Disclaimer: All kids are different. You are the parent, you know what is best for your child. I am not a professional, in fact I go against a lot of professional opinions. This is what works for me. I'm writing this blog because I've been asked several times how I successfully potty train. If you don't agree with this, please, do not try it.
Potty Training. Those two simple words can strike some serious fear and anxiety in some people. For me, I think of 4 hardcore weeks (10 weeks or so total) that will really suck. I don't hate potty training, I sort of like it. DID I JUST SAY THAT? Yes. I like a challenge. How great is is to get a feeling of satisfaction as you walk by the diaper isle at the store, you're not spending $20 on a box of diapers every couple weeks! YAY. What? Saving money isn't enough to get you geared up to potty train? Do you really enjoy wiping poo off your toddlers bottom? If the answer is yes, stop reading. Go away.
My daughter was potty trained at 18 months. My son was a little bit older because I slacked off and the fact that I didn't have the same anatomy hindered us a bit. He was still completely potty trained before he was 2 years old. When I say potty trained, I mean no accidents and no bed wetting. Potty trained means COMPLETELY DONE, in my house. Of course kids still have random accidents... I'm not saying my kids never did. I'm just saying the accidents we're very rare. Maybe 2 or 3 during the first year of being potty trained. Lets begin.
ALWAYS BE PERSISTENT. DO NOT BEGIN UNLESS YOU INTEND ON FINISHING. If you start potty training and decided its "too hard" then you're setting yourself up for failure in the future. Don't start to potty train unless you're really ready to commit. Potty training is hard, it takes time and you will not be able to leave your house very often. I don't care if baby is 12 months old or 4 years old, I believe being persistent is the key to success.
Choose a word you're going to use to associate with going to the bathroom. Potty, pee-pee, tinkle, whatever. Some parents even use a sound cue like "pssssss" and hand gestures.
The Prerequisites; This is a 4 week process, give or take. Just feel out out the process and and follow your baby's cues. Some babies learn faster than others, some are slower. These are the stepping stones your baby will need before starting the actual potty training.
Prerequisite 1. Introduce your child to the potty chair of your choice. Do not allow the child to play with it, would you ever let your baby play with he real toilet? No. The potty is not a toy. Encourage your baby to sit on it, some babies are scared at first. Once your baby is no longer trying to mess with the potty every chance he/she gets and is no longer scared of the potty you're ready for the next step. (this takes me about 2 weeks)
Prerequisite 2. Every morning once your baby wakes up, place him/her on the potty chair. You can start with a diaper and then go without a diaper once you establish a ritual. When your baby wakes up from a nap, do the same. While my kids we're sitting on the chair and they happened to go I'd celebrate by saying "PEE PEE!" and clap and act like a complete fool. Babies LOVE that. (this takes me about a week)
Prerequisite 3. Start giving your baby drinks only at the table with meals. Don't let baby run around with their sippy cup all day. You'll be screwed if you do. Generally, its takes about 2 hours for what goes in to come out, urine anyways. (this takes me about 2 weeks, my kids we're stubborn!)
Prerequisite 4. I start with Easy Ups, get your baby some they're like Pull Ups but actual diapers. Start changing diapers in standing position. Yes, its sounds hard and sometimes its impossible to do but you should try and do all urine diapers standing up. Encourage your baby to step into the diaper. (this is about a week long process, luckily babies are fast learners!)
It's GO time. This is when the real potty training starts. This is Potty Training 101.
Step 1. Buy your baby underwear! Wal Mart and Target carry them, buy the 2T ones. They shrink. Personally I think they run small. If you're the crunchy type, buy some plastic underpants/training pants. Buy some Pull Ups, its on now! (use the rest of those Easy Up's too!)
Step 2. Put the underwear on your baby. Be prepared for your baby to pee on the floor... a lot. Don't get angry with your baby if he/she pee's on the floor. Make sure they know what happened by using your potty word. Explain that they need to pee in the potty, place them on the potty. Some babies will freak out when they feel the urine on themselves, its okay.
Step 3. Place baby on the potty roughly every 2 hours. Don't forget to keep up on your morning/after nap time potty placements. When your baby uses the potty correctly make a big deal! Clap! Celebrate! And even reward baby. I used fruit snacks with my older two.
Step 4. By now you've noticed I've not yet discussed pooping. Well, I'm pretty sure you know when your baby is pooping or getting ready to poop. When you see these signs place them on the potty.
Step 5. Only use Pull Ups and Easy Ups at nap time. Use underwear all other times. If you're brave you can use underwear during nap time, I always do. It makes potty after nap easier. I used Pull Ups and Easy Ups at bedtime. Speaking of bedtime, no drinks 2 hours prior to bedtime. Make sure to place baby on the potty before bed.
Thats it. It may seem a bit overwhelming. But once you establish rituals it will be a breeze! I didn't cover getting your little boy to pee standing up because thats not really THAT important. The focus of this entry was to get baby to pee on the potty. I will write a follow up post about how I got my kids to transition to the actual toilet and how I taught my son to pee standing up.
Good luck! If you need any help or support holler at me! I will happily share stories of failure and success as well as encourage you to continue the process. You can email me, comment on the post, or even catch me on twitter @ragekat.
