Tried and True Advice for Potty Training Your Child

Let me start off by saying that I'm no expert in the matter. I have one child. I've only done this one time. Considering how easy it was for us, I thought I'd write about the things we tried, what worked and what didn't work. Remember that every child is different and what worked for Tyler may not work for your child, and what works for your child probably didn't work for Tyler!


Tyler was a full-fledged walker by the time he was 8 months old.

{evidence!}

He cut his first tooth at 5 months and said his first word around the same time. He's an over-achiever like his Daddy! People kept suggesting that I wait until "Tyler was ready" before we start potty training him. I knew he'd want to learn, that's just how he is! I was nervous because I'd heard everyone say that potty training boys is much harder than training girls {pshhh!} We bought him his first potty when he was 15 months old. A bit early, but we wanted him to get used to a potty. He sat on it from time to time. He mostly played with it. Shortly after his 2nd birthday, he started showing a lot of interest in the potty. Some of the ways we encouraged using the potty that worked well were:

• Stickers - I made a pee/poop chart and stuck in on the bathroom wall. Each time he peed in the potty he got a little sticker to put on the chart. Each time he pooped in the potty he got a really big sticker for the chart. The novelty of this lasted all of a week but it was a very successful week! Another idea is to keep some pennies on hand and a piggy bank. Let your child have a penny to put in his/her bank each time they use the potty. If you go this route, just be careful that your child can't reach the coins without you since this could be a chocking hazard. 

• Being silly together - Every single time Tyler would finish using the potty, we'd both throw our arms up in the air and yell as loud as we could, "YEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!" He loved this! While he was peeing I could see the look of anticipation on his face because he knew it was almost "YES!" time! We still do this to this day. 

• Pee before your child - Sometimes if Tyler was resistant, I'd go first! He would sit on his stool and watch me pee first, then that would motivate him to give it a try. We still do this first thing in the morning.

• Let him/her become a nudist - This sounds silly but it really did wonders for Tyler. As long as that diaper was on, he was going to pee in it! My Mama suggested taking the diaper off and letting him play naked. He peed on the floor twice in the first two days but not since! I wasn't ready to take the leap to underwear just yet because we only had 5 pair and I knew I'd be washing underwear all day so I was thrilled when he started running to the potty to pee while he was nakie!

• Take the leap to big boy/girl undies - You should have seen my nerves the first time we left the house without diapers. Tyler had on a fresh pair of Elmo undies. I asked him every 2 and half minutes if he needed to potty. We were out for about 3 hours. He told me both times he needed to pee. I was amazed! He didn't want to get Elmo wet, ha!

These are just a few ideas. There are tons of sites out there with great advice.

Tyler is now 2 years and 5 months old and has been completely potty trained for about 2 months now. He still wears a diaper at night but 9 times out of 10 he wakes me up in the middle of the night to take him potty and then wakes up dry in the morning. The best piece of advice I could offer is to make potty training fun and exciting for your child. Always take them potty with a smile on your face so they see this as a positive experience.

We'd all love to hear tips from you as well. Let us know what worked and didn't for your child! Good luck Mommies!