Top 10 Tips for Potty Training

Steve from Inside Fatherhood is asking for some potty training tips.  We all know that diapers are not thrifty. I am looking forward to the day when I will no longer buy diapers!  I thought I’d contribute some of my quick thoughts on the subject.  Let us know if you have any thoughts of your own.  I know that I certainly didn’t cover the topic completely, but here are some tips.

1.  Start early.  Begin taking your child to the bathroom at a young age.  Some people disagree with this, but oh well.  I started taking my toddler to the bathroom recently, and putting him on the little potty seat.  The first few times he just sat there, getting up and down, up and down.  After a few days of this, he used the potty a few times.  He even went in the bathroom, got the potty chair, and brought it to me.  We set him on it and he peed in the potty.  It was a great moment.  So, we’re obviously praying that he will be easier to potty train than our first child. 

2.  Buy potty books . . . and several of them.  If you’re looking for a way to get your child to sit on the potty, then potty books are the answer.  They’ll sit and listen to a story and of course the books about using the potty are appropriate.  Just make sure you get several different ones because reading the same story over and over again will make you nuts.

3.  Buy a potty chair.  You can even buy it second hand from a thrift store or yard sale.  We bought one new and one used, so that we would have one for each bathroom.  (Just remember to clean the used one with bleach!)  Make sure the one you buy is easy to clean.  You may even want to pick out 2 or 3 that you like and then let your little one make the final decision.  This will help them feel a part of what they’re getting ready to begin.

4.  Buy a potty doll.  Ok, you’re probably thinking, She just keeps telling me to buy, buy, buy.  But I’m serious.  This really works.  My daughter was so stubborn about using the potty.  I remember my friend telling me that she bought her daughter a Mommy & Me  potty doll.  I looked online and in the stores and could not find one anywhere.  Fortunately for me, my friend sold me her daughter’s old doll, which saved me some money anyway.  They do make other potty dolls that you can get online.  Just make sure the doll actually pees in the potty and doesn’t just sit there.  (I did find the Mommy & Me doll online tonight.  She is pictured to the right and here is the link to the doll.)

5.  Borrow some potty videos from the library or friends.  And if you have to, just buy them. 

6.  Offer tons of praise.  Sing, dance, clap, and act like an idiot.  Kids just love it.  You might even try that song from that movie, um, what was it?  Oh yes, Look Who’s Talking Too.  (I honestly couldn’t remember the name.)  They sing “Pee pee in the potty.  Pee pee in the potty.”  We did that for our daughter too.

7.  Look to role models and talk it up.  We talked about my daughter’s friends that peed in the potty and how great that was, we talked about how mommy and daddy used the potty, and we even talked about what a big girl Dora the Explorer was for using the potty.  Talk it up good.

8.  Take your child to the potty frequently.  About 1 1/2 years ago I taught a 2 year old preschool class.  Of course, part of the job was potty training.  (Well, it wasn’t supposed to be, but anyway, I was trying to help out the parents.)  I took the children to the potty every hour.  Even if they said they didn’t have to go, it was a rule that they had to try.  They had many less accidents this way.  It usually is easier for a teacher to get a child to “try” rather than a parent.  I know kids will throw fits for their parents that they wouldn’t throw for the teacher, but this is when the books come in.  Let them pick out a book for you to read to them while they try.  Or you could offer to sing their favorite song.  They may resist you at first, but once they get into the routine, they probably won’t fight you as much about it, and then you won’t have to offer so many rewards.

9.  Start a potty chart.  Make or buy a chart to display.  Sometimes companies (like Kandoo) will even send you some in the mail.  Get some stickers and let your child put stickers on their chart when they use the potty.  Make a big deal about that beautiful chart on the wall.  And of course, don’t forget the praise.

10.  Be patient.  I thought I would pull my hair out when I was potty training my daughter.  She was so determined not to go and we were trying everything!  Just be patient and remember that at least they won’t graduate from high school with diapers.    Everything will be ok.