Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for Pull-Ups. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating. All opinions are my own.
This past week has been a busy one in our house. At the end of last week we celebrated RiRi’s 14th birthday, and then we celebrated Easter this past weekend. Saturday I had a laundry list of things to do, from grocery shopping to dying eggs, to creating my usual feast that we have grown accustomed to every holiday. Unfortunately, my body had other plans and what began as allergies quickly escalated to aches, pains, and ickies in general by Saturday evening. Thankfully my family took good care of me and I was feeling okay enough to participate in our Easter festivities, minus the big menu.
Surprisingly, through it all, RoRo decided on Saturday that he was ready to be a big boy. We’ve been working on potty training for months, but we’ve taken the slow & steady route until he felt comfortable enough for the next steps. It seemed to have been effective for him, because even though I was sick for the most part all weekend, RoRo has had no accidents! How easy was that?
Well, for starters there is a method. My oldest is now 19 years old, so I started potty training kids a long time ago. There’s a few things I’ve learned along the way that makes the process so much easier, it’s just 5 easy steps.
5 Steps to Potty Training Success
- Look for the signs. This usually starts somewhere between two and three years old. My older two were fully potty trained by the time they were 2 and 1/2, my younger two were over 3 years old. Here’s the signs to watch out for.
- They can say the words to describe their bodily functions. This is an important one, because they have to be able to tell you that they went or that they need to. D-Man was an early talker, so he had this part down before he was even 2, but RoRo was a late talker and this is the part that held us up. Teach them the words for #1 and #2 as you change them, they will catch on.
- They become interested in the toilet and their own potty if they have one already.
- They can start to undress themselves, especially their lower half and they are uncomfortable with being wet or dirty and don’t want to be left in it. Bonus if they are taking off diapers when they’re dirty or wet. *This is a great time to introduce Huggies Pull-Ups. Pull-Ups are easy for kids to slip on and off and they also can feel when they are wet so they are perfect for this stage in training.
- Stay positive and be encouraging! Don’t be pushy. You don’t want to scare your baby, this will have the opposite effect and could make the process so much longer. We don’t want that! Always give praise and show your little one how exciting this time is. Let them know it’s wonderful to be excited, clap, give stickers, whatever works for you!
- Make it easy. Once your little one knows the basics and seems comfortable, create an atmosphere that is centered around the potty training. At least for a few days and then you can make adjustments. For instance, the past few months we’ve been working with RoRo. His vocabulary has finally built up, he showed all the signs, he’d gotten comfortable with his potty where he knew what to expect with it, how it worked and how to take it apart and put it back together. It wasn’t new anymore, so it wasn’t something he wanted to play with any longer. He now knew what it was for, so we kept it in the family room, which is a comfortable area for us. He began by sitting on it while watching tv, with his clothes on. Then he would use it properly, but still in our common area. This past weekend we let him run around with his bottoms off for most of Saturday, and he used the potty every time. Once he got the hang of it, we put the potty back in the bathroom after a day or two so now he knows to head in there when he’s ready. We still use Pull-Ups when we are out running errands, but at home we’ve graduated to undergarments. Yay!
- No liquids before naptime/bedtime. Try to keep your little one on a consistent schedule, this makes it easier to know when to stop the liquids before bedtime. If your little one has a giant cup of juice before naptime chances are an accident is bound to happen. Prevent whats preventable.
- Make it fun! This is probably the most important part. Potty training is a huge step in your child’s growing independence. It’s exciting and a big milestone. Create fun songs or games, and decide on appropriate rewards. These all make it so exciting for your little one and will make a big difference. *The Big Kid App that’s available on Apple or Android smart phones was so useful for both D-Man and RoRo, the interactive games and videos made such a difference and definitely encouraged them both in such a fun way.
Pull-Ups has been instrumental in the success of our potty training journey
There’s tons of useful information on the Pull-Ups Big Kid Academy website as well as on Facebook and their Twitter page. In addition, Pull-Ups has partnered with The First Years to help make potty training even more fun with some of your childs favorite characters! With the purchase of a specialty potty system from The First Years, you will also recieve a free sample pack of Pull-Ups Training Pants to get you and your child started on your potty training journey!
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