Crystal Merritt Potty training is hard and messy, but ultimately it’s worth it. If you’re looking for some potty training tips for toddlers, then this post is for you! We’ll go over how to survive the process and get your kid trained in a couple of weeks.
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Add to your reading list:
I purchased a copy of Oh Crap! Potty Training: Everything Modern Parents Need to Know to Do It Once and Do It Right by Jamie Glowacki. Get yours now. (And read it!!) Read it before you decide the time is right to potty train. I read the entire book before we started, and I’m glad I did. She breaks potty training down into “Blocks”, and recommends for kiddos to master one block before moving to the next. She also tackles issues like daycare and being poop shy. She doesn’t mince words, either. I love that she’s cut and dry and knows her you-know-what.
Pick a time when life is not over-stressed.
You may think that you have your potty training schedule all figured out, but there is one thing that you need to consider: timing. The key to a successful potty training experience is picking a time when life isn’t too busy or stressful for everyone involved. If you are just getting into the swing of things with a new baby and are feeling exhausted, maybe wait until things settle down before embarking on this adventure or enlist help from family and friends who can take turns watching the toddler while you take some much-needed rest. Similarly, if there are other big changes in your child’s life such as a new sibling on the way or moving house—it might be best to wait until these events pass before starting potty training!
The bottom line? Choose an optimal time when everyone involved is rested and ready for fun! I personally chose a week over the Thanksgiving break to tackle this method. It requires nakedness and commando for a few days, so be prepared for lots of time spent at home.
Don’t promise it will be quick and easy.
I hope you’re not expecting quick and easy.
Potty training is a process that takes time and patience. It isn’t something that will be done overnight, or even in a week or two. Potty training is also a learning experience for both parents and children, so keep patient with each other!
Introduce the concept of potty training by priming your kiddo that we won’t be using diapers anymore (other than nap and bedtime- I don’t gamble with that!) Include your kid in picking out their training pants. It helped us that my son didn’t want to “pee on Lightning McQueen”, so characters may be a good option.
Explain to your child how the toilet works: it flushes away poops and pee by using water from the tank under the toilet seat (if your toilet does not have a tank, explain it as best you can). You can also tell him how important flushing after each use is because otherwise he risks clogging up his toilet!
Remember that accidents are really learning opportunities, even if they feel like the end of the world at the time.
Even though accidents are a bummer (and they will happen), it’s important to remember that they can be learning opportunities. This is especially true if you’re trying to get your toddler out of diapers and into big-kid undies. Your child has just learned something new about the world, and as a parent, it’s your job to encourage them through their successes and mistakes so that they feel confident enough to continue learning from others around them. That being said, accidents are not a sign that your child has failed at being potty trained—they’re simply an opportunity for you both to learn more about what works best in various situations and how best to navigate those scenarios when they come up again later on down the road.
Oh, but just a tip: remove all rugs from the house before potty training. We’ve had a few too many accidents on the carpet until I realized, I’ll just take up the rugs for when we’re ready.
Don’t ask.
The trick to getting your toddler to actually stop what they’re doing and use the potty? Don’t ask. Simply say “Ok, one more minute and then we’re going to use the potty.” Odds are, if you ask if they have to use the potty, the answer will be a hard “no”. I mean, they would much rather play with trains and toys than tinkle on the potty. It can help to leave some fun toys/books in the bathroom next to the toilet so they can be occupied while using the toilet.
It also helps when you model using the bathroom. I like to make a big deal and say out loud “I have to use the bathroom! I’m going to go right now!” and stop what I’m doing when I need to use the bathroom.
Pull-ups vs underwear
So, you’ve decided to skip the diaper and go straight to underwear. Great! Now you’re faced with another question: Pull-ups or underwear?
The answer is neither. You need neither. The right choice is nothing. Your child should be naked when they are on the toilet, so that they can feel how wet their butt gets during potty time. This will help them learn to associate feelings of being wet with needing to go peepee or poopy (or whatever you call it- just call it the same thing consistently).
Pull-ups are just like diapers except they look like pants instead of plastic pants on top of plastic pants that are held up by a waistband full of Velcro tabs that require two hands just about every time I change my toddler’s diaper.
We reserve pull-ups for naptime and bedtime and I explain to my son that we’re still learning to use the toilet, so we use them only for those times. However, once you start noticing a dry diaper when they wake up, it may be time to move on to the next “Block”.
Potty training while traveling, going out to eat, etc.
As you are well aware, potty training is a stressful time for both parents and kids. If you find yourself moving around a lot, or taking your kiddo out to eat a lot during this time, we have some tips for making it easier on everyone:
- Bring multiple change of clothes. It’s easy to have accidents when traveling or going out to eat with your little one! I keep an extra change of clothes in these pouches. Once we change, all the soiled clothes stay in this plastic, waterproof bag until we get home to laundry!
- Lay down a pee pad in the car seat. We haven’t had to use it, but it’s there when we have a car ride. I buy a box for my dog and stick one on the bottom of the car seat. This way, if there is an accident in the car, I’m not hosing down a car seat, too. There’s also reusable pads you can lay down and wash when you get home.
- Bring a travel potty chair. Even when my son mastered the toilet, he wasn’t comfortable sitting on the adult-sized toilets in “the real world”. I purchased a foldable seat to toss in our diaper bag for outings. The seat is portable and sits right on top of the public toilet so he can tinkle with ease. I also keep an actual mini toilet seat in the back of our car for those “Pee pee on the potty!” car ride moments when I have less than a minute to pull over on the side of the road and let him out.
Keep going!
Remember- this isn’t a race and your child will get there in the end. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, remember that it’s okay to take a break or try something new. The important thing is that you keep going and don’t get frustrated. You’ll be a veteran at potty training before you know it! And, if you are looking for some laughs on the subject at our writers’ expense, check out BLOOPERS: Potty Training Toddler Edition
