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Potty train your toddler in 3 days with these must-know tips!
Have you been wondering how to potty train your toddler? Potty training my two-year-old was something I was excited to do but I was also dreading it. Why? We had tried potty training a year prior. My son just was not ready, but I thought he was. He was pulling at his full diaper and hiding to poop. Those are the tell-tale signs that your toddler is ready, right?
I learned really quickly that this was not how it was going to work for us with our son.
First Attempt to Potty Train
As I said, I attempted to potty train my toddler when he was almost two. He was still young and I knew the chance of him succeeding was low. However, I was going to hope for the best and give it my best effort.
I picked a weekend that it was just him and I and my husband would be away for work figuring the fewer distractions, the better.
We went to the store and picked up a small toddler potty, picked up toddler undies, and a large pack of stickers. I thought that we were so ready!
The night before I made a potty chart, printed it out, and hung it up outside the bathroom. I set up his little potty, prewashed all of his undies, and mentioned right before bed that we would be all done with the diapers. He looked at me like I was crazy, and I should’ve taken that as a sign!
The next morning, I woke up, brought him downstairs, took off the diaper, and put him on the potty. He had to have peed through 10 pairs of undies in two hours which upset him so much. My son cried every time he got wet and was feeling bad every time he had an accident. All he wanted were stickers and he wasn’t earning any.
Did I mention he woke up with a cold and I still attempted to potty train my toddler? Oops! Regret!
He just wasn’t ready and I quickly realized this. After two hours of tears and him feeling disappointed in himself, I called it quits. This was the BEST decision for our son (and me)!
Best Strategies for Potty Training My Toddler
1) Your Toddler Has to be Ready
Your toddler needs to be ready in order for you to potty train them. If you try to force it before they are even remotely ready, you are going to be disappointed. I look back and wonder what I was thinking trying to potty train my one-year-old boy.
At the time I was pregnant with my daughter and my goal was to only have one baby in diapers. I quickly stopped caring and knew that he would potty train when he was ready. I had 2 kids in diapers for almost a year, and it worked out just fine. Check out How To Save Money on Diapers if the idea of two kids in diapers freaks you out, I know I felt that way!
My coworker who raised two boys told me she waited until her boys were almost 3 and they potty trained in a day. After hearing this I knew our decision to wait was the right one.
I discuss later how waiting until he was ready was the best strategy to potty train our toddler in just 3 days.
2) Need a Build-up
Another mistake I made the first time trying to potty train was not discussing this process with my toddler ahead of time. I know what you may be thinking, discuss with your toddler first? Do your kids run the show or something? Well, yes they do. How they react will differ based on how prepared they are for something! I just sprang it right on him before bed the night before as if he would even be able to comprehend what I was saying. Honestly, I think it just upset him because he loved his diapers. He felt like I was taking something away from him (because #1 he was not ready).
A few ways you can include your toddler in the buildup are:
- Have your toddler help make a potty chart/or let your toddler pick their potty chart to buy
- Let your toddler pick out their own undies
- Allow your toddler to choose their potty seat
- Try having their toddler sit on the potty here and there prior
- Get books on potty training for kids
- Show episodes of your toddler’s favorite show that discuss using the potty
3) Be prepared
There are a few things you really need in order to potty train your toddler:
- Potty seat/kids potty chair
- Undies
- Reward system
- Extras
- Travel potty chair
- Waterproof car seat insert
4) Think About What Your Toddler Likes
If your child loves dinosaurs, maybe get or make a dinosaur potty chart. If your toddler loves pink, get a pink potty chart with all pink stickers!
For my toddler, we got him dinosaur, baby shark, and Daniel tiger undies! He loves picking out which ones he is going to wear that day.
I mentioned earlier that you can show your toddler an episode of their favorite TV show that focuses on using the potty. In my son’s case, he LOVES Daniel Tiger. There are multiple episodes on using the potty and we would sing those songs to encourage using that potty.
I also found a travel potty seat that we leave in the car that is Daniel Tiger. I had never been so excited! If I put the batteries in it, it would sing the potty song when he peed. I keep this one in my car for any potty needs on the go!
There are also Daniel Tiger potty books that we got for our son. They play music and we kept it in the back of the little potty we have. This is the exact book that we have. Let me warn you now, it can get a little annoying! They do, however, entertain my potty training son and that is all that matters!
5) Potty Chart/Rewards
I definitely think rewarding my son while I was potty training him helped to achieve this milestone. When we were potty training, we used this dinosaur sticker chart. Every time he peed on the potty, he got a sticker. Every time he pooped on the potty, he got a sticker and he got a few M&Ms.
Before my son had his first poop on the potty, he had been asking for a remote-control helicopter that one of his cousins has. His birthday is coming so it was on his list. We had made a side deal with him that if and when he pooped on the potty, he could get it.
It worked. He pooped on the potty that night. He also continues to poop on the potty with only one poop accident since.
Second (and Last) Attempt to Potty Train
My son is now 2, almost 3. Over the last year, he peed on the potty as he desired. He became more comfortable using the potty so when it was time to train for real, he was comfortable. His communication skills are way more advanced than they were a year ago. He is able to say, “Mom, I need to pee/poop” and this is necessary for potty training.
One Friday, I decided that it was time and I was sure my son was ready. I discussed getting rid of diapers for good with my son. Now if you remember that I said he actually likes diapers. He did put up a little argument about how he loves his diapers. We have been working with him on “being a big boy” and this was another chance to “be a big boy”. He did agree.
I picked a weekend because I have a 3-day weekend. I knew that I could be home with him for 3 days and we could knock this potty training out for good.
Saturday morning, he woke up, he went right to his potty, and then we put undies on. We talked with him about letting us know if he had to pee and then I set a timer alarm for every hour. I noticed he was wetting his undies every 45 minutes or so. I changed my time to every 30 minutes and he stopped wetting his pants. As the day went on, we were able to spread out the timer to about an hour.
We did use a diaper for his nap and a sleep diaper for bedtime and still do.
On Sunday, we repeated the same exact routine. And by Monday he was no longer wetting his undies. He went to daycare on Tuesday and wet his pants one time. We did our best to communicate that he potty trained all weekend and they continued to work with him there.
I was able to potty train my toddler in 3 days. I was able to do this because:
- We waited until he was ready
- I built up the excitement
- We were prepared with everything we needed to accomplish this milestone
- Incorporated the things he enjoys, like Daniel Tiger and dinosaurs
- Rewarded pees/poops even if it was as simple as a sticker
I am confident that these 5 strategies are why we were able to accomplish this milestone in only 3 days!
Conclusion
If you are looking for a quick solution to the expense of diapers, you have probably already considered potty training. Whether you have tried and were unsuccessful or this is your first go, I am sure these crucial strategies will help your home be diaper-free also!
Everything We Used to Potty Train in 3 Days
- Potty seat- This toilet seat actually replaces your current toilet seat, it has a toddler seat attached making quick potty breaks so EASY!
- kids potty chair- Pick the removal potty seat with the character your toddler loves. They have all different ones. We let our toddler pick out the little toilet. He loves it because it flushes and he can use it on his own anytime.
- Undies- They make toddler undies in all different characters! Make sure to look at reviews so you can figure out which size will best fit your child.
- Reward system- Potty chart, Reward bucket, Treats
- Extras
- Travel potty chair
- Waterproof car seat insert– I highly recommend having this, it has saved me having to wash his car seat
Welcome to the diaper-free world!
XOXO
Olivia
Related Posts:
How I Sleep Trained My Baby in Three Nights
How I Save Money on Baby Diapers