Potty Training for Beginners

Although it's been quite a while, I still clearly remember trying to teach my daughter how to use the potty. She was 15 months and HATED clothes. Diapers were things to escape from and leave in the middle of the floor for the dogs to bring to me. Even the ones with poo. After she created her poo wall art, of course. 

I tried everything to keep the diaper on the baby. I put it on her backward. I tried adding a tape belt. I tried putting her clothes on her backward in addition to the backward diaper. I considered just releasing her naked in the back yard. (I didn't do it... on purpose... but I thought about it more than once). I believe it was after my neighbor brought me back my naked, screaming baby girl (who had somehow managed to open a window, knock out the screen and climb out so she could go for a jaunt in nothing but her skin in the 5 minutes it took me to load the dishwasher) that I finally decided I'd had enough. 

Even though every book I had read on the subject warned against early potty training, my darling girl was showing all the signs of being ready to transition from diapers to underwear. Who was I to stand in her way? I would love to say it was easy to get her to use the potty, but I would be lying. 

I got her a little potty chair with a comfy, removable foam seat. She tried to EAT it then wore it

She destroyed the room in her potty hat and necklace. 

around her neck like some kind of weird potty necklace.... with several bites taken out of it for good measure and the potty part on her head like a hat. She sat her dolls on the potty, just like I had been doing with her. And even though she would sit on the potty with me every time I went to the toilet, she still would not do her business IN the potty. In fact, she would go anywhere but the potty chair. 

Then one morning, I walked in on her in the bathroom to find her sitting on the big potty with her doll on her potty chair AND I could hear the distinct sounds of tinkling from the toilet. That is when it hit me - she didn't think the potty chair was a potty for HER. Looking back almost 8 years later, I don't know why that realization didn't come sooner. She also refused to sleep in a toddler bed. She wanted a big girl bed - just like the one mommy slept on. She didn't like jarred baby food either - she wanted what I was eating. So why would she want to use a potty chair that mommy didn't use? 

Of course, after that, it actually was a breeze to get her fully potty trained with few accidents, even at night. 

However, not every child learns to use the potty the same way. So, that is why I've put together this potty training guide - complete with handy videos!

Step 1 - Make sure your child is actually ready to start

Potty training is kind of a big deal for kids. It is a huge change that can bring along a lot of stress, especially if you try to start too early.  I know how tempting it is to want to ditch the diapers as early as possible, but starting the potty training game before your little one is even interested will just lead to tears... I mean, I'm sure they might cry too, but your tears of frustration will be just as real. Bottom line, if they aren't ready, it ain't happening. Sorry, Mom and Dad!

How can you tell if your child is ready? Look for the signs like the ones in this video:

Step 2 - Choose your weapon... I mean method carefully

Every parenting book, blog, youtube video, grandparent, weird neighbor, and even random strangers have some tip or trick that they swear works - 100% of the time - because it worked for their child. Throw some cheerios into the potty and encourage your son to try to pee on the O's. If you are a mom trying to teach a boy to pee standing up, go 'with' him by squeezing a water bottle into the toilet. Give your child stickers or candy when they are successful. Let them run around naked. Sit them on the potty every 10 minutes from birth until they figure out how to climb up on the toilet all on their own. 

Each of the methods I mention here traumatized at least one of my mom friends. The friend who tried cheerios in the toilet? Her son peed in every box of cereal in the house then dumped them in the toilet. She also tried the water bottle trick. So he copied her and would stand in the bathroom squeezing the water bottle in the toilet while he peed on the floor. Giving stickers and treats? My daughter would dump cups of juice or occasionally milk into the toilet to get the treat. She did run around naked, but that wasn't exactly by my choice. The friend that tried very very early potty training? That lasted all of three days before a sleep deprived mom nearly dropped the newborn into the toilet. To be fair, we were trying these tactics without fully understanding exactly what they entailed. Thankfully, YouTube has videos to help you out. 

Whichever method you choose, whether it's one I posted here or one of the hundreds of others posted on YouTube, I wish you luck. May the odds be ever in your favor. And also - maybe be ready to cover every surface with plastic wrap for a while.