June 13, 2016
5 Tips to Keep Potty Training Simple #PottyPartnership
When I was pregnant with my first son, all I wanted to be was the perfect Mother. I read plenty of parenting books, columns and advice. They were great, don’t get me wrong, but it didn’t prepare me for my own child and their personality and learning type. Toddlers learn and process things differently. They are just like adults and it is so important to tailor potty training to their personality to be successful. There is no one shoe fits all when it comes to potty training. For us, we had one child who was resistant to change and one who couldn’t wait to become a “big kid”. Our learning curve with our first child was huge!
While the potty training years were hard and sometimes ended in tears in the beginning, as parents we have come a long way. I wish we had some of the same resources parents have now but I think we did a great job with what we had. Here are our key tips for successful potty training:
Make sure your child is ready to begin potty training. Potty training can be a scary time for toddlers (adults too!!), they want to make us proud but accidents happen and it is important for them to know that it is okay. The first step is making sure your child is really ready to potty train. Look for key signs, like: tugging at wet diapers, hiding to pee, interest in others use of the potty, waking up dry from naps or even telling you that they need to go. It is important to look for at least two or more signs, otherwise you may be starting potty training too early and it may make the experience difficult. Once you have figured out that they are ready, you need to figure out the next step: their personality.
Know your child’s personality and how they learn. This is the ultimate key to potty training success in my opinion. You can try every tip in the book but if you aren’t reaching your child the way they learn the best, then it will end in tears. Pull-Ups has developed five key personalities that tend to occur most often in toddlers: Puppy, Turtle, Squirrel, Owl and Bear Cub. When you visit the Potty Partnership website and answer key questions about your child, it will figure out which personality your child is and provide tailored tips to help both parent and child achieve success. Looking at the personalities I can easily tell I had (and still are in most things) a Turtle and a Bear Cub. For us it meant approaching potty training very differently for both of them to ensure they both felt supported, encouraged and ready.
Get the right tools! As adults, we wouldn’t learn a new skill without all the needed materials and the same is true with potty training. In our house, we ensured we had a potty that our child picked out themselves, flushable wipes (best invention ever hands down), special toddler soap, reward chart, the actual rewards (Hot Wheels car were very popular in our house) and the proper size of Pull-Ups training pants.
Connect with family, friends and community. Use the resources around you for help, never ever be afraid to ask for help. I wanted to belief potty training would be natural and easy, when it wasn’t I became frustrated which didn’t help my child. Talk to friends, family and online communities to see what helped them. You may find an angle that you wouldn’t have even thought of, that may just work perfectly for you and your child. Join online resources like the Potty Partnership to get advice geared to your child’s personality and gender, learn how to talk to your child about potty training (tone, voice) and learn how your child’s mind works.
Keep it simple and fun. Use terms that your child will understand and talk to them in a tone of voice that lets them know you are proud of them no matter what. Potty training will have ups and downs, this is okay. Your child won’t always learn overnight and they need to have that encouragement that they are doing well. Keep instructions simple and consistent – once you start don’t give up but instead keep at it and keep it fun.
I love this video from Pull-Ups, teaching a whole new way to potty train your toddler:
If you have a child or family member who is ready to start the potty training journey, Pull-Ups is giving you the chance to win your own Potty Partnership kit to help you on your own potty training journey. The kit includes:
- Pull-Ups Training Pants (size geared to the child’s age and gender)
- Big Kid Flushable Wipes
- Potty chair with detachable potty seat
- Potty Progress chart
- Potty Training Book
- Plush Toy Reward
- $25 Walmart gift card to purchase more Potty Training items from the shopping list
Enter via the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!
Disclosure: I received a Potty Partnership kit. All opinions expressed are my own.
Don’t force it, sometimes they are not ready yet.
I haven’t been potty training, no kids for me, but nieces and nephews and one niece will need this soon.
Patience! Need I say more! lol And I must admit, it works!
The best advice I received is to always be consistent. Even when accidents happen, don’t get discouraged!
The best advice I was given was to follow the child’s lead. They will exhibit signs of readiness, but be sure to introduce the bathroom to them often and show them what to do.
Be patient , they will get the concept in their own time , don’t rush them as it only scares them 🙂
The best advice I received was don’t force it, be patient and look for cues to when they are ready
I have a 3.5 year old son that is still not potty trained so I’m looking for advice and I don’t think I have any to give. My daughter trained herself at 2.5. She just decided she didn’t want to wear diapers anymore and that was it. The only thing I did was not pressure her. That hasn’t worked for my son though.
I was told not to force the issue, wait for signs of readiness before staring to potty train otherwise it can get frustrating for everyone involved.
The best advice I had was to be patient, positive and not demanding.
To be patient, encourage and they will go in time. Forcing a child is not in his or her best interest.
Make it fun with a reward chart!
The best advise I got was to be be consistent with potty training. Don’t start and stop.
The best advice I got was not to rush things and to let them clean up their own accidents
Patience is the key to potty training, pick up on clues and work on it when they are ready.
to be patient and to never give up! wait until your child is ready
must have patience and consistency
Try to be consistent and try not to put too much pressure on them.
I think the best advise is to be consistent.
Don’t push it, just wait until they’re ready. It saves you a lot of aggravation
Take your time and don’t rush and push them, and do not forget to praise lots!!
Keep consistent is the main key in potty training
Some days it just won’t happen, but eventually it will happen. Be patient.
Don’t force the issue, kids will often progress at different speeds with potty training.
I was advised to start early and have them go when you go. Worked well.
We put coloured confetti in the toilet and got my son to aim for it!
The best advice I received was not too rush it and try to train before the child is ready.
To be really encouraging and to make it fun. Trying to train my 2.5 year old little guy… not fun
to be patient, the child will let you know when they are ready
Have patience and don’t force it.
Keep trying , encourage them , get excited when they make it !
lots of patients and encouragement for you child
Best advice was to follow their lead and never rush.
The best potty training advice I was given was to not force anything.
Have a lot of patience!
Don’t get upset. The little one is trying and you don’t want to discourage them. Be extra happy when they do go. Keep lots of smarties on hand lol
they will let you know when they are ready.
Remaining consistent in whatever plan you choose & exhibiting patience.
Don’t push, they will do it when they are ready
To be patient.
I have no experience potty training but the one thing I keep hearing is that you have to wait until your little one is ready.
Being consistent is my best advise!
To be patient and not rush things.
When they’re ready it’ll just come!
We used Smarties as bribery – and it worked!
Wait until they are ready and don’t start potty training too early.
They will do it when they are ready.
Be patient and take it slow. Use positive reinforcements
Best advice I got was to be consistent and don’t rush them
routine and consistency is best
The best advice was when they are ready throw away the diapers and put them into Pull-ups or training pants. Don’t go back to diapers or it confuses them. Spend a week where toilet training them is your main focus and they will figure it out quickly with your help reminding them.
Don’t rush it.
Be patient and consistent
I was told they will do it when they are ready.
The best advice I was given was to let my child take the lead. It’s true, you can’t force them if they are not ready! Nor can you hold them back if they are ready! Each was true for one of my children who are very different!!
Patience is the key, also rewarding a child with a sticker
The best advice is to be patient. Just like everything else in life potty training takes time and every kid learns at their own pace.
I think the biggest thing is to be patient when it comes to potty training.