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I think it’s safe to say every parent awaits the day that their child will finally learn to use the potty on their own. The day that you can finally pack away diapers for good. One of the things that parents spent searching the internet is how to potty train their toddlers.
The first couple of times he would sit there for fun, of course because he had no idea what it was for. When he finally figured out what it was for, he ran away from the potty as fast as he could.
We were stomped and couldn’t understand, however we were not giving up. It was then that we decided to try something else. We bought him an IKEA toilet seat thinking it may be a better fit. To our surprise, nothing changed. He would sit on there and smile, and only pee in it once in a blue moon.
When Aiden turned 3, the number one question people asked me was, “Is he potty trained yet?” When I answered with “Nope,” they were shocked at why he wasn’t. It almost seemed like turning 3 was the magical age when all children just happened to be potty trained. Well, that magic did not happen in our home. Aiden was still not interested in using the potty on his own.
I asked questions in mommy groups, read articles online, listened to advice from people but none of their suggested methods worked. I remember someone telling me “Let him run around the house naked, it really helped my son.”
Do you know what happened when I tried to implement that? I spent my days cleaning poop and pee all over the house. After trying that for a few days, it was starting to make the entire process stressful for both Aiden and I.
I then told my husband “Nope, Nope, Nope, bring back the diapers asap. He needs it.” Basically, I was just stressing myself out for nothing. I dreamed about how much easier it would be not to pack diapers and wipes when going out and especially when traveling.
Then I started to question why it was called potty training. Was I really training him, or was he learning? Obviously all the training I was doing wasn’t working, so I figured this was something he had to “Learn On His Own”.
At that point I stopped trying and simply told him “Aiden, when you finally learn how to use the potty, I promise I will take you to Thomas Land.” For a child who is obsessed with Thomas the Train, Thomas Land is a dream come true.
We were in the middle of a move at this time, so I gave away Aiden’s Elmo potty chair and IKEA potty seat and invested in the Adult Toilet Seat with Built-in Child Potty Training Seat. My husband installed it with ease in all 3 bathrooms in our home. I highly recommend it. Click Here to check it out and read other reviews about it.
A month or so after my Thomas land promise and daily reminders to use the potty, at 3yrs and 4 months, Aiden came up to me and said “Mom, I need to pee on the potty.” I was happy, but I didn’t want to get too excited just in case it turned out to be a one-time thing. Thankfully it wasn’t.
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Night Time Potty Training
Wit hin a week Aiden had fully learned how to use the potty (with reminders of course). Woo Hoo
This included both during the day and the night, and the diapers were gone for good. He went from Diapers to Underwear.
We did not spend a dime on Pull-Ups. He was even brave enough to tell me “Mom, diapers are for baby Avery”. (Avery is his baby cousin)
We didn’t have a any specific night time potty training recipe or method that worked for us. Once he figured out or more of, once he had learned how to use the potty in the day time, night time potty training came to him with ease.
Lessons Potty Training A Toddler Taught Me
Below are the lessons I learned from this potty training / potty learning experience:
- Patience is Key
- Don’t stress about your child being potty trained, it will eventually click
- Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about your child not being potty trained
- Don’t compare your child with other children or their siblings as every child hits different milestones at different times
Best Potty Training Books
Children love books, and this list of the best potty training books will be sure to help and encourage them.
There comes a point in a toddler’s life when going in one’s diaper is only one possible option, and the question must be raised: “Should I go in my potty?”
Big Girl Panties! features a light, positive approach to motivate toddlers to become toilet trained. 
Sesame Street’s Elmo tells little girls and boys ages 1 to 3 all about how to use the potty.
Every little superhero needs to use a potty, he just needs to know how to go!
It’s time for a change. No more diapers for me. I’m ready for the big leagues!
Overall Tips On How To Potty Train Your Toddler
- Buy your favorite wine
- Open wine
- Pour wine
- Drink wine
- Repeat
- Or just wait till your child is READY !!
I truly believe that children will learn to use the potty when they are ready. At their own time and at their own pace, not when you want them to. Of course you have to play an active role in the process by encouraging them and guiding them, however it will click in when they are ready!
Great post Karen! 🙂
Thanks Christelle.
Thank God! Makes me feel much better because potty training JJ has been a struggle and his teacher kept saying the kids should be ready by 3 and I’m like that’s in 2 months!
I’m surprised his teacher will say that. She should know every child is different and don’t reach milestones at the same age.
I love this post!! I’m going through the exact same thing right now! My son is almost 3 and im constantly getting put down because he’s not using the potty yet. Patience is key. I’ve learned that! Thanks for this?
Taylor, YES! Patience is key. Don’t feel pressured in any way. He will do it when he is ready!
My 2 year old screams when I mention potty or toilet. It makes me feel bad, I have tried everything. I even began to doubt my skills, but then I potty trained my son by 2. I have decided to let her be, it will.happen when it does.
Definitely needed to read were having a tough time potty training our soon Jazon
Hey Bryan, glad you came across my post. The key is to remember kids will learn to use the potty when they are ready! 🙂 Take it easy and let them take the lead.
That training seat is an awesome idea!
I have seen such a difference in the potty training acceptance of my two grandchildren who are only 2 months apart….it is not a perfect one fits all solution
This is exactly where we are right now. Thanks for sharing this. It’s less stressful than I assumed it would be.
I thought it was great how you mentioned that when you are potty training your child patience is key and you should not stress about your child being potty trained. My son is almost 2 years old which means we have been trying to teach him how to use a toilet when he needs to go to the bathroom. We have been struggling to teach him how to properly do it, so it would be great if we could find a course or a book that could teach us how to better train him to use the toilet.
Thank you for your tip to not compare your child with anyone whether that is other kids or their siblings. My sister is trying to potty train her little boy and is struggling a little bit. I will have to tell her to be patient and to look for things that could help interest my nephew, such as toilet covers he likes or something, so he can be excited to use the toilet!
Thank you for this article! Our son is now 17 months and I just started potty training him, and it really, really takes a lot of patience. Everyone says I’m starting too early, but I’m now 34 weeks pregnant with our second child and I really want our son to be potty trained by the time our girl is born. The first day we started he didn’t pee in his pants or the potty the whole morning, which shows me that he understands. The only thing is, he’s not doing anything on the potty either, it’s like he’s keeping everything in and doesn’t know how to do it when he’s on the potty. Do you have any thoughts on that?