The official toilet training tips thread

amother

Thu, Dec 02 2021, 5:17 am

Hi. Looking for all tips on toilet training. Dc is 2.5 but extremely bright kh. Very verbal bh. Ppl comment that it's strange dc is still in diapers. I have toilet trained other kids at this age but I am rusty now. Dc is definitely ready and wanting it, begs for underwear daily and removes diaper. I also have a very needy baby which makes things difficult. I tried just putting on underwear and it worked well only with reminders.
Any and all tips welcome.
TIA

amother

Tue, Dec 07 2021, 1:29 pm

Bump

amother

Arcticblue

Tue, Dec 07 2021, 1:31 pm

If your child is going with Reminders that’s a great step . I was trying to toilet in my toddler and even with reminders we’re having tons of accidents and refusing to go we went back to diapers for now

amother

Hydrangea

Tue, Dec 07 2021, 1:52 pm

I'm almost at the end of a several-months-long process with my oldest. No good tips; it was/is really hard.
Just wanted to thank you for starting this thread. I'll be following!

amother

Blue

Tue, Dec 07 2021, 1:54 pm

My biggest tip is to work on it when your child is ready. It sounds like yours is. Even though it’s hard with a baby, don’t miss this window. Their interest and cooperation is the best thing you can have.

fulltimemommy

Sat, Dec 25 2021, 10:12 pm

I'm pretty young so it's not like I have had so much experience but after having taken a good few months to train my almost 3 year old son I do think I have some tips (basically dumping my brain here Smile

)

Make sure the kid is ready. And that they have some form of bladder control already, cuz that saves you a step. It's a lot of pressure on the kid so that could be unnecessary stress if they aren't ready.

Before you start, make sure they're comfortable with the whole concept. Took us a few months before my kid would even be ok with sitting on the toilet seat fully clothed.

You need to be ready. Don't do it if you can't handle it. Try not to get angry when they have an accident.

The praise you give your kid is what motivates them most. Even more than prizes or treats.

Marshmallows are a good treat cuz they aren't melty. You're welcome.

Have lots and lots of underwear. I found that sometimes it was more worth throwing it out than cleaning it. But cheap ones. (let's say they had a #2 accident in playgroup and it sat in their knapsack all day TMI

)

Start them with just a shirt/dress on that first day. Only add on underwear when they have gotten the hang of feeling the need to go. If it's a boy, make sure that the pants pull down easily.

Some kids get upset of you keep asking them. Instead, just talk about how you're proud that they're still dry, and try to put it into the conversation. (Reading a book- that girl looks so happy. I bet it's cuz she goes to the bathroom when she needs to- or something like that.)

That's all I can think of now Very Happy

hang in there, it does get easier. But it is a long process and some kids take a while to catch on. Or in the case of my son, he needed to be very motivated for the training period. At this point we go most days accident free, occasionally having an accident here or there.

Good luck!