Top ten potty training tips
We recently potty trained our 2 year old. We had felt that she was ready over the summer but her nursery had suggested that we wait until she was settled in her new class when she turned two instead of trying to do it when she was about to go through a period of change. Since then it seemed like she had lost interest in the potty but we had a real push to want to potty train her before her sister joins us in January.
We prepared by reading Jamie Glowacki’s aptly named book, Oh Crap! this book is a must have for anyone looking to embark on their potty training journey. The book breaks the training stages into blocks but very much has a once you start you don’t stop approach, no airy fairy, let’s see how it goes. We loosely followed this, I say loosely because there were suggestions in the book that I forgot about when it came to the training. One of these was to start with them being naked from the waist down to begin with, I forgot this so we started with shorts on, but this worked for us as it enabled us to see when a little bit of wee was starting so we could rush her to the potty to finish it.
Hallie picked it up really quickly and with us starting the potty training at lunch time on the Saturday, she was completely dry by Monday. We still have a long way to go with number two’s but wee’s are pretty much nailed. Anyway, here are my top tips for anyone thinking about starting.
Wait until they’re ready - are they showing signs of knowing when they’re wet or telling you once they’ve gone a poo?
Are they able to get themselves dressed? If they can’t push down their trousers they’re probably not ready as they won’t be able to go unaided.
Don’t start until you have a free three days ahead of you, you want to be spending lots of time around home and not have the stress of any prior commitments.
If you have a partner, do it with them around - those first few days you want to try to catch every wee and if it’s just you you’re likely to miss them when you’re going to the loo yourself, cooking dinner etc.
Try not to ask them repeatedly if they need to go. Now this is going to be different for different toddlers, some will really benefit from being asked every half an hour (you could even set an alarm for every half an hour and ask them to try then). However, we found that when we asked Hallie repeatedly if she needed to go, it frankly annoyed her. We quickly realised that it was good to nudge her if it had been a while and we were aware in that time she’d had a lot to drink, but after asking her once and her saying no it was best to trust her and leave her to it.
Get a travel potty - we have this one and I’d highly recommend it. We take it out and about with us and it’s useful if we’re on a long car journey or the public loo’s aren’t very nice.
Get a mix of potty’s and loo seats like this one. Hallie loves the choice of potty, loo seat and sometimes even loo without seat (with me holding her)!
Take them to go and pick their new big girl/big boy pants - they’ll love choosing these!
Take the pressure off - accidents will happen, especially when tired or in a new environment. It’s okay to wear nappies for naps and at bedtime, they’re unlikely to wake from their sleep to go to the loo until they’re closer to 4 years old. It’s also okay if they don’t crack number two’s immediately. It is a foreign feeling from going in their nappies to going in a potty, they will eventually get there.
Expect it to be exhausting - watching your little one constantly and second guessing whether they need to go will really take it out of you!
It’s also not totally unlikely that potty training will affect sleep for a few nights. They’re going through a big development and may well be using their time in bed at night to try to process what’s happening! Keep consistent and they’ll be sleeping well again in no time!
Good luck - you’ve got this!
