toilet teaching

How to Successfully Potty Train Your Toddler

Apparently June is Potty Training Awareness Month.

I find this to be a bit of a curiosity. The art of potty training toddlers has been around since the evolution of man, so I would imagine that most people are aware that potty training does, indeed, exist.

However, I will concede that the strategies of successful potty training have differed through the centuries and across cultures. Having successfully potty trained all four of my children, I know what worked for us and I am happy to share it with you.

All four of my children were successfully potty trained around their second birthdays. My oldest (who is a boy) trained at 22 months. The rest trained between their 24th and 26th months. I know this is not common, as most people wait to potty train until the child is closer to three years of age.

But by the time my children were two, I was done with the potty training process. I did not want to change diapers anymore. So, as soon as they showed any interest in the potty, I ran with it.

I honestly believe that successful potty training is as much about training parents as it is about training toddlers. If parents can get beyond the messiness and inconvenience of it all, potty training can be a quick and easy ordeal.

10 Steps To Successful Potty Training

Do not begin the potty training process until your child shows some success/readiness
Once you have decided to start the potty training process, do not waver or your child will become confused.
Go cold turkey! This is the most important step. Once you begin potty training do not go back to diapers or Pull-Up type training pants (only use these at nap and bedtime).
Throughout the day during the potty training process let your child wear underpants or no pants in the house. If you must go out, put plastic training pants over the underpants. Your child will feel the wetness but the mess will be minimized.
If you must go out, take the potty with you! Keep the potty it in your car in case nature calls before you get home. (Some plastic bags for disposal will also come in handy.)
Give your child tons of praise for his potty training successes and lots of patience for his failures.
Do not get angry or frustrated with your child for “accidents” even if they are on your new white rug.
Stay close to home for about a week – until the potty training successes outnumber the accidents.
If you begin to doubt your decision to attempt potty training, give it at least a full week before you decide to give up. Potty training really takes time and patience before you will see results – think of it like having a new puppy, really .
Nightime potty training should follow but will take longer, anywhere from a few weeks to a year or more.

The above steps for successful potty training worked for our family but may not be right for everyone. The most important thing is your child. Do not place stress or direct anger at him/her throughout this frustrating potty training process. Show lots of love and encouragement. Whether he potty trains at two or three or sometimes even later is not important, he will eventually get there.