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50 Potty Training Tips from Real Moms

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We are at the end of Potty Training Week 1 for my 3-year-old, my second boy.  I think I speak for everyone when I say that potty training suuuuuukkksss!!!  Truth be told, it’s not THAT bad but it’s a lot more exhausting than I think we expect.  You have to spend a LOT of time and vigilance, staying on your child, helping him/her go to the bathroom every 10-30 minutes, staying super positive, and cleaning up yuckiness.  My house is actually cleaner this week than it has been in months.

But as any mom will tell you, you have to have a Potty Training Plan of Attack.  You can’t just go in swinging and expect it not to be the most frustrating thing ever.  So with the help of my awesome facebook fans who are real, experienced moms, I have compiled a list of 100 great potty training tips that are tried and tested.

50 helpful potty training tips

1.  MAKE SURE THEY ARE READY!!  Don’t give into the pressure you may feel from outside sources to get your kid potty trained before he/she is ready.  If they are not ready, you are in for a world of pain and frustration and it will inevitably take much longer than it would have had you waited.

2.  Watch for the signs of readiness:  They will start showing interest in the potty, be more aware of their own bowel movements, maybe act uncomfortable in their diaper when it’s messed.  They are able to pull their pants up and down.

3.  Get them excited:  With my kids, we talked about the potty for months before we trained.  “In a couple of months you will use the big boy potty and no more diapers!”

4.  Get them acquainted with the potty:  If you don’t already have a potty chair, make a big deal out of picking it out at the store, let them choose which one they like.  Maybe let them decorate it or play with it with a stuffed animal.  Leave it in the bathroom for a few months before you are ready to train so they get used to it.

5.  Usually boys train later than girls:  My boys have had great success potty training shortly after they turned three.  I tried with my first boy at age 27 months and it was a nightmare.  I waited until after he turned three and it was a breeze (comparatively speaking.)

6.  Get a supplies kit together:  When I potty train, I buy several items for Potty Training Week beforehand.  I always get a potty chart with stickers (you can make your own or buy them), lots of juice boxes, a potty treat, a few reward toys, Pull ups, Big Kid underwear, and my potty training movie (only purchased once obviously.)

7.  Start potty training at a time when there are no major life changes happening–no new babies or moves.  Your child needs to feel secure enough to successfully transition.

8.  Start potty training at a time when you have a whole week with nothing really going on–or clear your schedule.  This can be really tricky to do in our busy world, but it’s so much better if you can dedicate your attention to your child’s potty training and not have to go anywhere and risk having lots of messy accidents or stressful situations.

9.  Get them excited with a potty movie:  I bought this movie called “Potty Power” which is a seriously corny movie and guaranteed the songs will be in your head for a month.  But both my boys LOVED it and watched it pretty much non stop while potty training.  It really got the concept of what was going on with this change in their life and got them excited to be a ‘big kid.’

10.  Put them in underwear, no substitutions:  I think Pull Ups have their place and we definitely use them, but not during the day.  Pull Ups are too much like a diaper and they won’t learn the feeling of being wet.  When underwear gets wet it is very uncomfortable which they will quickly learn.

11.  Let them go commando:  Sometimes the first day or two, it helps for them to be completely bare on the bottom, no underwear, Pull Ups or diapers.  This really helps them to go potty without anything else to worry about and it is a big difference from wearing a diaper.

12. Avoid problematic foods:  Certain foods seem to aggravate my kids’ stomach and give them some diarrhea.  So it’s good to stay away from giving them these foods, especially while potty training.

13. Stock up on cleaning supplies:  You will probably be cleaning up some yucky messes.  It’s a good time to have carpet cleaner, Clorox wipes, Lysol, leach, and rags.

14.  Juice them up:  The first day or two, give them tons to drink.  I let him drink how ever many juice boxes he wanted.  This will give them lots of opportunities to try to go potty on the toilet, and the more they do it, the more practice they get.  Give them popsicles too.

15.  Set the timer:  Set the timer for any amount of time from 10 minutes-30 minutes and when the timer goes off, go sit with your child in the bathroom while they try.  There are also some fun Potty Training Apps that set the timer for you on the phone.

16. Expect to wait:  The first few times they try to go potty, it will take FOREVER for it to happen.  Just sit and wait, sing songs or talking or read a story or something.  This is good bonding time.  🙂

17.  Get excited:  When your kid goes potty, shout it out to the rooftops!!  “Great job!!”  Be overly enthusiastic so he/she can feel like they are doing a good thing and making you so happy.

18.  Call your friends:  Sometimes when they first do it, we even will call family and friends to tell them that my kid just went potty and my family and friends get super excited too.

19.  Teach them the whole routine to follow every time:  For my kids, the routine is potty–flush–wash hands.  There is never any deviation and I think that gives them a sense of routine which makes it easier to remember at first.

20. Potty treats!  After they go or even just trying, reward them with a small treat.  I bought a huge jar of Jelly Bellies and he got one bean for trying and two for going potty.  Five for #2.  He loves picking out the colors and it’s not enough candy to give him a sugar overload.

 21. Sticker Charts:  After going potty, let them choose a sticker to put on their potty chart.  After a certain amount of stickers, they can earn a special toy.  Maybe give them extra stickers for a bowel movement or a day with no accidents.

22. Expect setbacks:  Often the first day of potty training can go so well because your expectations are lower that you don’t even realize how high they have gotten for Day 2.  But remember, potty training Day 2 can be worse than Day 1 because the novelty is wearing off.  You might have more accidents to deal with on Day 2 and feel frustrated that you’re not getting through to your child.  But after a few accidents, your child will start to realize that this whole underwear thing is not going away so maybe they should try using the toilet after all.

23. Stick it out:  Unless you truly believe that maybe your child really isn’t ready, it’s best to start as if you mean to go on.  Remember that this HAS to be done at some point so no matter how hard it is, it WILL get easier and it is SO worth it.  Kind of like giving birth.

24. No pressure for nighttime training:  Some people are adamant about training both night and day at the same time, but I don’t worry too much if my child wears a Pull Up at night for awhile.  It takes a lot more maturity for a child to really recognize when they have to go in the midst of sleep, especially if your child is a deep sleeper.

25. Buy the flushable wipes:  These are great for wiping messy bums because they just work a lot better than toilet paper and I think they are easier.  You will have to help your child wipe for a little while but they will get the hang of it.

26. Introduce the Grown Up Toilet:  As soon as you think they are getting the hang of going potty, try having them sit on the regular toilet.  You can buy some toilet seats that are child size and get a stool for them to put their feet on.  The sooner they get acquainted and get over any fears they might have, the more success you will have outside of your home.

27. Concerning boys and standing up:  You will have to have your husband or an older brother teach your son how to tinkle standing up.  This often can be the best thing because it’s so easy to stand and pee instead of sitting down.  But lots of people recommend teaching them to sit down first.

28. Aim at a target:  For boys standing up, it’s helpful if they have something to aim at in the toilet bowl.  Sometimes you can throw a few Cheerios in or even a ping pong ball.  My kids got excited about the cheerios.

Preparing to Go Out

After you’ve spent a few days at home and your child is getting the hang of it, you might consider trying to go somewhere.  Here are a few tips for going out with your newly-trained child.

29. Make sure they are ready:  Don’t try to go out before they have a handle on it because you are only putting yourself and your child in a miserable situation.

30. Be prepared:  This is the best line of defense.  Get a travel potty, bags, wipes, extra change of clothes and shoes.

31. Line your carseat:  You can buy pads for their carseat (like the kind you use for potty training dogs) or a towel.

32. Have them try first:  Before going anywhere, have them try to go.  They may not be able to get anything out but it’s helpful to have them sit for the length of a song (like the ABCs) and usually something comes out.

33. Know where the restrooms are:  Wherever you go, it’s helpful to know where the restrooms are and show them to your child when you first arrive.

34. Remind:  When you are out and about, your child will be distracted and forget about going potty.  Make sure to remind them every so often and ask.

35. Make the outings short:  If you have to go shopping, make it a quick trip.  You can go for longer at a friend of family member’s house where they have more friendly bathrooms.

36. Have a portable potty chair:  These are handy to keep in the car for longer car trips or if you go to a park or something that doesn’t have facilities.  They usually use bags that you can line the seat with and then throw it away.  Or you can buy a cheap potty seat and throw a diaper in their for them to potty on top of, then throw the diaper away.

37. Sit Backwards:  Some public toilets are very un-friendly to kids and just enormous (“Did you see these toilets? They’re ginormous!”) They also have a weird horseshoe shape toilet seat that is hard for them to sit on.  You can put your child on the toilet backwards and they will have an easier time sitting on it.

38. For long car trips, consider a Pull Up:  I wouldn’t recommend going on a long car trip soon after potty training, but if you have to, it’s probably better to just put them in a Pull Up.  Chances are you hard work won’t be undone with one day in a Pull Up.

The Months After and Night Training

The first week is the hardest, but your work isn’t over.

39.  Remind for the first little while, then try to let them be in control of their own bathroom trips.  This helps them to exercise the independence it takes for successful potty training.  They can’t always rely on your reminders.

40.  Take an extra change of clothes with you for awhile.  

41.  Expect imperfection.  Sometimes it can be frustrating when your child is still having accidents four or five months after you train them.  But just be patient and remind them to use the toilet.  It usually takes 1-2 full years for them to stop having accidents.

42.:  For nighttime training:  If they are waking up dry, they will probably do well to train at night.  But some kids are heavy sleepers and won’t be able to wake up to go.

43:  Decrease the liquids:  You don’t need to juice them up all the time and if you are trying to night train, decrease the liquids close to bedtime to as little as possible.  Don’t send them to bed with sippy cups or bottles.

44:  Introduce a reward for waking up dry:  Sometimes kids who night train later lose interest in wanting to wear underwear at night.  If you give them a reward for waking up dry, this could motivate them again.

45:  Expect bed wetting for a long time:  Some kids do very well with night training from the very beginning while others wet the bed for years.  Don’t worry too much about it, just as long as you are working with them to try and improve.

46:  Night time waking:  Some parents get their children up to pee right before they go to bed.  Often their children are still so sleepy they go to the bathroom and then go right back to sleep.

47:  Bed wetting alarms:  Occasionally if your older child is still having a real issue with bed wetting, there are some alarms you can buy that help them wake up when they react with moisture in the bed.

Special Issues

There are always special issues with potty training…it is rarely clear cut and dry (no pun intended!)  There will be set backs and some children have a problem with bowel movements.  Here are some things to consider:

Setback #1.  Your child gets diarrhea:  My oldest had to go on an antibiotic for Strep Throat a month after potty training.  This gave him the runs and after cleaning up accident after accident, I just decided to have him wear Pull Ups until he was done with the medicine.  I was really worried he would want to revert back to diapers, but he did pretty well transitioning back.  I just reminded him that Pull ups are like underwear and we still have to do potty in the toilet.  For other instances of diarrhea, try giving them Tums and probiotics.

Setback #2:  Your child won’t have a bowel movement:  Sometimes a child gets distressed about the feeling of making a bowel movement in a toilet, almost like they are losing a part of their body.  So they just start holding it in, which is very unhealthy.  To get through this, give them plenty of high fiber foods and avoid constipating foods like cheese and red meat.  If this doesn’t work you may have to give them something like Metamucil.

Setback #3:  They have been doing fine for months, then start having accidents again:  This is probably due to pre-occupation.  As kids, they get busy playing hard and can’t be bothered with using the potty.  To overcome this, you may have to institute potty treats and sticker charts again.  Find some kind of motivation for them to want to use the potty.  Expect accidents for 1-2 years after, decreasing in frequency.

There are plenty of other kinds of setbacks which I can’t give solutions to all of them.  But if you have a question, please feel free to leave a comment here and I will do my best to seek an answer for you.

That’s all I can think of right now!  Good luck with potty training your child and here’s to a very dry next year.  🙂

 

 

59 Comments

  1. My little boy refused to go sitting down so a friend suggested to let him stand on a stool and hold onto the raised toilet lid. It worked like a charm. He wanted to wear underwear after that.

    1. We did the 3 Day Potty Training Method (kidpottytraining.com). It worked great for both of my kids. It was a lot of work for 3 days but after the 3 days – my kids were both trained day and night (the poop took a little longer than the 3 days).

  2. Something I heard, that has proven true with my 5 year old and saved me from lots of frustration AT her, is that every time kids have a growth spurt, they have to relearn things. These can be physical or mental things. This can explain why all of a sudden they get really clumsy and why bed-wetting might happen again every night for a week randomly after months of being dry. When bed-wetting happens like that around here the next week all her pants are too short!

  3. Ugh, potty training does totally suck!!! I potty trained my 3 1/2 yr old a couple months ago and it was horrible…until he finally got it–it was the best day of my life! So so exciting! Thanks for the list. On Pinterest, I kept seeing people talk about potty training boot camp and kids getting it in 1 day or 3 days…that set me up for some major disappointment. It took 9 days for it to totally click w/ my son. I think people have to remember that every kid’s different! Thanks for the tips.

    1. Thank you! I keep seeing these articles too and I’m sorry but they either only have 1 child or are just downright crazy- lol! I’m now potty-training my 3rd boy (he’s almost 3 1/2). We’ve been at it for months and he still is not there. He will go as long as I set timers and make him but no way is he going to just go on his own when he needs to. My first 2 were pretty typical (not super easy but got it down fairly well in a couple weeks or so I’d say) This one has completely broken “the mold”! I’m about at my wit’s end. There were a few tips from this list that were helpful. I do think I’m going to go buy some hot wheels cars or something for bigger incentives than just candy and use a sticker chart. Most definitely every child is different and there is certainly NO perfect formula that will apply to them all!

    2. You potty trained your kids at 5 ?

  4. Instead of having to undress your child to have them sit backwards, I put my son on the potty, he scoots himself back all of the way. While he is doing this, I grab his shoes/ankles and bring his feet up. So his legs / feet are forming a diamond shape. He feels more secure since he has more room to sit and we don’t have to undress him in the bathroom.

  5. this is a big help and so far doing so great with my 4 year old son! thank you!

  6. Hehehe! (<this is my witch cackle) I totally used the cheerio idea yesterday and my son LOVED it! Thanks for posting these!
    Also, I like the one that says to emphasize routine. Go potty, flush, wash hands. This is something I didn't stress with my first and I wish I had.

  7. Awesome advice….I am currently going through this stage….how my little guy only likes the commando and potty treats part….I love this info 🙂

  8. Great list!! Have not really sen such wonderful assortment of ideas. Potty training can really help in cutting down in Diaper costs!! And also a diaper free world will be great.

    1. Heidi @ Honeybear Lane says:

      Thanks! I would love to cut down in Diaper costs.

  9. I painted my little girls nails. It worked great to keep her on the potty and to get her to the potty when the novelty had worn off.

  10. My daughter was really easy to potty train, without fail…AMAZING. Now I am working on my son (there is an 8 year age difference) and lets just say nothing with him works. I have tried all the tricks, in fact shortly after 2 years old he was wanting to go potty. Not only that he wanted to use the big potty, even stand up to pee. I wasn’t forceful with him to go potty, I would remind him, set him on the potty and he would pee every single time. It was after he would pee in the potty and put his underwear back on him, within mins he would have an accident and pee in his underwear. The thing that got me the most was that he wouldn’t tell me. I never knew until the next time I would take him potty and his underwear was wet. Blows my mind that he didn’t care he was wet. Shortly after that he started telling me that he doesn’t want to anymore. So I would go to put his underwear on in the mornings and he doesn’t want to anymore, and cry non stop for him diaper to be back on.

    I have never had such a difficult time understanding why the sudden change. He is now almost 3 1/2 and still doesn’t want to anymore. He wears diapers still and will come to me and say i’m really wet and want to be changed. He knows how to go potty but refuses.

    Any ideas on how to “help” him want to go again?

    1. Heidi @ Honeybear Lane says:

      Wow, that sounds like a rough situation. Some kids are just very stubborn with potty training. I would maybe think of the thing that would ultimately motivate him the most to get trained, like some reward. Also, don’t stress too much about his age…some kids just take longer. I had a friend whose son pooped in his underwear for a full year and then once he turned 4, he decided to just go in the toilet. Good luck!

    2. I feel like I could just sign my name to your post- lol (for the most part). This is pretty much exactly what my son is doing. He’s my 3rd boy- the other 2 were fairly typical for boys to train. But, this one has completely thrown me off and is pretty much doing exactly what your is. I didn’t push him at all- he acted like he wanted to and was ready. He will go off somewhere sometimes and hide to pee or poop. He comes to me and tells me he’s gone. He will also randomly come and tell me he needs to go (and he’ll be dry and go). Just depends on his mood. I do potty candy, timers, etc. Feel like I’m about to lose my mind! He’s almost 3 1/2 and I’m trying to tell myself to keep at it and he won’t be going to kindergarten in diapers 😛

      1. Depending on age you could always buy some small diapers (size 1 or 2) or get some from a friend or family member and when you go to put the diaper on he can just be too old/too big for diapers. He can’t wear diapers if they don’t fit.

  11. This is a great list of tips!
    The little boy I took care of, when we were outside in their courtyard, will let him “water the plants” ( just at home of course) and this really worked. He enjoyed doing it and when we were inside the house he recognized the feeling of it coming and went right to the potty.
    We has completely potty trained by 27 months.

    http://www.aznannies.com

  12. This is great! Saw some great tips I didn’t hear before, like te Cheerios. Something that I have try and worked with the boys is “watering the plants” everytime we were outside and encourage them to water the plants. I made sure they understood it was only at home. It seemed to have helped.

    http://www.aznannies.com

  13. Thank you for this! I have a three year old with delays so I have been depressed over this. I’m so glad to hear that there are other three year olds without delays just learning, and that this is a struggle for everyone. We will be using these tips.

  14. Help! My girl will poop on the potty, but she refuses to PEE! She’s going to be 3 in the fall, and I can tell when she’s pooping so we will run to the bathroom, but with peeing I will ask her, set an alarm, tell her to keep Dora dry rtc and when it’s time to try she’ll cry that she doesn’t want to and want to go in her diaper. She will sit on the potty crying the entire time and still never pee. She is fine peeing in inderwear and diapers. Help please!

    1. Heidi @ Honeybear Lane says:

      You might want to try just letting her be naked. It might help to have her experience having accidents and the feeling of being wet. I’ve had friends whose kids refused to be potty trained until they ‘turned 4’ or whatever…just let them do everything on their terms. Sometimes all you can do is just accept the situation and stop stressing about it and just offer encouragement whenever she needs to go. Then she will eventually do it. Good luck! I know it’s hard!

  15. Thanks for all of the great suggestions! My twin boys are starting to show interest.

  16. There are tons of great ideas on here! I’ve had my 3-year-old in pull ups for awhile, but finally took the leap yesterday and got rid of pull-ups (except for sleep). Thank you for the reminder that the 2nd day is the hardest! We had some major accidents today, but not as many as yesterday!

    Something else I did to help him get interested in going in the toilet is put some food coloring in the toilet – like red or blue. That way the water changes color when they pee!

  17. Potty training tips are very helpful. When my children were babies(a good 30 years ago) the doctors here in Australia said to wait until they are dry over night. That was the indication that they were ready. They were ready by ten months and one year.

    1. Heidi @ Honeybear Lane says:

      My boys are very heavy night sleepers and were never even CLOSE to being dry at night. But with boys my general rule is to wait until their 3rd birthday and then just train them. But everyone is different!

  18. Kristin Gyldenege says:

    Something that has worked with both my girls to get them to sit still and patient while “waiting to potty” is I would paint their nails every time we went to the potty. A treat in itself! Plus we get to change colors several times a day.

    1. Heidi @ Honeybear Lane says:

      Great idea!

  19. Great list of ideas…..my son is 6 and is autistic and is still not potty trained. …..will be starting very shortly hope it all goes well, I just have to remember not to get frustrated with him and keep going and don’t give e up….

    1. Heidi @ Honeybear Lane says:

      Good luck! I’m sure it will be challenging but maybe he will surprise you and be awesome at it! Expect it to be hard and maybe it won’t be as much.

  20. Ugh! We have boys 1 year and 2 days apart. They just turned 3 and 4 years old. My 3 year old has finally got it, but my 4 year old has been challenging; nothing seems to motivate him. I have tried all the hints. He doesn’t seem to understand the feeling of having to go….any suggestions?

    1. Heidi @ Honeybear Lane says:

      I know the frustration. My 2 year old daughter currently has that issue, with being ‘lazy’ to go and loses interest in rewards very quickly. What I have been doing is just forcing her to go every couple of hours, especially in order to do something she wants to do. “You want to go outside? Okay go potty first!” I think a lot of potty training success with difficulties is just waiting it out. Sometimes it just takes getting older for some kids to click with it. It’s not fun, but consistency is key and don’t give in to just doing Pull ups all the time! Good luck!

  21. I was director of a child care center for 9 years and have potty trained more children than I can count. If you have to use a pull-ups, put a pair of underwear on first and then the pull-up. It gives the wet feeling while saving your car seat!

  22. My boy potty trained at about 2 1/2 with no potty he wanted to go straight onto the toilet hes now 3 1/2 and is yet to do a poo on the toilet ive tried everything!! And I mean everything
    Games, reading, treats, presents, even telling him we had no nappies and he would just hold it.. im at my wits ends at why hes scared to go any advise would be great!

  23. Hi my 2and a half year old boy has been potty trained for 3-4 months but the last 3-4 weeks he won’t go potty or toilet for a poo and I’m starting to get very frustrated as he was doing so well,iv tried sticker chart and treats but nothing seems to help can any one help??

  24. First time Grandma says:

    What works with my 3 1/2 year old granddaughter is everyone in the household gets excited when she goes. We all clap our hands and praise her. Now when she sits on the potty and starts to feel the urge she gets this grin on her face and in her soft voice says clap your hands. It’s really cute. And even though we are in different rooms eveyrone starts clapping their hands when shes finished and comes into the room where they are. Of course we always let everyone know that she has just went potty so they know to clap and praise. For # 2 she gets stickers and she loves that. Now that she goes by her self sometimes, when she finishes, she comes in the room and tells us clap your hands to let us know she did it by herself and we clap our hands and tell her how proud we are. She eats up the praise and attention.

  25. Erin Turner says:

    My eldest started showing an interest at 2y, right when we were due to have our 2nd bub so we shelved it and it took a year to recapture the enthusiasm, good to know 3 years is pretty standard for boys. He had a wee accident on day 2 and day 6 and 2 since and that was 6 months ago…but with the exception of maybe half a dozen, EVERY poo has been in his undies. Any tips? It’s getting so old.

    1. Heidi @ Honeybear Lane says:

      I had a son who pooped his pants every time for about six weeks. It was so awful. One day (my birthday!) he finally pooped in the potty. I told him that the poo needed to go see his family who lived in the toilet and I think that motivated him. I had another friend whose son refused to poop in the toilet for a full year. He kept saying he would do it when he turned 4. It was a hard year, but by the time he turned 4, sure enough, he started pooping in the toilet. I think patience and endurance is key–and don’t worry…he will eventually do it.

  26. 9 months of trying to toilet train my 4 yr old, just mopped up another massive wee on the sofa tonight. I know he will get it, eventually. 🙁

    1. Heidi @ Honeybear Lane says:

      It can be SO trying to be patient. The hardest part is just wondering when it will finally click and they will do it all by themselves. Kids can be ‘technically’ potty trained in a few days, but ultimately it actually takes a full year or more for them to really master it.

  27. Our granddaughter came to live with us when she was 19 months old. She is now 3 yrs old, and will only pee in the potty when she has panties on. She refuses to poop on the potty. We have tried so many different incentives and ways to motivate her, but she still refuses. If I catch her, and take her to the bathroom she cries and keeps saying, “nooooo!” So we stop for a few weeks and try again. She plays with other kids her age who are trained, but she just praises them for doing a good job. We keep her in diapers because her poop is never solid, it’s always mushy and disgusting so it’s very difficult to clean up when she goes in her underwear. I told my daughter, her aunt, that I will pay her $100 to train her permanently! I’m too old for this! All three of my kids were trained when they were 2 & 2 1/2. I just don’t have what it takes anymore,

  28. Tiphanie Spaulding says:

    My daughter is 3 and I decided I was going to switch her to underwear. I’m not sure if she is 100% ready but I am. She refuses to poop on the potty but will pee of I put her on the potty. We don’t have a little one so she is just going on an adult size toilet. Saturday was our first day and she three accidents and all of th she didn’t tell me she had to go, two out of the three she his. I do not get it she will go in public place like Walmart or at school but not at home. Does anyone have any ideas what I can do to help her feel comfortable at home? She got a leapfrog leap pad 3 for Christmas and we took that away but she still didn’t poop on the potty. She didn’t have any pee accidents but did poop on them. I may be rushing her but she will be four and I am honestly getting sick of buying diapers. If anyone had any suggestions please inform me. Thanks!

  29. Felicia Villermaux says:

    Any advice for a special needs child? My 3 yr old is autistic and non verbal.

  30. I have just one son so I have no idea what’s ahead but this was very helpful and practical

  31. I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 1 1/2 year old. I feel like part of the reason my 2 1/2 year old is hesitant about using the potty is because she knows that her sister wears diapers too and that the diapers will still be around. Do you have any tips on overcoming that hurdle?

    1. Heidi @ Honeybear Lane says:

      I’m not sure about this. You could considering trying to have your younger child wear underwear for a bit and see if that motivates the older child to try it?

  32. I had a question? My son is almost 2 and is taking his diapers off, i know thats a sign that he’s ready to potty train. We’ve been working with him and taking him when we see him take his diaper off and he has successfully peed in the toilet a few times. My son is really energetic and always gets distracted by things so sometimes when we are in the bathroom he’ll play with the toilet paper or try to flush the toilet and he doesn’t focus on the main goal like i think he should. So my question i guess is how do you keep your child focused on going to the potty and not messing around or playing with everything?

    1. Heidi @ Honeybear Lane says:

      I would suggest maybe just sitting in the bathroom with him and let him explore it. It will help him to get comfortable in there and not make it a forbidden fruit, so to speak. Then maybe after a few times you could suggest he try sitting on it. But if it’s a real battle, I wouldn’t push it. Most boys train around 3 years old so don’t feel any pressure to do it now. If he’s ripping off his diaper, just duck tape it 🙂

  33. Aileen b. says:

    Hi , I hope you can give me some advice or share your thoughts about these. I work in a pre school daycare and our class is the last class where we do the potty training before they can move to the pre school class. The average age of kids is our class is older twos. We have a boy who just turned three last July and from what his teacher told us from his previous class he’s been potty training since May, and according to his previous teachers ,, he has accidents 2-4 times in a half day that he’s in school. When that kid moves in tour class , he did not have any accidents for two days ,, but after that he kept having accidents even if we take him to potty every 30 minutes. Is there any insights or advice that you can give us or tips that we can also share to the parents… Thank you very much.

    1. Heidi @ Honeybear Lane says:

      I’m afraid I’m no expert, just have potty trained my three kids. The things that have worked for us is incentives, sticker charts, etc. You have to really figure out what will motivate that kid and even then it can be hard. Good luck!

  34. The reward has to fit the child’s interest in order to work. My son couldn’t have cared less about stickers or M&M’s, but he loves letters, so I made a sign of outlined letters to hang in the bathroom (ex. SWIMMIMG, DINOLAND, GAME, etc…), and each time he went potty he got to color in a letter. When they were all colored in he got whatever the sign said. It worked like a charm and he was completely trained (potty/poops/dry thru the night) in a couple of weeks.

  35. B will not poop on the potty. He has problems with constipation and we use miralax. He’ll poop in a pull up or his underwear but absolutely will not poop in the potty! He’s 4. Help!

  36. Hi tried grandma of twins boy and girl they just turned three trying to train they won’t go on the potty but will go get a clean diaper and wipes and say I need a diaper what can I do

  37. I’ve tried tons of diferent methods and none of them seemed to work until I stumbled upon the 3 day method. Watch the video here: startpottytraining3days.com/how-to-potty-train-a-child-in-3-days/

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