Before I begin, I would like to note that you can find some of the items that I used for potty-training by clicking on the shop tab in the menu bar above and looking for that particular section, or by viewing the link that I will include at the end of this post.
Potty-training is definitely not for the faint of heart. It will take time and dedication from you and your toddler, but with a little encouragement and love, you will accomplish the goal together, and you’ll be saying goodbye to diapers/pull-ups and hello to big kid undies in no time.
The first thing you’ll need is a potty seat or a miniature kid-size toilet. For my first two children, I only used potty seats because l didn’t want the extra clean-up that comes with a potty chair/kid-size toilet. It worked like a charm for them and me. However, that wasn’t the case with my 3rd child. She was terrified of even sitting on a potty seat, so I invested in a miniature toilet 🚽 and that was a game changer. Speaking of investing, I did drop a little money into accomplishing this goal. A new potty, a book and a few prizes for rewards, but here are my thoughts. Even if I invested money that was equal to our monthly diaper expense, it would be 100% worth it, because we would no longer have diaper expenses in the future. And, life is so much easier when you don’t have to include diaper changes into daily activities, do you know what I mean?? 100% worth every penny invested!
Here is the miniature toilet that I found. It even makes a flushing sound when you push down the handle. It also has a removable insert, making clean up a breeze.
The potty was usually on the other side of my bathroom, so when it was time for my toddler to make an attempt to go potty, I would sit on the little stool next to my tub and read our favorite potty book. It was so well written, and I truly believe it gave my daughter confidence and encouragement every time she listened to it. (This is a time-consuming task. When I took the plunge, the goal of potty-training was my primary focus and priority. Everything else sat on the back-burner! This is all I did for 1 week! It is a slow, slow pace, but you have to be prepared for that before you dive in, because the end result is worth it.) I would read and read, pretending I was more focused on the book than my kid. None of my children ever felt super comfortable if I stared at them. It was distracting and made them nervous, so I would focus on the book and watch through my perifial vision. For the first day, my daughter sat on the potty and I read the book. We probably did this about 50 times that day with no success, but she was now comfortable sitting on the potty, so that was a huge a win in my book.
This is the book that both of us loved!!
I also picked up a handful of “prizes”. Every single prize was an activity that we could work on together. The dollar store is a good place to find items, but I will also include ideas that you can find in the “shop” tab under the “potty training” category. I filled a box with prizes, and every time she was successful, she got to choose a prize from the box and then we would immediately work on the activity together. She looked forward to this and it really did encourage her to WANT to use the potty. Some examples: puzzles, coloring books, activity books, books, sticker boards, crayons/paper.
I also quit pull-ups cold turkey, with the exception of car rides and nighttime for the 1st week. After the first week, she was in undies 100% of the time (Tip: Choose undies with pictures of their favorite characters. You will not believe how excited they get about this) She’s been potty-trained since September, and has only had two accidents. I have a water proof mattress pad and another water proof mattress protector over that, and it’s never ruined anything. Accidents happen and you’ll have to expect a couple. We’ve developed a solid routine of using the potty right before I tuck her in for the night, and that obviously helps her stay dry through the night. Now that we are months into this, I’ve completely eliminated the miniature toilet/potty chair, and we now only use potty seats, (the inserts that fit directly on an adult toilet). It’s so much easier to just flush the toilet.
Just remember, be patient. If you try potty-training and your child doesn’t seem interested or ready, it’s ok to try again after a couple of weeks. It can be a frustrating experience, but never let your frustrations show. Always be positive and uplifting. Once there is success, do a little happy dance and praise your child to offer encouragement to keep going; positive reinforcement goes a long, long way.
I hope that you enjoyed my potty-training tips/tricks. Thank you for following along. I hope the information that I share is very helpful to you. ~ Colette
Are you interested in some of the product that I use for potty training? You can shop some of my favorite items here. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
