advice will allow us to be successful with potty training once again ! i already have her big girl undies and the plastic covers for naps and treats ! i cant wait to start tomorrow ! :) thanks for this blog entry :)
my daugther was ready to potty-train at 18 months.. she pretty much jumped on the toilet by herself! unfortunately, i decided discontinue it because our living situation wasn't stable and she was always going back and forth from her fathers and mine home, and he wasn't on board with it. anyways, she's almost 2 1/2 years old and i am done with diapers and i know she's just being lazy and is comfy in the diapers. she can do it and i am confident with this potty training technique and advice will allow us to be successful with potty training once again ! i already have her big girl undies and the plastic covers for naps and treats ! i cant wait to start tomorrow ! :) thanks for this blog entry :)
Should I leave her potty seat in the bathroom or put it in the living room where we will be all day? Also, at night time does your little one wake you up to go potty? We have a gate at her door so she would either need a potty seat in her room or to call us to come get her to go to the potty. What do you recommend?
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