Helpful Tips Before You Start Potty Training!

Read this before you Potty Train!

Oh no! Did somebody say potty training??? When the subject is brought up with my clients, I am often greeted with painful looks on parents’ faces and expressions of dread! So many parents think of the task of potty training as one that will be very challenging and will probably take forever. 

Well fear not! I am here to tell you that while you can’t control how long it will take for your child to be trained, there are many things that you can do to move things along in the right direction and to be completely prepared for the actual task of potty training. 

There are many important things to think about first before diving right into potty time! 

Chances are, mine is not the first blog you are reading if you are considering potty training. I am sure you have started down the Google search rabbit hole of picking up tips on what to do. I am also sure that you may be completely overwhelmed! 

There are so many different methods — which one do you do?

– The parent-led training method?
– The hunker down for three days and get it done method?
– The child oriented method? 

I think that before you choose which method is right for you, you need to answer a few questions to provide you with some clarity:

1. Know your child! Are they easy-going or do they have difficulty changing routines?
2. What are your child’s bathroom habits right now? Do they hide when they go? Have a rhythm to their toileting needs? Do they know when they are wet or soiled?
3. What is your daily life like? How would you have to adjust your schedule to make a 3 day focused potty training plan work? Would you have to take off work, enroll your babysitter or family members to help, or put people in place to help with shuttling your other children to their activities? These are all important things to figure out first. 
4. What is your child motivated by? Edibles — sugar based or savory? Non edibles — such as toys, books, stickers, or a short video or song? 
5. What type of potty would work best for you? A free standing one? A potty seat/ring? A seat that has a step stool built in? Using a toilet ring may be what you want to use, but if you only have one bathroom and many people that are sharing the bathroom- having the child wait their turn may not be the most conducive to training them. 
6. Will you use training underwear, go without underwear and keep them bare bottomed, or use regular underwear? 

I believe that if you can answer some of these questions it will help you gain clarity so you can decide what is best for you and your child! 

I often find, when I feel overwhelmed, if I break things down into smaller pieces, it helps me feel more in control and clear on what the next steps are. 

I have helped hundreds of families train their children and are some of the universal suggestions I often give that typically work for most (there are always 1 or 2 stubborn little stinkers in the bunch!).

1. I find the three day (maybe more) stay in and just focus on potty training method to work the best. This method requires you to clear your schedule for a few days so you can be completely focused on potty training. 
2. Use training underwear — these are the kind that are thicker than regular underwear so they are more absorbent, but it still allows your child to feel when they are wet. Click here to see an example.
3. Only use Pull-Ups for when you need to travel. I am not a big fan of Pull-Ups for use as the main way to train a child because they are still too good at pulling moisture away from the skin, so your child will not feel the wetness to the same degree as underwear.
4. Roll up your area rugs so cleaning up after accidents is easier. 
5. Keep the rewards within visual sight in the bathroom for immediate gratification. 
6. Use a stool to stabilize your child’s feet so they feel secure and that they won’t “fall” into the toilet.
7. Invest in a travel ring so you can follow through with potty training if you do go out. Check out this one!
8. Always surround potty training with positive praise and love! 

If you would like some more ideas and tips for rewards for potty training grab my free potty training reward guide!

Coming soon! I also have a potty training mini course in which I give you more specific suggestions and elaborate on how to set up your child for potty training success!