15 Potty Training Tips for Success

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Erik is learning to use the potty right now. He’s at the stage where there’s curiosity and know-how, but very little commitment! Every child is different, so here is a list of things that have worked over the years for our children. Hope you find something here that will lead to success.

• 1 – Reward Your Child: Give a piece of candy, a sticker, etc. for a particular task. At first it might simply be sitting on the potty. Later, it could be for staying dry all day or all night. To make it even more exciting, put the reward in sight but out of reach. For example, line up 10 Hot Wheels cars on the mantle and tell your son that he gets 1 car for every time that he does #2. It’s a great motivator!
• 2 – Find a Hero: Who does your child idolize? Get a third party involved that has great influence over your child. It could be the local fireman or even your pastor. They can help cheer your child on and provide accountability.
• 3 – Be Understanding: There are a lot of things that can make a child resistant to training, and those things are very real to him or her. Common issues include sitting on a big potty, the noise of flushing, using a public restroom and wanting privacy. Find out what the hurdles are and gently provide encouragement and instruction.
• 4 – Clean Together: Hygiene is a big part of potty training that parents often miss in their rush to be done with diaper changes.  Every child needs to understand that using the potty and being clean go hand in hand. Having your learner help clean up accidents in the beginning teaches an important lesson: when you make a mess, it has to be cleaned up. Be sure to stress the positive side, too! Whenever your child uses the potty, say “This is great! See, now we don’t have to clean anything up. You can go play!”
• 5 – Boot Camp Training: This is where you forget trainers and underwear completely, and let the chips fall where they may. No pun intended. For modesty, your child can wear a loose dress or big t-shirt. This works well if you do it for 3 or more consecutive days when you will be home.
• 6 – Go Often: Most learners need a lot of prompting and reminders in the beginning, so much that you’ll get tired of being in the bathroom all the time. But children get distracted so easily when playing, and some of them will purposely ignore cues because they are busy having fun. Every 15-30 minutes, ask if they feel like they need to go. At least every hour, have them sit on the potty, even if only to go through the motions.
• 7 – Get a Helper: When Samuel (now 5) was ready to train, I did something completely new. Pregnant and trying to stay on top of homeschooling and our family of 6 children, I paid my 10-year-old daughter, Catherine, to train him for me! She was eager to take charge and earn some money; I was so blessed to be relieved of the burden. Interestingly, I also had a helper when Catherine herself was learning. I was in the hospital for 2 months with our infant daughter, Margaret. Catherine’s grandmother potty-trained her while I was away. It was a pleasant surprise to come home to!
• 8 – Cute Pants: Some children can be motivated by pretty colors and cute prints. Trainers with their favorite colors or characters can make learning more enjoyable. When Susanna (now 4) was learning, we got her some Hello Kitty underwear that she could put on after using the potty. Some parents will save the new underwear and give as a gift when training is completed.
• 9 – Play Games: If you have a child that’s nervous about the whole process, make it fun with games. Some toddlers like to sing or read a book. Boys can be prompted to “aim” for things in the potty (my friend calls this game Sink the Cheerios).
• 10 – Pay Attention to Personality: Since every child is different, it’s your job to find out how they learn, and what motivates them. Train according to temperament and the process will be much faster. For example, a “type A” child will like challenges and learning at a faster pace. A phlegmatic or laid-back child is cautious and learns slowly and may regress under too much pressure.
• 11 – Be Patient: Children can sense a parent’s frustration and disappointment, so try to hide your emotions. Oddly enough, some toddlers will actually make huge strides when Mama and Daddy quit stressing over it and just “walk away.” Suddenly, with all the pressure gone, the child will want to train.
• 12 – Eating and Drinking: Making sure your child is well-hydrated and getting adequate fiber can be key during the training process. The more regular your toddler is, the easier it is to go.
• 13 – Ignore the Numbers: When your neighbor’s child trains at 18 months and you have a 5-year-old that still wets the bed, you might feel jealous, inadequate or just plain discouraged. And what about those who swear by the 3-day training method? If it takes your child much longer than that, does that mean something is seriously wrong with both of you? STOP. Don’t focus on arbitrary numbers or statistics; instead, just use your common sense. If your child is ready to train, then what you need to be focusing on is how to help him/her succeed, NOT how he/she is measuring up to peers. If the delay is partly your fault (i.e. you haven’t devoted enough time to training), then acknowledge that and quickly move on.
• 14 – Get the Timing Right: You and your child both need to be ready. Sounds pretty obvious, right? But in reality, the opposite often happens. The child is ready but the parent is too busy with other things. Or the parent is ready, but the child is not. You have very little chance of success when on different pages.
• 15 – Train Before You Train: There are subtle ways to lay the groundwork for potty training. When your baby begins to toddle around, you can familiarize him/her with the bathroom. Give him/her little things to do like flushing the toilet after you, crumpling up a few squares of tissue and throwing in the potty, or closing the lid. Go ahead and put a little potty chair in the bathroom and let him/her sit there at will. When someone in the family goes to the bathroom, point this out to your toddler. It helps make the connection early on that you go to the potty whenever nature calls.

I’d love to hear what’s worked for your family, so please share your potty training tips below!

Pictured: Smart Bottoms trainer and Ella Bella Bum pocket diaper