Xander is potty trained–THANK HEAVENS! Y’all, I really didn’t want to be on double diaper duty with the baby coming, and I can’t believe how well Xander has done with potty training. He’s actually the latest to be trained of my three kids, but I think he was the most ready and certainly took to it fastest. I think it is SO important to stress, though, that each child is different, and I very much believe, especially when it comes to potty training, that there are several “right” ways to do it. With the girls, I had more of a “this is when we should be training” mindset, and while they did potty train, it took a bit longer, and there were way more accidents. Here is what I found most helpful this time around…
- Look for signs that THEY are ready. I’ll be honest; I hadn’t planned on potty training Xander until after the baby arrived and after his third birthday in mid-June. I was pregnant and tired, and I knew that I would know when the time was right. Well, Xander ended up showing me that he was ready by waking up several times in a row with a dry overnight diaper. That was a big sign that his body was physically ready to do this, so I went with it. He also seemed comfortable sitting on the potty, and you could tell he was noticing when his dad would go. If you start to notice these kinds of signs, go for it!
- Get a potty seat that goes over the regular toilet. I know there are a million different options when it comes to children’s potties, but trust me on this one! We have done the floor potties before, and it always feels like just an extra step. They learn to go, and then you have to teach them to transfer this skill over to the real deal. BONUS: You don’t have to constantly dump and clean the floor potty. Skip the extra work. Our tried and true potty seat is cushioned and slips right over the regular potty. It has a little step ladder and handles on the side that make it easier for your kiddo to get up and down safely and independently. It also folds up quickly, and we store it beside the toilet.
- Go often. They say practice makes perfect, and going every 30-45 minutes for the first 1-2 days was key to Xander getting the hang of it. I encouraged water, and we would go try to potty–we would sit for a few minutes, and if he didn’t have to go, that was fine, but he went more often than not. Yall, I want to mention that this part is TEDIOUS! You really have to choose when you have the time to do this because it takes up a good portion of your day’s focus and energy. We eventually started going less often, and Xander was able to figure it out for himself when his body signaled him to go. That’s when he began to alert me when it was time to go!
- PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE. You’d think we had a full-blown parade every time Xander went to the potty–especially number two! The entire family clapped, cheered, hugged, and made a big deal out of him going so that he felt excited and accomplished. We also rewarded him with one PJ Mask gummy for the first week. It was little stickers with the girls–if your child responds well to rewards, I say go for it! I also want to note that when he did have accidents, we made sure not to react with discipline–we reminded him of where we go potty (bathrooms, not underwear) and told him that everyone has accidents but that he could do it. We really wanted to keep his confidence up, and I think it worked well.
- Get the FUN Underwear. We started out wearing easy-ups, but I made the call to switch him to real underwear as a reward for doing so well after a couple of days. I stocked up on toddler underwear with all his favorite characters on it–which he LOVED! This was a big motivator for Xander. Picking out his fav underwear after bath time became a fun part of our routine. The real underwear also allowed him to feel when he had accidents—which were uncomfortable for him, and I think another motivator to tell us when he needed to go to the restroom.
Big hugs and best of luck to my fellow potty-training parents. The truth is that this part of parenting just isn’t fun–but you’ve got it, and I hope you find the above tips helpful. I have also linked our potty seat, fav potty books, and underwear below.
