Potty Training a Toddler in 5 Simple Steps

1. Plan/prepare: Plan how, when, and where you are going to potty train. How are you going to train, are you going to use toddler toilets or go straight to the big toilet? Are you going to potty train during the days only or are you going to do naps and nights as well?  Are you going to do the naked from waist down technique or just skip the diapers and put them in dresses, shorts or pants. Once you have this planned. Set a date that works for your house and figure out where you want to put the toddler toilets ( if you are using them) (tip: have extra shorts and pants in your diaper bag, extra blankets, towels, sheets etc ready to go). If your child has a form of child care they need to involved as well. As a stay at home mom i could not image not bing in the loop as i am the one with her all day. 
2. Stick to it: Once you start, stick with it. Loads of research shows that children do better with consistency and schedules. So once you decide as a parent it is time then devote the days needed to give your little one the best chance of success.  I definitely had moments of frustration, if you have moments like that is totally normal but push through. 
3. Be their biggest cheerleader: This is new and very different for your little one, so celebrating all the big and little wins will ease any stress they might be feeling. It also gives you a fun reason to smile in the mists of pee, and poop galore. 
4. Don’t let others control your journey: where we live the summers get hot, I felt very strongly against restricting my littles water intake for 12 hours at night. So I do use pull ups(night time underwear) at night and let things ride for naps. The biggest thing I try to remember is this is my daughter’s  journey and I am her  support person. The more I help her and follow her lead the easier it will be. If I try to force her into a specific path that might not work, the more I risk stressing both of us out. 
5. Make it fun:
   1. Sing: I came up with something that works for us and is silly. I found coming up with a potty training song adds some smiles to the process. We use “Pee pee, pee pee in the potty. You went pee pee, pee pee  in the potty. We sit on the potty to go pee and poop. 
   2. Dance: Sometimes she has the feeling of pee or I need her to go before we head out. So I sit her on the potty, sing a potty song and sometimes do a little dance. I have fun with it. I turn in circles, do the shopping cart, sprinkler I do back to the 90’s and pull out whatever will make her laugh and relax. I found this will allow her to relax and not fight stifling on the toilet.
   3. Make the flush fun: My daughter loves to bring her pee and dump it in the toilet, when she does i praise it when she doesn’t then we do it and we still try to get her involved in the flush. For the big flush  we wave to the pee and/or poop as we flush. 

Here are some of the tools we use in the process of potty training.

If you have questions on why I did anything or want to map out your potty training journey, feel free to message me. I’m happy to share the mama knowledge. I am not a doctor.