How to Potty Train without Fear

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pull-Ups® Training Pants.

If you have been following me on Twitter or Facebook the past two days, you know that I have been gearing up to start potty training my 3rd child.  Kaylee will be 3 in April, so she is a little older than 2 & 1/2 right now.  I probably would have started to train her earlier, but knew that I couldn’t potty train her before I had Abby because she would regress.  I also have had my hands full since Abby was born and colicky, that I knew I had to wait for that to settle down.  Since Abby is now a very happy baby,  it was the time to start the DREADED potty training.

Many of you have asked me the question – ‘how do I know if my child is ready’.  I think the bigger question is – ‘are you ready?’.  Potty training, at least for me, depends on my attitude and desire to succeed more than the desire of the child.  Children follow your lead, and if you start potty training scared and intimidated, most likely they will be acting the same way.  So my biggest tip for moms who are potty training is to pump yourself up to the point where NO MATTER WHAT you will not quit training that child!  THAT, I think, is what makes a child successfully potty train.

Another tip, do NOT use underwear or any diapers the first few days.  I keep my kids undressed from the waist down for 3 days straight, we do not go anywhere or have anyone over.  That is my time to focus 100% on the child that is training (or as much as I can.)  Now remember, I have 3 other kids in the house too, so things are crazy BUT I am determined to not give up!  I also think that putting kids in diapers in between potty trips, gives them mixed messages.  Do you want them to go on the potty or not? That are confused….and you probably are too.  Just realize that your floor is going to get peed or pooped on, and be okay with that, because it is not going to be forever.  You can get the supplies you need to clean it up before you start potty training.

Here is how to plan your potty day:

1. Make sure you have a potty chair.
2. Buy different kinds of juice that the child can choose from.
3. Buy some sort of candy, or treat for the child.
4. Buy stickers and make a sticker chart.
5. Consider buying some Baby Legwarmers if you are potty training during the colder months. This helps keep their legs warm since they will not have pants on for a few days.
6. Buy Huggies Pull-Ups® Training Pants with a character that they love (she is wearing Rapunzel right now.) They also have ones with Cool-Alert, a great feature to help them notice the urge to go to the bathroom.
7. Buy a bottle of wine because you will need it at night after the child is in bed 🙂

Once I have picked the day that I am going to start, I get really excited because I want my child to be excited!  I usually wrap the potty chair in wrapping paper like a present, and give it to them in the morning and make a HUGE fuss about it!  I get the older kids to encourage that child too. This morning, my older 2 children prayed for Kaylee before they went to school – it was so sweet 🙂

Once the potty seat is unwrapped, the diaper comes off and NEVER goes back on……YES, it is scary….What if they don’t do well?  What if I can’t get them to obey?  What if….What if…We have all been there, and it is a scary move to say bye-bye to the diapers.  I usually just tell them that they are not a baby anymore and is now a big kid, so they don’t need them.  For this one day, the first training day, here are a few things that you should do:  Your child can have as much juice and candy as they want this day…THIS ONE DAY ONLY!  When they wake up in the morning, they can have as much juice as they want all day. Why? Because you want for them to have plenty of opportunity to ‘practice’, this will be the day they have accidents and mistakes, which encourages them to try again.  I give them a treat every time they sit on the potty (I usually use M&M’s or Chocolate chips, and they get 1), and every time they pee/poop on the potty they get a treat and a sticker on their sticker chart.  This happens all day long, I usually have them watch a movie that they want to watch (while sitting on the potty chair).   Our talk is centered around the potty all day, we taught her Teddy Bears how to go, her baby dolls got a turn to learn. It was really fun!

So that is the basic idea of what I do.  Eventually something will come out, and I plan on having it come out while they are sitting and just watching TV or reading a book.  At nap time and night time they can wear their ‘Big Kid underwear’ AKA – a Pull-Ups® Training Pants One.  I chose the ones Night time ones because they seem to work the best.

This day is supposed to be fun, and whenever Kaylee went on the potty today I FREAKED OUT!  Like totally, I hope no one is watching me, FREAK OUT!  She has done so well today with 3 successful potty trips and ZERO accidents.  I was jumping up and down, lifting her up and spinning in circles, singing, clapping, and dancing.  I want her to feel SO proud of herself, and she has been! She called Mark at work every time she went too, and was so proud to tell him.  Another thing to take note – do NOT scold your child when they have an accident. They are bound to happen, so I just encourage them that it is okay and they will do better next time.  This helps them keep focused on the task and still encouraged that they are doing a great job!

I know many of you have successfully potty trained your children, so what tips do you have for successfully potty training your children without Fear?