the MRS. & the MOMMA: MC: The Dreaded Potty Training

I am part of an AWESOME mommy panel with Cassie from Two In Diapers and Julie from Naptime Review

Each Saturday, we will bring you fresh new ideas and advice about motherhood.

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Coming on March 2nd, we will discuss:

How do you prepare your preschooler for kindergarten?

Now on to this week's topic!

What are your tips and tricks for successful potty training?

Here is what Mom Connection shared:

Welcome! I'm Julie over at Naptime Review. I am a mom of two wild, crazy and beautiful girls. My oldest just turned 4 and my baby is 18 months old. Here are my tips and tricks for potty training:

Well, so far, I only successfully potty trained one child. My youngest is showing interest but I am not pushing it since she is only 18 months old. Averie showed interested at about 20 months. I was so excited, I went for it! However, it was a LONG road to success. I feel like she was interested but maybe not developmentally ready. So Alice might be in diapers, a little longer. I don't mind though. She is my last baby and all :(

For Averie, I purchased the 3 Day Potty Training. It is an ebook, so I printed it off and read it instantly. At that point, I had tried everything and we were successful only 50% of the time which made things more stressful. The 3 day Potty Training Method, is where you spend 3 days at home with your child in big girl or big boy pants. Lots of mess and some tears, but after the 3 days you have a fully trained child. The method uses love and dedication to get the job done. It really did work! A few of my friends tried it the same time and had the same results. The guide has tips and strategies for every situation, even daycare. I saved this book and I will be using it again when Alice is 5. Just kidding! I will be using this method on Alice. I am hoping by using the 3 day method sooner and waiting for Alice to be more developmentally mature, potty training will be more succesful this time around.

When it comes to advice on potty training it is kind of like breastfeeding. Lots of information available and everyone has their own method or opinion. You just have to remember that every child is different and to be patient. Find a method that offers love, dedication, support and it will happen.

Promise!

Hi! I'm Cassie from Two In Diapers, and I'm a mommy to three sweet babies, ages 4, 3, and 20 months. Here are my tips and tricks for potty training:

I have to be completely honest and say that potty training is my least favorite aspect of motherhood. I find it stressful that each child is so different and you never really know what you're doing! With that being said, I do have to admit that the feeling of accomplishment afterwards is unbeatable, and it always seems to draw my littles and I closer together.

We always sort of start potty training when they're in diapers, by showing them their poop and making a big deal about how yucky it is, taking them in the bathroom when we go, and excitedly showing them their new "big boy/girl pants". When potty training begins, we start off with a complete demonstration {after sending the other siblings off for a morning at grandma's house or something and turning off the television and all other distractions}. The dolls that go potty are fabulous and a potty-training necessity around our house.

Following the demonstration, I offer small treats {an M&M or other such candy} for each small accomplishment, such as sitting on the potty, etc. We then move forward from there. With my son, I knew that something much more motivating would be needed since he never seemed to mind his diapers and didn't really see the need to stop wearing them. For him we made this potty train, with a promise of a visit to Jumpstreet when the train reached the end {i.e. - he went potty 5 times}. This was a good motivator for him.

With both of our {potty-trained} children, we completely skipped pull-ups at night. We figured that the best way to teach them to wake up was to let them wet their beds a couple of times. I suppose it might be coincidence, but both of our kids {starting two days to one week after potty-training began} have always woken up to use the bathroom in the night.

I definitely think it is very important to be patient. Try for a couple of days and stop if you do not have success. With my son, we tried for 2 days every month and a half or so. About the 3rd time of trying, I could tell immediately that this would be the successful time. Instead of being stressed out and frustrated for months, we simply set it aside and tried again at a later date. Lastly, make it a fun experience! Although it is not actually much fun for the mom, it is an exciting stage of life and a successfully potty trained child is something for both mom and little to be SO proud of!

My name is Alexa from No Holding Back. I am the mom of Nayner Bug (male, 5), Jelly Bean, (female, 3) and Tiny (female, 1).

Here are my tips and tricks for potty training:

I am so glad you asked! I have successfully potty trained two very different children in two very different manners. My son, the oldest, had no real interest in potty training. But, in order to move up to the 3s room, (I was working full time then) he had to do it. I give much credit to his teachers who worked with him at school, but at home, I give the credit to Elmo, Toy Story Stickers, and M&Ms. You got it. Positive reinforcement all the way. We put up the Elmo calendar/potty training chart, and every time he went on the potty, we celebrated! He got an M&M and a sticker of his choice. My child is motivated by celebration and chocolate! He didn't potty train over night, but it didn't take him that long either, and luckily, once he got it, he got it. A few months in pull ups at night, and then he was good to go.

My daughter was way easier. She was ready to start trying to sit on the little potty from about 18 months, but she didn't really do anything. With her, I decided to try the 3 day boot camp when I thought she was old enough. If you haven't heard of this concept, you take 3 days and let them run around with no clothes on (or just underwear) and let their body teach itself what it feels like before you have to go. For 3 days I chased her around, cleaning up accidents, and I thought for sure it was not working. Then, voila! At about 5pm on the 3rd day, she looked at me and said" Mommy I need to pee pee!" I grabbed her and we RAN to the potty and she did it! We celebrated big time! After that, I made sure to remind her often, but she's had very few accidents since then. The key to this method is they HAVE to be ready. She was already trying to go on the potty. If you try it and it doesn't kick in, give it another month or so and try again!

Good luck!

My name is Fotini! I blog over at Glamorous Affordable Life. I am the mom of (Isabella 21 months and Christian 6 years). Here are my tips and tricks for potty training:

I didn't push potty training with Christian. Around 26 months old I bought him a little training potty and put it in his room. I would occasionally ask him when I was getting him dressed or before a bath, if he needed to go to the bathroom and encouraged him to use his potty. Sometimes he was more willing than others. If he didn't want to, I just left it at that. As time went on, he would start using it in the mornings, running in and waking me up and telling him he used his potty! I would run in his room so excited and proud of him! Once he saw my reaction and encouragement, he wanted to use it more often. I started a potty chart with him and let him pick out his favorite stickers from the store. Click here for a free potty chart template. If he went potty consistently for 4 days ( I don't actually remember how many days I used with him, I'm old I know! But you get the point! ) He would be rewarded. It didn't have to be anything "big". Here are a few examples I used: allowing him to pick out "big boy" underwear, letting him chose dinner or dessert that evening, going out for his favorite ice cream, letting him pick something out at the dollar store, picking his favorite outdoor activity to do that day, renting a movie he wants to see, going to the library and allowing him to check out a few books. I don't know whether it really made a difference, but I taught him to pee sitting down on the toilet instead of standing up. I think the size of the toilet and standing over it intimidated him. Of course there were a few accidents, but he caught on rather quickly. As I've said in previous posts, consistency and patience is key! Making a big deal, getting upset or being negative pushes the child further away from accomplishing the goal, rather than striving to work towards it.

I haven't started potty training Isabella yet, I don't think she's quite ready. We got her a princess potty for Christmas just to create some excitement, and it's in the kids bathroom but she's not too interested in it yet, and I'm okay with that! She will be two in May so I won't start working with her until early Summer, unless she begins to show more interest before then!

My name is Kristen from The Mrs. & The Momma. I'm the momma of three girls (ages 7, 5, & 3) and a little boy (18 months). Here are my tips and tricks for potty training:

So far, I've potty trained three girls, so my advice can only go so far when applied to boys. (Check back with me in a few months and I might have some boy pointers for ya!) Potty training is something that's necessary, but certainly not fun. It is, however, manageable. Here are 3 tricks and tips I've learned about potty training:

1. Your kid won't go to kindergarten wearing a diaper. My pediatrician lives by this statement in reference to deciding when to potty train, however, I'm not a fan a waiting (as she implies). I prefer to potty train my kids as soon as I think their bladder and their other potty-related abilities are ready. (Reminder: I haven't yet potty trained a boy, so I might eat my words later.) This statement does ring true for me in terms of patience and not stressing over potty training. What it comes down to is this---it's going to happen. Eventually. Try and make the best of it for your children.

2. Use food coloring for incentives. With our first daughter, I had a little stash of M&Ms to reward going potty. After that didn't do the trick, I tried stickers. Nope. Then we took a break from potty training. But before round 2 started, I spoke with a grandmother who had potty trained all of her children and grandchildren. She told me the her secret to success was letting the kids put a drop or two of their choice of food coloring in the toilet bowl AFTER they did their business. Then they had the pleasure of flushing and watching the water turn the color THEY picked out. Well let me tell ya....I'm so glad I learned this technique with my first child (and not my third), because it worked like a charm. And has worked 3 times now!!!

3. Don't use pull-ups unless you have to. Okay, besides the obvious exorbitant price of those suckers, let me explain. I think in the beginning of potty training, pull-ups at nighttime or if you have to go on a road trip are okay, and definitely better than a big mess. However! I think that kids who are ready and able to potty train are capable of staying dry throughout the night....or in the other case, until the next potty break. One thing I definitely recommend is getting a plastic cover for the child's mattress. I promise this will make your life much easier. Avoiding the dependency a child can quickly learn from using pull-ups is essential in expediting the success of your potty training. I know all kids are different, but in our family, once we took that option out of the equation...it just worked.

Potty training can be frustrating and trying, but just remember....some one had to do it with you. :)