The Potty Training Chronicles

When my oldest child started potty training I looked up and googled everything you could think of because I had no clue what I was doing. When he was 22 months old and we had laid him down for a nap. When I walked in, to my surprise he had smeared poop all over. It was in his hair, on my carpet, all over his dresser, on the walls, all over his play kitchen, in the air vent and I also found a nose sucker covered in poop in one of his drawers. As I tried not to yell and lose my mind, it clicked he’s ready to potty train. I didn’t know the first thing about potty training so this is my list of how to potty train fast and easy, it takes patience, a lot of towels…..and wine! Here's my tip list!

• Knowing your child is ready.

My biggest and most important one is this. Do not push it before they are ready! If you do it will push it back farther and farther out. I tried to start my son at 18 months and he was by far not ready he just wanted to play still and didn’t tell us when he had to go.

• Get them excited!

Take them out and let them pick out their brand new potty chair and some underwear! Let them know they are becoming a big kid and how proud you are of them. When my son showed signs he was ready we took him out to Toys R Us and let him pick out his new potty he picked an Elmo one that made flush sounds. Then we took him to Walmart to pick out some big boy underwear.

• Bribes are your friend!

When potty training it’s great to use incentives to get them to go. Literally! We started with M&Ms, then moved to a sticker chart after we got him going and spending his days fully in underwear.  

• Have them sit! Yes, even your boys.

If you have friends who have boys, have you ever noticed the pee smell in their bathroom? That is because they can’t aim well, its just to little right now. It’s so much better on your knees, your floor and your little one to have them sit on a potty chair.

• Get Dad involved!

As awkward as it sounds if you have boys let dad teach them to aim it! For us my son would follow his dad in to the bathroom they would throw so Cheerios in the the toilet and aim at them. This works great if your a single parent as well because it still gives them something to aim at. I remember hearing a story about a family who while potty training their son drew on the back of the bottom of the bowl so their son had his aiming spot.

• Let’s talk Poop.

Let’s face it some of us are shy poopers. So when it comes to getting you little ones to poop give them time learn their poop habits and once you have them down get them on the potty at that time everyday and give them some privacy if they are shy poopers.

• Timing is Key.

So when you first start your potty training your going to want to put them on the potty every 15-20 minutes. As you learn their habits you will be able to tweek that timing.   

• Potty dance!

So another big one is making them feel excited when they do go for the very first time in my family does what we called the Potty dance! We throw our hands in the air yelling “Peepee in the potty yay!!!” over and over and my kids loved it, my older ones are even doing it with me now as i potty train my 2 year old!

• Oh no! An accident.

Sadly accidents are going to happen and when they do it’s no big deal but to avoid those unwanted stains i highly recommend Shout!. It’s amazing for those hard to get out stains that are left from the dreaded poop. With bedtime your going to want to have spare sheets and blankets once you cut off pull ups because they will happen there too so invest in some mattress protectors.

• It’s Bed time...What do we do?

Once you get far enough in your going to be cutting off pull ups and diapers at bedtime too. For that i know it sounds harsh but cut those drinks off 1.5 hours before bedtime if you want clean sheets in the morning. Also make sure to have your littles go potty before going to bed even if they tell you i don’t have to go, tell them to try.

• Get the siblings involved if they have them.

I have 4 so for my oldest he was potty trained when his little sister started, he helped me get her excited by encouraging her and by showing her that the potty wasn't scary. When you have older kids who are potty trained already your younger once might just potty train fast to keep up with their big siblings.

• Make sure they wipe correctly

Now your going to be wiping when you first start potty training but once they have learned i can’t stress enough to teach your girls to wipe correctly because if you don’t it will become irritated. Remember its front to back!

We all have horror stories from potty training, but it’s worth it in the end even though it makes us want to lose our minds sometimes, you will be so thankful when it’s over. So remember to take a step back because this is a learning experience for both you and your child. Good luck!

Check us out on:

Facebook Twitter

 Instagram