How to know when my child is ready to potty train?
Do I give my child rewards when potty training?
When do I stop giving rewards?
What if it's not working?
Will pee get everywhere?
But how??
If I don't answer your question, comment below and I will try to help you out! This is just what worked for us :)
Lucy first started showing signs that she was interested in potty training when she was 15 months. Here is an article for the signs of readiness recommended by babycenter.com. Some of the signs that she showed were: coming to tell me she wants her diaper changed, interested in what I’m doing (or big sis) on the toilet, and telling me that she is going in her diaper. When she was 20 months old I decided to jump on it and see how she would do. (Quincy was daytime potty trained at 21 months and Lucy started showing interest before Q did, so I figured why not?) I felt that if she is interested I might as well show her how it’s done and see if she is ready, if she wasn’t ready then we would wait a few months and try again. I used this method with Quincy and it worked really well. When Quincy was 18 months we tried potty training for 3 days and she knew completely what to do she just couldn’t physically hold it long enough to run to the toilet. So I waited 8 weeks and tried again, she had it down by the end of the first day.
With Lucy I did basically the same thing. Tried potty training at 20 months, and she wasn’t there physically yet. So I decided to wait until we were settled in our new home and then try again. I wanted to try before life gets busy with the holiday’s, so I figured now is as good as ever! During the 4 months that I waited between tries, she was still very interested in potty training. She had days that she would tell me 5 or 6 times that she wanted to use the toilet and she would sit and go. Most of the time she did not like going poo in her diaper, she would stop and tell me that she needed to go and a handful of times she ended up going on the toilet. So three cheers to that! I was hopeful that because of her continued interest that it would be easy the second go around. Here is my method to my madness.
Weeks before we begin I prepare her by telling her that she is going to be a big girl soon and she won’t need to wear diapers anymore. She will get to wear underwear and use the toilet like big sis etc and get her excited about it! I teach her the sign for toilet (you can see that here) and use that sign when I am showing her that I use the toilet too. I then prepare by getting a little potty, (we have this one.) This one is my favorite because it sings a little song when it gets wet. The seat also comes off and secures to the big toilet and then can be used as a step stool as well.
I also buy new underwear with her favorite character (both my girls loved Minnie Mouse at this age,) crackers and juice (to make sure she needs to pee lots to get a lot of practice in,) mini marshmallows (treats for when she pees in the toilet,) and small dollar store toys (prize for when she goes poo.) I know that some don't like to do these rewards for various reasons, but I chose to give small treats. I haven't had a problem when phasing out of giving rewards, just told my kids that when they are gone they are gone. I keep the marshmallows in a jar that they can clearly see when they are running out. And I keep the small prizes in a basket that she gets to pick on each time, then they run out and are gone- no problem!
The morning of when I go in to get her from her bed I tell her how excited I am because she is a big girl now and gets to use the toilet! I then take her diaper off and she goes commando for the whole day meaning no underwear or diapers or pants (except during nap time I tell her that she can wear a diaper only for sleeping in now.) Then I take her to the toilet that we will be using for most of the day (ours is the one just off of the kitchen where there is no carpet to worry about.) I have prepped her baby doll, a little squirt bottle and a treat for the baby because now I want to show her exactly how to use the toilet. Her baby pretends to sign the word for toilet or says pee or potty or whatever it is we choose to say. Then I put the baby doll on the toilet and secretly squirt some water into the toilet so that it sings and seems like the baby really peed in the toilet. Then I get very excited for the baby and give her a marshmallow treat. I then ask Lucy if she wants to try. If she pees she gets a treat, but if she doesn't I say "that's okay next time you will get one." Now for the exhausting part. The part that you will think to yourself "why in the world did I ever think this was a good idea?" Prepare to be covered in pee and to mop the floor 15-20 times that day. Nap time for me was a serious savior to my sanity. So I pray that your child still takes naps when you attempt this!
Now I give her breakfast and juice. Then set the timer to take her to the toilet every 15 minutes. If I find that she keeps wetting the floor before the 15 minutes are up, then set the timer for every 10 minutes. When she does pee in the toilet I get very excited (and had Quincy get very excited too-her reward was a mini marshmallow for cheering on little sis.) Then she gets one mini marshmallow. If I know she needs to go because she looks very uncomfortable but just won't, then I sit her on the toilet and read a book to her. When she needs to go poo, if it becomes an issue I let her watch a movie on our kindle or look at pictures or videos of herself on my phone. Something to help her relax during the process. Most of the time kids are a bit nervous to poo in the toilet... they think their bum is going to fall into the toilet or something! So that is day 1
On day 2- we do the same thing as day 1 but I don't give her as much juice and try to see if she will tell me when she needs to go. We just hang out in the kitchen/main floor to be close to the toilet.
Day 3- if she is doing well I introduce underwear. I tell her that she needs to keep them dry. Every time she needs to use the toilet, I check to see if they are dry and get really excited if they are dry. If she pees in them I say "uh oh, your underwear are wet. Pee goes in the toilet. We keep our underwear dry." By the end of day 3 both of my girls usually have it down. If your child doesn't, I suggest waiting 6-8 weeks and trying again.
When I have tried to start potty training my girls, the first go around hasn't worked. Mostly because they aren't physically able to hold it long enough to run to the toilet. But I am actually really glad I did introduce potty training to them, because they stay interested in it during the waiting period. Then when I am able to try again a few months later they have it down by the end of day 1. I hope this helped you! This is just my method and what has worked for us, I am sure there are other ways to do it. Good luck! You're going to need it ;)
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