Any parent who’s potty trained will understand the excitement when your child has finally got the hang of it. Potty training can be a stressful process if not done well, but it doesn’t have to be. If a first-time-mama like me managed it without any knowledge or help, I believe anyone can.

After months of ignoring all posts about, Potty Training in 3 days or something alike, I finally decided it was to toilet train. I didn’t want to give it a timeframe as I didn’t want it to be a stressful process for both of us. Quite honestly, in my mind I thought 3 days was just too short a time to train a little person to do something they’ll have to master for the rest of their lives. However, I was in for a (pleasant) surprise!

For months, I had noticed lil’ T was ready to use the potty/toilet but hadn’t really paid much attention to it. But, one Saturday I finally decided I’d start by showing her the potty wasn’t only a footstool for her washing hands BUT she could use it to do business in there. With daddy at home, it meant her and I could play and trial etc without worrying about other stuff like household chores. Not such a big job I know, but I thought what better day to start than when you not so busy. Honestly, within a few days I had gotten a surprise of my life and that’s why I’m ready to share a few tips:

  1. Timing is of importance

When people say, “is he/she showing signs of readiness?”, they’re warning you – it can only be easy if they’re ready!

Little one has to be ready otherwise it’ll be a long and frustrating process for everyone involved. Things like showing an interest in the bathroom, wanting to be changed just after pooping etc are all tell-tale signs they’re ready!

  1. Train before you start training

If possible, start by getting little one used to the idea of sitting on the potty/toilet with or without pants. This is a good way of getting them familiar with it. If you’re lucky, they may actually do something in there while playing but don’t take this as serious coz it may be an unconscious thing. The goal here is to get them comfortable on the seat so when you start training they’re not rushing to get off it.

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  1. Go cold turkey

Yep, that’s right – remove diapers or training pants and let them wear normal underwear or just their ordinary trousers.

With a diaper on, little ones know they’re safe. So even if they notify you, they may do so after or while doing something in there. BUT without them pants/diapers, they’ll see & feel their urine/poop flowing so it will register that something needs to be done. And with time they’ll hold it off while they get to the toilet/potty or wait for you to get it ready till they release. Which means, they’ll train faster.

This was a big one for us. Lil’ T changed a few times the 1st day, and a few less the following day. THEN voila, she had gotten the hang of it!

  1. Patience

Like most things with kids, patience is vital. When we initially started training lil’ T, the few times she messed her pants I actually wondered how long the whole process was gonna take. But with patience and encouragement, we got there in no time.  Quite honestly, we only had a few accidents and setbacks.

  1. Praise / Encourage

I don’t think I’m the only one with a child who loves praise??! Anybody else?…

Anyway, positive reinforcement is the way to go. We went with lots of “well done”, “good girl”, “yeah” etc. This helped motivate her. Some use stickers/stars to encourage – anything that works really!

potty-training-sticker-chart-kids-potty

  1. Tailor it to you

The beauty of raising your own child is doing things your way depending on your beliefs. Anyone who knows me well knows I’m big on tailoring things to myself and doing what works best for me or my circumstances. If you give me a recipe, I’m most likely going to change ingredients or something and do it my way…

SO with potty training, it was a household thing NOT a process thing. Working around us and our routine made it an easy and stress-free process.

I suppose after all this you’re curious to know how many days we took?? Well, wait for it….

3 days! Yep! We didn’t aim for 3 days but we actually did it in 3 days. By 1 week she was sleeping without diapers or pants on and no accidents during the night! That’s my girl!

If you haven’t done it before, it’s totally doable! If you have done it, I’m sure you’ve had your own experiences! Keen to hear your thoughts! 

 

Check out my other posts 

Top 14 Essential Items For Every New Mom

Travelling With A Toddler: Top 8 Tips 

6 Must Do Workouts For Pregnant Women

 

 

 

 

51 thoughts on “Potty Training: How We Did It In Days”

  2. That is amazing that without setting a time frame you still managed to achieve it within the same time, I wonder what the out come had been if you had laid out a solid plan for three days to start with, perhaps it just adds too much pressure? I don’t have children but I found this really useful. I am always hearing it is much harder to potty train boys than girls, is there any truth in that?

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    • Yeah Ithfifi, the reason I specifically didn’t have a timeframe was so there was no pressure. And there was no need for it coz I work-from-home so I could take as much time as I needed. My daughter isn’t even 2.5 years old too so there’s time but she’s been ready for a while… And yes i hear it’s easier to train girls than boys, and I can see why but it can also depend on the child, and training method. I heard people say they’ll poop in the potty/toilet later after mastering the wee but in less than a week my daughter was doing both in the potty/toilet so guess it depends.

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  3. I do not have kids yet and I have no recollection of myself going through the process as a kid but I get it must require so much patience from parents. These tips will come really handy when I have a baby because I would have no idea what to do!

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    • Lol Corinne! I have no recollection of the going through the process myself too. I was saying that the other day but goin through it with my daughter has been an eye-opener! You don’t need experience to do it well! I’m proud of myself for it..

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  4. I love this! My little girl is just about to turn one and I feel like things are going so fast this is just around the corner for us! Keeping this in mind for later.

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  5. These are great tips. I think girls are far easier than boys. Now if getting the boys to potty over night and not in their beds would work so well… That or getting them to wipe thoroughly. Those are my issues with potty training.

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    • Yes I understand girls are easier to train too. I was amazed by how she got everything figured within a short period… All the best with the boys. I don’t have any (yet) so I wouldn’t know the difference, lol.

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  6. Awwww, I remember those days! My kiddo is almost 21 years old now. It was a struggle with her and she was actually late potty training because her (silly) dad spanked her for some reason related to potty training and she became scared of the potty seat. Sigh… that was a crazy time.

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    • Oh no! It’s a new thing to kids that’s why we need to make it as stress-free as possible. I didn’t even want to snap or anything with my little 1 coz I wanted her to have good memories abt it, IF she ever remembers it. lol

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  7. Do get you completely as I went through the whole process with my kids. I believe patience is the key while potty training, otherwise it will be frustrating for both kid and the mother as you said. This post will be definitely helpful for parents for potty training.

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  9. Oh my the memories this just brought back. My kids are both in their late teens so potty training seems like a long time ago 😉 I can clearly remember my son calling me each time to show me the “floaties” though LOL. Good on you for not making a big fuss about it and letting T do it in her own time

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    • Lol, the “floaties” – how funny! So it takes a while to understand poop ey! My daughter is more or less the same, she’ll leave the potty or toilet FAST and call you to come have a look. And she wants you to wipe her bottom in case more comes out… Lol… xxx

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    • I wouldn’t put it that way Tanvi, lol. It’s more rewarding than anything else. Yes there’s work but you see the results as they grow… They’re too cute to even think about yourself sometimes… lol

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  12. Thanks for the tips! How old was your LO when you did it by the way?
    I’m thinking about it, but not sure my toddler is ready yet. He is 1 year 7 month, and some of my friends already did potty training to their kids in the same age, only in most cases it took ages. So I thought I wait a bit, until he shows a bit more signs of readiness.

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    • We trained at 2 but she had been ready for a looong time. Due to travel and all, I held off training coz it’d have meant disruptions and all… I must say though, like many things with kids, sometimes they show signs of readiness and then they go away for a while. That’s what my daughter did. She showed signs around 1 and they went away… IF you’re confident he’s ready, I’d say go for it BUT not coz others have done it…. xxx

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    • Honestly Tiffany, you don’t have to worry. I was the same before i had a child BUT as soon as I had her all that worry/fear went away. There’s info available – one just has to remember not to take everything to heart otherwise you’ll continue to worry… If I’m doing well, I believe anyone can! xx

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