Simple Potty Training Tips for Success

Parents start potty training their children at different times and what “works” for one child doesn’t necessarily work for the next. Consistency is key but there are other factors to consider too. We recommend tailoring parenting style to the child you have. When having a setback, negative reinforcement may cause a child to shut down or have a negative association with using the potty. Using positive reinforcement will make an already stressful situation more tolerable. When negative reinforcement is needed, success has been noticed when rewards are delayed or taken away. The “reward” does not have to be desserts or sweets. It can be going or not going to a favorite park or any activity that has “value” to the child. Withholding rewards should correlate to insignificant improvement or noticeable setbacks with potty training. Reward participation should be given for progess and celebrated as an accomplishment. Encourage your little guy or gal to keep making the accomplishment and change the "reward" to match your child's interests.

With the thought that potty training is an inevitable part of life, we recommend purchasing training underwear whenever you stumble across them at an unbeatable price. Even if the discounted training underwear is a store brand, there is usually enough quality built-in to hold your little guy or gal's pee and poop. Purchasing training underwear in sizes 2T-3T and 3T-4T is low risk and the underwear has a very high chance of being used. If you have concerns about overpurchasing, the good news is that any training underwear you don’t use can be turned into a useful children’s gift that almost any family can use.

Occasionally, there will be a time where training underwear (and diapers too) are discounted so well, that they’re hard to say no to even if they’re designed for a specific gender. Until a child reaches 3-3.5 years old, they’re probably not focused on whether there’s a girl or boy cartoon character on the front of their training underwear. If there is a concern about the “optics” of which training pants are being worn, you would simply let them pee and/or poop in them at home and use other training pants when going to daycare or out and about.

Other basic potty training tips include but are not limited to:

1. Determine if your child is ready for potty training. Be sure to be attentive to new interests, including the ability to sit on the potty.

2. Take your child to buy big kid underwear. This can turn into a bonding experience as you pick a favorite character and talk about staying “dry”.

3. Establish a potty schedule. It’s helpful to know going to the potty is a routine thing.

4. Sing a potty training song. Tinkle Tinkle Little One is a modern classic but there are plenty of song ideas online.

5. If you have floors that are hardwood, vinyl, or easy to clean, foregoing training pants altogether is an option. We recommend having paper towels handy.

6. Read a potty training book. Tinkle Tinkle Little One is a song and it was also adapted to a best selling potty training book. There are numerous potty training books online to choose from.

7. It’s encouraged to teach boys how to pee sitting down. Once they have advanced from novice to expert, it’s a great time to try peeing standing up.

8. Once boys start peeing standing up, invest in store brand “O” shaped cereal. This is a cheaper alternative than purchasing potty “targets” online.

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