5 Tips and Tricks (Plus affiliated useful items to help with your potty training journey. No extra cost to you, but helps me feed my kiddos. Let's be real kids eat a ton and those groceries are getting super pricey! ) Thanks for your support!
1. Talk and read books about the potty-This is the 1st essential step that lays the potty training foundation. If you try to sit your child on a potty you will probably get resistance. This eases kids into using the potty, while not making it feel to scary or overwhelming. My suggestion is to get more than one because kids relate differently to different books. Remember you can always buy used or check them out at your local library. My kids favorite potty books are:
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Potty by: Leslie Patricelli is super cute and hilarious. I added in a few extra comments as I read it to my kids. Like "potty dance" and describe what is happening in each picture on the pages where the kids is sitting on the potty and falls asleep lol!
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The Potty Book for Boys and Girls By: Alyssa Satin Capucilli helped my kids feel like they could do it all by themselves and helped them feel proud. (Probably the most read in my house for potty books!) There is a girls and a boys version and we had both!
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Once Upon a Potty By Alona Frankel is a classic potty book and seemed to help my kids become more aware of their own bodies'. This one also has a girls and a boys version as well.
- I have to include The New Potty By: Gina and Mercer Mayer because my daughter loved this one! It is also great for a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. potty training book because there are siblings in it.
*Talk/discuss with your child: When you are talking about using the potty talk about who uses the potty. (This can go inline with the potty book because it has a dog and cat and where do they go or you can add this silly book to your bookshelf as well called "Where do you Poop?"
*Talking: Start announcing when you have to use the bathroom " I think mommy needs to go potty?!?! Would you like to come with me?" Take your child to the bathroom with you as you sit on the potty and say "hmmm... I think I have to go? (hold your pee and then let it go out as it you had to think hard about trying to go. You can act a little surprised when it does-this seemed to make my kids more curious about using the bathroom and helped them realize they were in control of it.) When you pee/poop you can say "I guess I did have to use the potty! I'm glad I made it!" This can start easily leading into you asking, "Would you like to sit with me and try too?" If you child says "no" leave it at that and maybe say "ok you can try with me the next time I have to go if you like".
2. This talking and reading leads into needing a potty! I recommend at least 2 potties and at least 1 potty seat. One potty for home and the other for travel. Otherwise know as "THE CAR POTTY". I will give multiple options here because well we have had are fair share of potties and also have used others "little potties"/ potty seats.
Best Potty Chairs for home/grandparents (Each potty come in a variety of color to suit your little one's favorite or to fit in with your home decor.):
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The wood potty chair is still the most popular potty chair in our household! These are not the cheapest option. We happened to find one used.
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Baby Bjorn slim and comfortable for kids to sit on.
Best "Car Potties"
- Both of these are great foldable small potties that can be used for the back of the car/camping! https://amzn.to/3Sg5f07 or https://amzn.to/46LroIl
- This one you can take anywhere without worrying about pee spilling if you don't have anywhere to dump it .
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Great Potty seat for anywhere! Make any toilet into a kids potty!
Urinals for boys
Best for Home: One of my little boys friends has this frog urinal and loves to use it when he goes over to visit.
3. Get training underwear and set attainable goals that you and your child agree on. Ex. I've noticed you are getting the hang of sitting on the potty. Let's practice having your diaper off during --------time. Then progress. Let's have no diapers at night time. ect... No more diapers after this box is empty.
Organic training Underwear with rubber pants or diaper covers (these Imagine worked the best for my little girl) make for the easiest cleanup because lets be real who wants to change the bed covers every night or cleanup a pee pee car seat? Yeah no, thank you! I am here to make your life easier!
These Lamaze Organic training underwear are the ones we liked. Boys or unisex & Girls/unisex
Rubber Pants and/diaper covers will keep wet from leaking out as easy if they are in their car seat or bed. I do not recommend them wearing them ALL the time while training. This would be the substitute times you might stick a diaper on them or a pullup.
Why is this so different than pullups? The answer is because it is cotton and feels closer to just underwear, which feels not great when soiled!
5. Get More Helpful tools to help your child become more independent in their potty training journey.
A stool for handwashing, an easy soap dispenser, a squatty potty, a potty seat that stays on their own potty, a potty book basket, a potty toy basket, a potty prize box, a chart (II am including for chart people) and then finally a bed that they can get in and out of easily in order to go to the potty at night by themselves. For boys a box of Cherrios for them to aim at in the potty.
- Potty Prize Box- Start with small prizes like stickers or fun art projects. Then move up to bigger prizes as they are keeping themselves dryer longer.
- When your little one can successful stay dry day and night have a "POTTY PARTY"! You can make it as big or small as you like. Have a gift for completing potty training and let them know that it is something to celebrate!
WHAT TO AVOID during potty training: Pull ups are diapers that you can pull up avoid them at ALL COST! Pressuring your child. Getting angry. Acting annoyed. Saying "BIG or LITTLE". Highly processed foods (because even grownups have trouble making it when it goes right through them). Any food rewards.
I hope this helps many parents become successful in their potty training journey. My 1st son potty trained at 16 months because he told me he didn't want to wear diapers anymore. My daughter was 2 1/2, and we are waiting to use these wonderful hacks again for my 3rd child when he starts to show signs of readiness.