Brooke figured it out.
She saw the monitor sitting on the counter this morning and realized that she is being watched at all times by me, even when she is asleep.
No privacy when you are just a little thing.
She is officially 2.35 years old. Things are getting real up in here.
We are coming to the time to start thinking (at least I think we are) about potty training.
I have no idea where to even begin with this one and the last time my mom potty trained someone was about 26 years ago so she doesn’t remember any of the details to help me out.
This is where all of you experts come in and answer the bajillion questions I am about to ask you:
-How old were your kiddos when you started to potty train them?
-What are your tips and tricks for potty training?
-Any good books or websites I should check out?
-Am I making a big deal out of something that really isn’t a big deal like I normally do?
79 comments
Cydney
We potty trained both of our girls when they turned two. We started talking to them about pee and poo when we changed their diaper so they knew the name for each and we let them sit on the potty to learn the word potty. Then when it came time to actually start we used the “naked” potty training method. They just wear a shirt and you don’t leave the house for a couple of days. Each kid has a “tell” before they go. Some will actually squat, so hold their legs together, some stand with their legs wide apart, but by having them naked you can see what their tell is better and they hate the feel of pee running down their legs. As soon as you know their tell you can watch for it and stop them from going when they start to do it. You rush them to the potty and you celebrate if they go. With my kids they had a couple accidents the first day but usually went 2-4 times in the potty. The next day they had one accident in the morning and the third day they were great. Then you introduce underwear and practice pulling it down etc. they will still have a few accidents here and there but the majority of it is down in 3-4 days. It is awesome! I have no clue where to start with my son though. :/
Cydney
That was supposed to say “some hold their legs”
Carrie
So my kiddos were 18 months and 17 months when they trained.
I did a post on it awhile ago
http://parkinglotbaby.blogspot.com/2013/02/potty-training-how-we-did-it-this-is.html?m=1
I am a huge advocate of starting early and naked potty training. Also I am not an all or nothing person. You can do it boot camp style or slow. I had to do it slow because at the time my girls were in daycare full time ( I am a part time teacher now) and the 1 year old room had no bathroom. That said I think it is less confusing to do all or nothing. I am also not an advocate of waiting until they show signs of readiness.
My key expectations are, can they follow a one step direction and can they sit for more then a minute. I am a special as teacher and have trained many kiddos.
That said, every family and child is different!
Carrie
supposed to say special ed teacher, hopeful I am a special teacher, but not what I mean to say!
Kelli
Buy the OCPT ebook…it is currently on sale for $9. http://www.ohcrappottytraining.com/
My son is 2.5 and is day trained. I started out doing a mish mash of methods I read about online. At some point we hit a standstill and I found out about OCPT and read the ebook. Being right in the thick of potty training at the time, this book make a ton of sense and explained a lot of stuff that I was seeing happen. It doesn’t promise a miracle 3-day and they are trained approach, but will give you the tools you need to help Brook be successful. Once you buy the ebook there is a private facebook group you can join to ask questions of others using the same method. It is a great community to bounce questions off of. I swear I don’t have any affiliation to OCPT beyond being someone who tried many other methods and found this to be the one that makes the most sense for any/every kid.
Megan
I also followed this program for my first son (and soon with my second) and it worked amazing. Many friends have as well with great success. We did full bore (no pull ups even at night) and it worked great. Hoping same goes for my second. Just make sure you have a block of a few days you can stay home and commit to it.
Megan
My son was just under 2 1/2.
Megan
Oh and one last thing. I highly recommend a simple potty like the Bjorn ones…the more bells and whistles and fun stuff the harder to clean and smellier they get! Yuck! Made that mistake first time around..
Amy @ They May be Light
Potty training can be tough and discouraging. I have no advice other than to remind you that it all works out eventually even if it takes longer or started later than you want! Sometimes we get so caught up in the time frame and the laundry and forget that it doesn’t really matter how long it takes or when she gets it as much as how important it is that she knows her mom loves her no matter what.
Leah (goodnight cheese)
I was going to say exactly this, well put!
Kids potty train at different ages, when they’re ready, and they turn out fine.
jan
I only have 2 kids but my method worked on both. Find 2-3 days in a row when you have nowhere to go. Put undies on your kiddo and never put a diaper on again. Set the kitchen timer and make them sit on the potty every 30 minutes, even if they don’t have to go. Make a big deal out of it when they do go (we did a sticker chart and went to buy a toy when it was full). If you STICK WITH IT for 2-3 days they will be wearing undies full time with only an occasional accident. The problem is most parents go back and forth…diapers, no diapers, and it’s confusing. Once you start, DO IT. Of course there will be some messes but it’s not the end of the world. I put my daugher in just dresses & undies so the mess was easier. And for poopy messes…I used a scissors to cut the undies off. They are cheap…that was easier than scrubbing down her legs!
jan
I should also add that I waited closer to age 3 with both kids.
Jessica
What did you do at night, if I may ask? Your method sounds similar to what I want to do with my 2.5 year old son.
jan
The first few nights I did put a diaper on RIGHT at bedtime and took it off immediately when they woke up. Literally wake up–go straight to the potty. However, I found that w/in a few days their diapers were dry in the a.m. and I stopped using them overnight too.
Shannon
I worked in a daycare for a while with 2 year olds and potty training was a big focus there. Consistency and routine was the biggest thing. We would put the kids on the potty after meals, snacks, and naps. We did give M&M’s as a reward.
I also have a 15 month old girl and bought her a potty for her birthday. She doesn’t do much with it, but does like to sit on it. We mostly wanted to introduce it to her and let her get used to it being there. We always put her on it before her bath at night and she has peed twice it in. We’ll keep a laid back plan with the potty until she turns 2, and then I’ll probably take some time away from work to do the naked potty training with her.
christina
The first kid I stressed over it and it sucked. This time Im being much more relaxed about it. My 3 year old will go on the potty when she feels like it, she is incredibly stubborn.
It will be much easier come summer when she can be in dresses and underware too.
Rebecca@RunningFoodBaby
Max is turning 3 this weekend and we only just started potty training. No diapers during the day, M&Ms for a treat and diapers for sleepy time. So far only two accidents…..
But basically he has to go on the toilet now – we also did not do pull ups
kimberly
my daughter was fully potty trained during the day at 2 but wore diapers at night for probably another year. all i did was set out her little potty and let her go when she wanted (usually when i was). she started this as early as 18 months but i was in NO rush. i watched her one day, go into the bathroom, climb up on the big potty and peepee by herself so that’s when i knew she was really ready. honestly, don’t over think it. it’s true that they won’t go to college in diapers and one day she will get tired of wearing them. ;)
Marilyn Roberts
We have 5 kids and we didn’t worry about potty training until they were ready. Every now and then I would ask if they wanted to try to go potty and if then said no or they tried and didn’t do it I would drop if for awhile. Our 2 boys were both 3 and 2 of our girls were almost 3. That may seem kind of old to potty train BUT they literally did it overnight and only had maybe 2 or 3 accidents. They didn’t ever have to wear pull-ups at night or anything. Personally, I would way rather wait until they are ready and have it be a piece of cake. Our 3 girl (our youngest) did it all herself right at 2 1/2 years old. She is only 18 months younger than the next youngest so I think she watched him and got it all figured out. :)
Anna
HAHA! I just posted something like this right below your post! We have 6 kiddos over here and we too just let them train when they were ready =) Saves me the headache! =)
ani
When my son was 2 we got a potty and a pack of teeny tiny underwear. Then we waited. Seriously, we did nothing except let him ear the underwear in the house whenever he wanted. If he had an accident we put his diaper back on. Then one day at 3.5 he asked to put on underwear and never had an accident again. He even wore it at night from the beginning. My kids are close in age, so a few months later my daughter started asking to wear her brothers underwear around the house. We got her her own underwear and at 2 years 8 months she put them on and never had an accident after that. So my advice is wait til they are ready and let them potty train themselves!
Anna
I have 6 kidlets and have potty trained 5 of them (baby is only 9 weeks old, her time is coming) =) and honestly I just waited til they were FOR SURE ready. I have a few friends that potty trained their kiddos at or before age 2 but I waited. My 4 girls all were trained within a few months of their 3rd birthday (some on one side of that birthday and some on the other side). They got 1 fruit snack for going pee and 4 for going poo. To help with the pee, I would set them on the potty and then get some really warm water in my hand and let it run down their ‘bits and pieces’ so they would know what it would feel like to go pee AND sometimes that would trigger the pee as well! Try putting them on before bath, first thing after waking (morning and nap times). Sometimes watching mommy pee is good too, let’s her see what expected and that there is nothing to fear. You’ll be fine with this Janae, you’re a good momma =) (By the way my boy was close to FOUR when he finally potty trained! But he’s 6.5 now and its all a distant memory) =)
Nicole
http://www.3daypottytraining.com/
This! Me and all my friends swear by it! My little girl was a couple months past two when she was ready, but the great thing is the ebook has a checklist of signs of readiness to help you get a better idea. It’s a quick read too, only like maybe 30 minutes.
It’s more bootcamp style – 3 days of staying at home by their side doing nothing but potty training and throwing out the diapers forever- but holy cow, the payoff is so worth it. I work full-time and my husband’s not around a lot so I really didn’t want potty training to be this long drawn-out process.
It’s all about using positive reinforcement and letting the child tell you when they need to go – which can be really hard, but like I said, it totally worked! And you’re there by their side 24/7 so you can pick up on when they need to go and say something like “Let me know when you need to go, okay?” By the end of the 2nd day she had really gotten the hang of it, and while there were a few minor accidents here and there in the following weeks, she’s been so great. My friends (of both boys and girls) have all had the same experience.
And I don’t blame you for freaking out! I was seriously dreading potty training more than any other aspect of parenting, but this approach really made it not terrible at all!
Oh, and my other piece of advice: puppy pads. We called them “special blankets” and she had to sit on them when she sat on the couch… she thought they were great though!
Cat Czyrnyj
Omg, puppy pads?!? That is amazing! Such a simple way to save yourself the mess!
laura fulks
I started my daughter about a month past her second birthday. She had been talking bout going potty all the time and it was exciting for her. For us, the intense couple days style just didn’t work. She didn’t want to be sitting constantly. So we relaxed and just had her sit on it a million times a day. It was a much slower, couple month process, but she is good now!
My advice would be – talk about it a ton before you start. If it’s not weird for you, let her watch you go potty and explain how you don’t wear diapers. Get kids books from the library about going potty and make it the cool thing to do.
And, like my husband continually reminds me – she won’t go to kindergarten in a diaper. :) they all get it eventually. :)
Rebecca
I don’t really have any advice as this is the one thing that my daughter rocked at but she loved the book the princess of the potty. I also think it is important to remember kids do things when they are ready. Be patient.
Megan Axtman
Ok, you have to read this other bloggers post about her twins’ potty training recently. Amazing.
We are going to start potty training our two year old so so soon and this gal laid it all out in her cutest little blog and it’s great. Super helpful as a starting spot.
The blog is 3 Ladies and Their Gent! themasseyspot.blogspot
BTW, I read lots of blogs, but you two are my only regulars that I HAVE to keep up on :-).
Doni
I remember being totally intimidated by the thought of potty training. But it ended up really being “easy.” I did the “wait til they’re ready” method. We talked a lot about how one day she’ll go “pee and poo” in the potty. Once I got the idea in her head, she was the one who would bring it up. We talked about it for several weeks/months (depending on the kid). We had the potty chair that they’d sit on sometimes. They’d watch us, etc. Then, one day, my oldest she said she didn’t want to wear diapers any more and that was that. All our girls were trained between 2-3. Our son, though, really couldn’t be bothered. He was about 3.5 when it finally “stuck.”
I know a lot of folks say no pull ups, but I think every kid is different. My son was peeing in the potty much sooner than pooping. He just felt more comfortable doing that in a pull up for whatever crazy reason (he’d sneak off and squat in a closet — while our youngest was calling grandma to invite her to come over and watch her poop. Kids are weird.)
You and Brooke will do great no matter what method you try.
Sam @ Grapefruit & Granola
I don’t have kids so I can’t speak from experience, but my friends say that you will know when your kids are ready to potty train. Good luck :)
Kendra
I’ll tell you what I did. I waited till my son was ready, just before he turned three. I also waited till I thought he could stay dry at night (who wants to potty train twice???) then we stayed home for 3 days and did the potty thang, if he peed on the floor we cleaned it up and went and sat in the toilet. He was potty trained in less than a week (with almost zero accidents) and night trained after a week with pull ups, he hated wearing them at nap and bedtime because he was a “big boy now” really, the key to success (and happiness) is waiting till she’s ready. Talk about it tons, read books, let her see her big kid friends go to the bathroom (like walk in-not actually watch) and don’t be afraid to quit and try again later if it’s turning south! Good luck!!
morgan
Don’t do it unless she is showing signs of readiness! Our kid trained herself at around 20 months — just started holding it and asking to use the potty. She pooped at the same time every day starting around 15 months so we bought a potty then and just took her diaper off after breakfast and had her do it on the potty. Then we started having her pee on it before her bath at night. Around 18 months she was going more often on the potty and at 20 months we just took the diaper off and put on undies and told her to go on the potty and not in her undies and she did the rest. We are the lucky ones, though. :) All kids are different so it is trial and error, but I think the most important thing is not to pressure or punish them and not to start unless they are ready — otherwise you risk scaring them and making them even more hesitant and that will set you back! Some common ideas — getting books or videos (ie Elmo), using rewards, letting her pick out undies. I also always take her in bathroom with me when I go and explain what I’m doing. Good luck and be patient!
Liz
She’s still pretty young – if you get two weeks in, and it’s not taking, take a break and try again later. I have potty trained 3 kids, and the girls were much easier…but still difficult! Always stay positive. Encourage good behavior.
But again – the best piece of advice I ever got was to stop trying if it didn’t take after a couple of weeks. I know it’s frustrating, and you want her to be potty trained, but it’s best to read her signals on this one. With our girl, she definitely didn’t take to it right away at 30 months and seemed very anxious about the whole concept(In hindsight, I think it was a privacy issue). I tried again 2 months later and no problem :) Positive reinforcement is key.
If you have another baby and it’s a boy….ummmmmm sorry all I can do is bang my head against the wall remembering how our boys did! That bathroom was destroyed. Yuck!
Lily W.
Wait till she’s ready. Ready meaning she starts to show somewhat of a small interest or awareness, or some attention But in the meantime, introduce it by reading potty books. I have a DVD called once upon a potty. It made a big difference.
Angelica
Long time no comment! Glad you’re doing well. :-) My daughter turned 3 in August and she was pee-trained just before her bday. Poop training came a little later after a big move. Both happened when she was ready. I tried earlier with disastrous results. Start too early, esp with girls, and they’re more prone to UTIs! Get her a little potty and have her go when you go, but don’t force it. You’ll both feel terrible and for no good reason. She’ll be in big girl panties before you know it and you’ll be so sad. Hope this helps!
Sarah
Oooo, my fav topic :) I potty trained my daughter 3 times. I mean, I failed twice. And then finally succeeded. I decided to potty train my daughter when she was about 30 months old. We went out and bought big girl undies, picked out cool stickers for a sticker chart, etc. It was an epic fail. She peed through 9 pairs of brand new underwear. She did not pee once in the toilet all day. There was a trickle of yellow liquid in her potty…turns out it was Lysol from when I had cleaned it. I literally cried to my mom that night. She told me to calm down and stop obsessing. I put away the undies and all the sticker charts and whatnot. I tried again a few months later and pretty much the same thing happened. Then when she was 2 yrs, 10 months and I had pretty much given up hope, she asked me to use her big girl undies. And she never had an accident again!! Not even at night time. Every parent is different, every kid is different, do what works for you! If you need to take a break or feel like you’re not being successful, it’s okay to take a step back. She’s really young. Letting your kid walk around naked for days at a time is not for everyone ;) good luck to you and miss Brooke!! Ps I totally left the house while I was potty training Maya. Because it would be unnatural to not visit target for a full 24 hours. ALSO you will be like, what’s the point of potty training if my child asks me to take her potty three times
During the course of a half hour salad eating session at cafe rio. Haha. It will get better.
claire blaney
We had a heat wave shortly after my daughter’s 2nd birthday and she was playing outside in a small pool pretty frequently. I brought out the kiddie potty and let her play naked and it was very natural for her to use the toilet. So we started letting her run around the house naked too and kept the kiddie toilet in the same room. She was ready before we were and ultimately we just bit the bullet and left the house with her sans diaper, but kept a spare potty in the car, just in case.
She did have a harder time pooping in the potty because she was holding it in and then was super constipated. I felt like I was helping her through childbirth for almost an hour each day for about a week, but then she figured it out. Apparently that’s common. It was a good 6 months until the diapers also came off at night.
Amanda@Runninghood
Yay Potty training! :) 18 months to 2ish. Get Elmo potty time. Or is Elmo still a thing? That little red monster sure has an annoying voice but he puts on a great potty training movie! ha! All about putting your pee in the potty and stuff like that. We had hardwood floors so my kids ran around without a diaper LOTS. Then I had the time to put them on the toilet every hour and eventually they had to go and just learned that they liked putting their pee and poo in the toilet much better than on themselves. Oh, and with my first, I offered her a treat of raisins. That did the trick. She thought raisins were the best things since sliced bread and since she didn’t really get sugar then, she was all about that darn raising. With my second and third, it was an entirely different story. Neither one of them were going to pee for a stupid raisin if they could get chocolate. My oldest pretty much potty trained my second because…well, it went something like this: “Hey sissy, you want to go potty? If you do you can get a treat!!” Of course she knew, I would give her a treat too even if she wasn’t the one being potty trained. With my son, it was easy. Summer time…naked backyard play…pee on a tree…the rest is history. Good luck Janae!!
Brenda @ Don't Lose the Trail
I am not a mom, just wanted to say good luck! I can’t imagine potty training a human.
Laura
My girls both were potty trained at 2.5, my son at 3. I think girls learn faster than boys (or at least that’s been my experience). We did the cold turkey method. Just put them in regular underwear and explain what they will do. There will be accidents, so be sure to start this on a week you won’t be out and about much. It’s much easier to do this at home when you don’t have to leave. All of my kids were then accident free within a week. My girls (I think because they were younger?) were still in pull-ups at night until they were about three. My son, though, has been dry at night pretty much since the beginning. Don’t stress too much about it, expect accidents and give lots of praise/rewards. My son did well with m&ms! Good luck!
miranda
No pull ups! They are diapers and they know it! I’ve toilet trained 4 kids, 3 boys 1 girl.
Girl was ready at about 19 mos. boys more towards 26 mos. But all 4 were fully day/night trained by 2.5
Do the naked, in the house til potty trained method.
It’s messy so expect messes..but do not ever put them in pull up pants and expect them to train quick. It’s a transition pant at most, they can still pee and poo in them without little discomfort. Give encouragement and make a big deal of accomplishments with dancing etc..I got each kid a “potty training” book of their choice to read on the toilet.
Usually night training consists of making sure they know to get up when they have to go..have night lights and make it kid friendly so they aren’t scared to get up.
I had 2 (boys) who were scared and resorted to peeing in the corner and then the other one did it in the toy box.
Be consistent, they will want to go back to diapers but don’t give in!
If they can follow orders and hide when they poop/get embarrassed..they are more than ready! :)
Amber
My daughter is almost 3. I used to roll my eyes when people would say “wait until she’s ready” but now I do believe it. I tried pushing it around 2, and she had zero interest. M&ms, ice cream, toys, Nothing enticed her. She was perfectly happy sitting for hours in wet pants. She’s finally coming around, but I could have saved a lot of stress if I’d just waited. You know Brooke best so you do whatever you think. I guess I’m trying to say don’t feel pressured like I did. :)
We did the naked method, so she was perfectly potty trained naked…but she treated underpants like diapers. That method, for whatever reason, didnt work so well for us.
She loves to poop in the potty, though! She likes to see what animal she made. ;) whatever works.
Peer pressure turned out to be what really helped! At Sunday school she sees all the kiddos use the big girl potty, and she wants to be just like them. Brooke is surrounded by friends and cousins, so that could help!
Monica
What animal she made! Lol. That’s so cute. (and gross?) haha.
Katie
All I can say is, don’t push it too early. Read some of the classic potty time books to her and see if she is interested.
I heard that once you start it, don’t stop and go back. However, my husband and his dad got the idea that my daughter should be potty trained since she was 2 and it was a major struggle after that. It wasn’t until she was almost 3 that we got all the way there!
It’s very exciting once it happens, but let your daughter take the lead! She’ll let you know when she’s ready!
Kathy
No pull-ups or junior diapers…..when you are ready you have to just go for it and pack extra clothes with you where ever you go. I found my girls were easy. Day and night trained at the same time. They did NOT like being wet and did NOT like having her “new undies” I can’t remember what they were now but, I know we made a big deal about buying them, picking them out, and stressing they should not be pee’d on. ;-)
(Or the other nasty junk ) ha!
Lots of reminders….just try….no water an hour before bed at least…and yes, she will have an accident when your cart is full at Target but, it won’t happen every time and before you know it she will be trained!
Michelle W
I did a 3-day bootcamp for my daughter (she was 22 months). It failed. She went through the 1st two days with no issues and just a few accidents, but on day 3 I asked her if she had to go potty and she threw a full-on tantrum over it. So I put her back in a diaper right then and we haven’t tried again since (she turned 2 last week). I REALLY didn’t want her to have a negative association with the whole experience, which is why after her drastic response to the potty question I stopped.
We’ll try again in a few months (or if she suddenly shows an interest again).
MILF Runner
Learning to use the potty is such an individual thing and can be so fraught with anxiety on everyone’s part! I would approach it with total flexibility and a “see what happens” mindset. Bring LOTS of extra clothes once you venture out diaper-free. LOTS. I always had a box of extra clothes in my car…and wipes and towels. And shoes because if they really let loose, the pee runs down into the shoes.
Like the first commenter, we did the naked method. That said, all of my kids were totally different. My oldest (boy) was 2 yrs 9 mos and got the hang of diaper-free daytimes in less than a week and almost never had accidents. Within 6 weeks, he was dry through the night as well. My older daughter was 20 mos when she started screaming “NO DIAPER!” at me one day. I figured “Okay” and went with it. It took her a little longer to be frequently accident-free…maybe a month…and several months to be super reliable and dry through the night. My younger son was dry through the night before he was 20 mos old. It took me a few days to figure this out but then I decided to just go for it with daytime potty-learning. He did great for about 18 mos and then total regression! UGH. It was beyond frustrating. He was 3.5 and crapping his pants upwards of 5 times a day (because he would realize he was going and then stop but not finish in the potty) and full on peeing once a day to the point of complete saturation of everything (because he would hold it until he couldn’t stand it any longer). I resorted to bribery…chocolate chips. Worked like a charm. My younger daughter was over 3. Honestly, she is super stubborn and I just didn’t have the energy to “tame” her. It would have been seriously like breaking horses. She did it on her own and it took a couple of days. My point with this excessively long comment is that every kid is different. Be calm. Accidents happen. Chances are she’ll be out of diapers by kindergarten without you needing to do anything ;-)
GOOD LUCK!!!!
p.s. – my kids all had a weird issue with underwear early in the process. they would be fine commando but the undies felt somewhat like a diaper and they would just go. took the undies out of the equation and solved that problem :)
J @ semplicementej
I was mine if lucky. My girls were 18 and 19 months. The day we decided to wear undies was the day they never wore diapers again day or night. They were just ready, I guess. I wouldn’t say it was my savy teachings or method. I guess they were ready.
J @ semplicementej
Oh my … Sorry about the typos in my comment. My iPad was in the wrong language. I better call it a night. :)
Joree
Potty Training in three days! I swear by it! I potty trained my daughter at 23 months and this method totally works! By the end of the first day you. will. want. to. die! But by the end of day two you’ll be so happy you stuck with it, the end of day three you’ll actually contemplate leaving the house! I wrote some ridiculously long blogposts about it so I’d have it for my next kid, or you could just google it! Good luck!!
http://jemmsplace.blogspot.com/2013/06/potty-training-part-i.html?m=0
Mindee
two words.. potty watch! worked good with zoee, she was officially potty trained at 3 years old and night trained a couple months after. if brooke doesnt seem into it or takes longer than planned, take a little break and start over when you think shes more ready. getting a fun potty that sings or tells a story makes for more fun trying to use it!! good luck, she is such a cutie!
Macy
I’ve potty trained a lot of kiddos in my nannying days and it really isn’t so hard once you get the hang of it. The key here is m&ms…I’m serious! Lol. Every time they use the potty they get an m&m…works like a charm! I think you are supposed to wait until the child starts showing an interest in the potty because if you try to force it they can revert back later on. In my experience, they usually start wanting to use the potty around 2yrs old. Maybe get Brooke her own little potty and get her excited about it, read some books (the only one I know of is everybody poops lol) about it, tell her what a “big girl” she is etc. And if she seems interested have her try it out! Once she starts getting the hang of it just be sure to ask her frequently if she has to go and have her sit and try every so often anyway. Oh and always pack a change (or two) of clothes with you when you go out at first! Trust me. Lol.
**Oh and if Brooke still loves Elmo you should definitely get her the Elmo potty time DVD! Man, I was so sick of that by end but it realllllly helped and the little girl I nannied loved it!
Holly B
Ask your sister!
Rachel
I’ve done this twice — totally different experiences. Check to see if Brooke is ready: can she pull her pants up and down? Does she hide when she goes #2? Does she understand what happens in the bathroom? Once she seems to be ready, you should find out what works for her as motivation. For my older daughter, candy did it. She was almost 2.5 and I set a date to start. Well, after 24 hours of her sitting on the toilet and peeing immediately after getting OFF the toilet, Mr J sensed I was about to lose it. We put it all away for 2 months and then tried again– success within 2 hours!! They really MUST be ready– or it will drag out. To help prepare the girls, i took them with me to the bathroom EVERY time I went. Of course, NOW they never leave me alone in the bathroom, so… I think just see if she’s ready and figure out her motivation: candy, books, toys, TV show. With my younger, i went to the UK- equivalent of the $$ store and got about 40 toys, put them in brown paper bags and ahe got to pick one for every success. She didn’t car about candy, so this worked for her. She was closer to 3. Good luck!!
Kristen
Every kiddo is different. That said, I’m a big fan of not worrying. I’m pretty sure Brooke won’t be wearing diapers to first grade.
With Girlie I tried a couple times when daycare etc pushed it but she clearly wasn’t ready. So I completely backed off. As in Completely. Backed. Off. Eventually she mentioned wanting to wear big girl panties. My response? “Are you sure, kiddo? Really? I don’t know….” Then I let HER convince ME.
She was potty trained in about a week. She was just under the 2 years 9 months deadline for preschool (which she needed to be potty trained).
BriAnne
I love this approach! I had to remind myself that my daughter wouldn’t be wearing diapers in first grade either haha!
Katie H
I attempted to potty train my daughter at 2.5 and she wasn’t ready. We tried again once she turned three and we had a long weekend and were successful. The biggest key to potty training her was the Daniel Tiger potty training episode. We watched it over and over those three days and sang the little jingle pretty much all day. Good luck!
Marissa @ Run Riss Run
My kids were all right around 2 when we potty trained. We did the whole potty train in a weekend thing, where we basically stayed home all weekend, gave them lots to drink, and put undies on them and had them sit on the potty every 30 minutes or so. It wasn’t perfect and they had accidents, but overall I liked our method. There’s books and stuff on it too, but it’s a fairly easy concept to grasp on your own.
Monica
My sister’s kids’ pediatrician told her not to stress about the three T’s. Table, Teething, & Toilet, because they all will work themselves out eventually. I’ve also heard that closer to three is the easiest (there is a cute little saying, but I can’t for the life of me think of it…). My daughter is 20 months old and I am in NO hurry to potty train her.
Donna Gallant
my girls were both closer to 3 before they were fully trained and pee was much easier than poop. Lots of positive reinforcement and reading books on the little potty. Big potty parties when they finally went. They all do it in their own time so don’t fret. My youngest never wet at night even in diapers so she was super easy on that and I can take no credit for night time training!
Naturally Carly
We bought a small potty and kept it in the bathroom (because let’s be honest…they followed me in their anyway) and they could sit on it when I did. Or whenever they felt like it. Our little girl was easiest to train. Not sure if that’s the norm or not.
She wanted to do what I did. Go where I went. Wear what I wore, and so it was easier to convince her that big-girl panties would truly be awesome. :)
After we introduced the potty to her, we let her pick out her own undies and went from there. We weren’t in a hurry, but when she was ready it went quickly and easily.
Amy @ Life to the Full
Oh my, did I need to read this post! 2 years old is fast approaching with my son and he has zero interest in the potty so far. Can’t wait to read the wisdom from other moms and to hear about your and Brooke’s journey with this!
I’m hoping to have my son potty trained by the time he’s… three. And I have NO advice for you because this is my first potty training adventure :s
Julie
I have twin girls one trained at 2 1/2 and the other at 3 1/2. It is just when they were ready. To avoid giving them candy I would give them pennies to put in their piggy bank. It worked pretty quick for the first one but the second one was less motivated at that time once she was ready it worked great. After they would go either pee or poop in the potty we would go feed the piggy!
Carolyn
I see you’ve already gotten a ton of advice. I doubt there’s much I can add, but I’ll relate our experience. Keep in mind my son is in daycare full time so starting at around 14 months he was seeing kids use the potty every day (his toddler room had it’s own bathroom with mini-toilets and sinks). Also, we cloth diapered which they say makes a difference, but who knows. Oh, AND we had a floor potty and a seat reducer starting at around 18 months that he would use whenever we put him on it.
2-3 months before he turned two he was waking up completely dry. I brought it up to daycare around the time he turned two and they said they wanted to wait until he woke up from naps dry. I actually think he was waking up dry, but by the time the started changing 10 kids he wasn’t anymore. Within a week they said they had a potty training “opening” and offered to try it.
The first few days were rough. The third day I went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of bribes (candy, toys, stickers). Those were mostly to entice him to sit on the potty since he was tired of being asked and starting to refuse.
Within a day of bribes we were down to 1-2 accidents/day. Within a week we were going several days with no accidents. Within a couple of weeks he was down to once/week and daycare moved him to the potty trained room.
We still have times when he regresses a little and more frequent accidents, but they always pass.
I hope this helps!! Mine is already in just undies at night, too, because once we switched during the day he started refusing diapers at night because he realized how much more comfortable he was without them. We’ve only had two or three nighttime (morning, really) accidents in the 6ish weeks we’ve switched at night.
Liz
I haaaaate potty training! #1 and #2 were FOUR-years old by the time we finally got them potty trained. And yes, I tried everything. I finally figured out #1 wouldn’t pee her pants if we were in stores. So for two weeks we were hardly at home. #2 finally figured things out after I told him Santa would not bring him presents unless he stopped wearing diapers (don’t judge, I was desperate). #3 was 2.5-years-old when she got potty trained. Was her personality different or had I finally figured out how to be stern potty training mom? I have no idea. #4 is still a baby and, while you’d think I’ve got things figured out, I’m still scared to death to even think about potty training her.
So no advice, only a great deal of sympathy. Good luck!!
BriAnne
I used 3 Day Potty Training and it was fantastic!! http://www.3daypottytraining.com/
I also checked the movie Potty Power from the library and it seriously made the difference for Summer! She especially loved the Princess story at the end! I just looked and found it online here: http://tune.pk/video/4161661/potty-power-full-video
But I had to try two different times with Summer. She is a very determined lady and she was only ready when SHE was ready. The first time was a disaster, so I put the diapers back on and waited (a lot of moms wouldn’t recommend this, but it was best for her). Then one day a few months later, she told me she didn’t want to wear her diapers anymore and so we did it again and it was a success! She was close to 3 I think.
Also, something to keep in mind…when you decide to go for it, do it during a time that you don’t have a lot scheduled…you won’t want to be out and about for a few days most likely.
Ooooh…one more thing! I treasure this little thing more that I can tell you! http://www.amazon.com/Cool-Gear-Travel-Potty/dp/B002RAYVKG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1418325013&sr=8-2&keywords=travel+potty&pebp=1418325015427
It is a travel potty and I can’t tell you how many times we would be out driving or just left the grocery store and already packed into the car….and she would have to go! So I just pulled this bad boy out and put it on the floor of the car for her to go. It just uses ziploc baggies so the clean up is easy peasy and it sure beats going back inside or frantically trying to find a gas station or something on the road.
Good luck! You’re amazing! I’m not even thinking that far ahead with Crew yet….haha!
BriAnne
I meant to say that I found that video online for free…so that’s a bonus! :)
Arianne
My aunt recently has been struggling with the potty training with my 3 year old cousin. A bunch of her friends have been potty training their kids by doing a “bootcamp” of sorts…mind you, this is kind of a last resort if your other bribery, gold star sticker methods don’t work…But you put your child in underwear all day long. Zero diapers. And you encourage them to go on the potty, and if they resist, then it is their choice to wet themselves in the house (so you need to make sure you do this on a day that you can stay at home all day long). Eventually they realize they don’t like it, and they will WANT to use the potty. Good luck!
Brooke @ sweats & sweets
My mom swears by this method: Whenever she is ready, get her in big girl panties, place a diaper over it and let her be aware of her “going”. When she doesn’t like the feeling, she’ll ask to go. And they’ll be used to having the panties on and not the diaper after some days. She’s trained me (duh, forever ago) and my cousin’s daughter and some of my friend’s kids.
Losing Lindy
I didn’t read any of the previous comments, but I had a boy and it is probably different. He had NO interest in not wearing diapers. We tried (not the naked kind) and he didn’t get it to stick until he was over 3. For him there was not a poop issue that some find difficult while training. I felt he should sort of figure it out as it was best for him at the time and before he had to be trained for preschool. Yeah no stress there! ;) But getting rid of diapers was actually more difficult than diapers. Remember to always have a change of clothes that fit for the proper season for the next two years. Accidents will happen. You will both feel better when you have change her. I left a set of clothes in the car that I didn’t really like, so think something cheap or something that was a gift that you really don’t care for. Also keep a package of wipes in your purse (in the car in the summer) to wipe off. Also try hitting up the library for videos/books on the subject
Sharsti@sugarplumrunner
My son was almost three. I waited until he wanted to and then I didn’t have todo anything really. He was old enough to know what to do and he did it. He only had 3 accidents and has never looked back. I think you should wait till they’re ready and don’t stress until then:)
Shannon
So, not very many tips, but my SIL has her son almost fully trained, and he’s going to be 3 in about 2 months. I’m wanting to say she started when he was about 2 years old, maybe a tiny bit older. She started when he knew what it was.
Megan
My son potty trained at 2. We used the book Toilet training in less than a day. It worked really well and my son was mostly potty trained by lunch time! The potty training day is not really fun, so I recommend having things for you to look forward to like a fun lunch or a treat.
Jessica
My neighbor was a lifesaver with this one. She has 4 daughters so she helped me a ton! My daughter was 2 yrs. and 4 months when we potty trained her. When you decide to potty train, the parent has to be committed. It is training the parent as much as the child.
1. Take away diapers except for naps (for ~a month) and night time (until she wakes up dry)
2. Have her stay naked for the first day or two, push a lot of liquids, and put her on the potty often. On day one we let her watch as many movies as she wanted sitting on a portable potty in front of the TV so she could get the hang of what it feels like. Day 2-3 we set an alarm and put her on the big potty every 45 min to an hour. We continued to do that for weeks. They get the hang of it!
The four most important things to remember.
1. No one goes to college in diapers, she will get there.
2. Their little muscles have never had to “hold it” before, so they have to strengthen those muscles.
3. There will be accidents all over the house. Its OK, its just an accident, don’t make a big deal about it, when it happens just put her on the potty.
4. You are an amazing mom. You can do it!
Jennifer
My girls are almost 13 and 15 but the things I remember most about potty training that were successful for us was:
1. I took them to the store so they could pick out the “big girl panties” that they wanted. They got excited about that.
2. I bought a cheap potty that I kept in the back of my SUV because it never failed, as soon as we driving down the road she had to potty (even though I would make her go before we left the house). I would pull over into a parking lot, she would climb over the seat and I would hop back there and help her (I kept a roll of toilet paper, too)
3. I put a Walmart sack on the seat of her carseat and then a towel over that so if she had an accident in her seat it wouldn’t soak the carseat. I would simply take the towel and sack off!
4. I carried disposable toilet seat covers in my bag because she always wanted to use the potty in every store we went in and little ones like to hold the seat with both hands (GERMS!)
5. Starting the process when you have a few days at home is a good idea.
6. I made a prize box with a hole in the top so she couldn’t see the prize but had to reach her hand in the hole and pull out a prize if she went in the potty. I went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of little toys for it. After she picked out a prize, we would dance around the house singing.
These are a few things that made it fun for my girls and the process easier on me :)
Kerry @ cookcleanrundream
Okay .. lots of people have said the same stuff. I’ve got 4 kids. Here’s the magic.
1. Do NOT wait until “they’re ready”. Who’s the adult?
2. You can still buy those Gerber padded training pants (Walmart .. Target). They’re the best! I don’t do the run around naked thing, and hello it’s WINTER in Utah. But those padded undies are AWESOME. You don’t have a huge mess of tinkles everywhere. But they feel they’re wet so they get the gist of it. Just be prepared to wash them EVERY day for the first few days.
3. Pick a two week time frame where you don’t have much going on. So that you can stay at home or just go to family and friends houses.
4. DO NOT GIVE UP. Commit to it for 2 weeks. Period.
5. Best age is between 26 to 28 months .. it’s the magical age. Promise.
6. NO DIAPERS. Except at bedtime. Even at naptime I would let mine fall asleep in undies and then throw a diaper on after they were asleep.
7. Don’t bother with pull ups. They’re a waste of good money. Diapers at night are just fine. And Brooke won’t care.
8. Have a freaking PARTY in the bathroom when she pee’s!!!! You have to celebrate that pee BIG TIME EVERY TIME for the first few days.
The Elmo Potty video is good too. You can probably download it.
2 weeks MAX .. I promise.
Kami
The one tip I would recommend is NOT buying one of the toilet rings that fits in the regular toilet seat. Once my kids figured out how to go on a little training potty and not in a diaper, we went right to work sitting on a normal sized toilet–because that’s what they have to use out in the real world. They need to figure out how to balance and wipe and all that jazz, otherwise they’ll always need your help or can only go at home or on a toilet with a ring on it.
Rachel S
My son was 3 1/2 when he was potty trained and my daughter just turned 3 and we are in the slow process of training. It is totally up to the kid about when the potty training will work. Some are like ok I am a big kid I want undies others are like ya no thank you. For my son we did a pee pee party weekend. We got rid of all the diapers, but we had pull ups for the night time. We gave him lots to drink and every 10 min we sat him on the potty. There were lots of accidents but by Sunday night he had it down. We didn’t stop using pull ups at night until he was about 4 1/2.
Kristin
Oh girl! I was reading your post from today (6.19.15) and saw your HGR baby menu and clicked on it! And jackpot! I am currently on Day 5 of potty training my 2 (27months) year old. Loved reading all these helpful tips and comments!!
Megan
This is the first time I have visited your site and am loving it. When I saw this, I had to respond. My daughter -bless her- potty trained in a weekend. That’s right. 2 days. 48 hours. Period.
-When she was 18 months, we started flushing her poopies down the potty. She would flush and say, “Bye poopies!”
-When she was two, it was go time. We literally hung out the entire weekend with no pants. Well, not we lol SHE. But we stayed in the kitchen, which is tile and has the bathroom right off it. Pant-less, we played games, colored, and baked LOTS of cookies. Whenever she would start to pee, I would rush her into the bathroom to let her finish on the potty. Hooray!!!
-I very quickly learned that my daughter could hold her bladder for over 4 hours. Which leads me to my next point …
-After a whole weekend of interrupting “accidents” with potty runs, she was holding it to the point of being uncomfortable and didn’t want to go. My grandma made the suggestion that I stick her feet in warm water in the bathtub. The second I did that, she began the tell-tale bounce. When I asked her if she needed to go potty, she said “uh-huh” and never looked back.
Good Luck with whatever method you choose!!!
Crap… I just looked at the date you posted. Hahaha well, I hope it went well! and nice to meet you!