Today’s post is all about potty training. It’s not the most glamorous of topics but it’s a real topic I think most mama’s out there will appreciate. Potty training can be very stressful for us parents, especially in the beginning, I know it was for me. It can get hard too, when there are so many posts out there showing you how to potty train your kid in 3 days, or 1 day, or even 1 hour!! What!?! That’s great if that’s works for your kiddo but for mine, it was a little more of a process. So I thought I’d share a few helpful tips that worked for my little one that are realistic and still work.
So quick disclaimer, I am not some sort of a potty training expert, I have only potty trained one kid. I’m just one mom passing along some helpful mommy advice.
(cheers)
1. Start when they are ready!
This might be the most important tip for potty training. If there not ready, don’t force it on them. Every kid is different and will learn when they’re ready. I thought Maddie was ready very early on, and so I tried right away, and it only ended in frustration. Don’t let it become something they dislike. You’ll know when they’re ready to learn.
2. NO MORE DIAPERS
One key thing that helps, in the beginning, is to get rid of all the diapers. Let your kiddo go without diapers for a couple of days around the house. Plan out a time where you can stay home, if you can, working on going to the potty every few minutes. It is a bit of an adjustment not to have that comfort of wearing a diaper, but it teaches them real fast not to depend on one anymore.
3.Monitor drinks
My kid can drink!! So monitoring her drinks defiantly helped, especially in public places. If she had one cup of water, I would wait until she went potty to give her another drink. This helped so much with her getting used to understanding when she needed to go.
4.Set a timer
When your in the beginning stages, I found it is helpful to set a timer to remind your child when to go. Even if he/she doesn’t need to go, it’s a great way to get them used to thinking about it. I would set the timer 15 to 20 minutes after she would have a drink. This really helped, and it let me better understand her “potty” schedule.
5. Rewards: stickers/M&M’s/progress chart/potty dance.
What ever reward works for your toddler, DO IT!! Rewards and incentives are so important when it comes to teaching anyone anything, toddlers included. Celebrate every time they go, make a big deal about it. They learn real quick whats expected of them and they find it gratifying. In our home we used M&M’s as the reward, which were advised by our dentist. They’re a small treat, and not gummy, so they won’t stick to their teeth.
6. Fun underwear.
This is simple but true. Having fun underwear with all types of characters on them makes transitioning out of diapers a little more fun. It’s something they can get excited about, and feel like a big kid. 🙂
7. Introduce, Demonstrate, Have them try.
If you want them to succeed going potty like a big kid, you have to show them how. Show them how to use the potty and then let them have a try. Keep it simple.
8. Pull ups only for sleeping.
I feel like pull ups and I have a love/hate relationship. When Madeline was potty training, and I felt like being lazy or didn’t want her to have an accident in public, I would end up relying on pull ups. But in her mind that meant to just go in her pull up because that’s what they’re there for. So learn from my mistake, only use them when they are sleeping.
9. Get ready for accidents
It’s a messy job but somebody’s got to do it. When your potty training your toddler, there will be accidents, so get ready. Have paper towels, wipes, cleaning solution, and a change of clothes ready for when they do there business elsewhere. Even when they seem to have good days or even a perfect week with no accidents, they will have “off” days, that’s normal.
10. Potty before you leave the house.
I now feel like my mom, every time we leave the house, I now have to ask “Do you need to go potty?” Have them go before you leave the house, which seems obvious but it wasn’t for me in the beginning. This was a big help, especially out in public. Another tip, don’t give them drinks in the car, unless they absolutely need it. Having an accident in the car is never fun.
11. For the kids with “FOMO”
This is what my daughter had and still has. The “Fear of Missing Out.” So after she understood the whole going potty in the potty she got bored with it. She didn’t like the idea to stop what you are doing to use the restroom. Once she realized this, she reverted back to not going when she needed too. So my advice for any of those busy kiddo’s, who don’t like to stop to go, is to have a little activity to do while on the potty. Have them look at a book, sing songs, play with a couple of toys, give them stickers, anything to make going to the potty fun.
12. Don’t get discouraged.
Every kid is different and will learn at their own pace. Don’t expect it to happen over night. It sometimes seems in potty training, that they will go two steps forward and three steps back. Don’t get discouraged, it takes time. If it takes longer than you expected, that’s OK. Just stick with it, it will happen. 🙂
I hope some of these tips where helpful. Stay tuned for more “mommy” topics every Monday.
As always thanks for stopping by!!
