Potty Training Tips, Supplies and Advice.
This Potty Training tips article features a product that was sent to use for review purposes. All opinions are our own. This article may also contain affiliate links. But again, we only mention items we personally believe will be beneficial for potty training. There, silly legal issues taken care of; lets get to the good stuff.
It’s that dreaded time every parent has to face. Potty Training. The end result is something that all parents long to happen. But getting there is the battle. They always say that potty training boys is the worst. Well; no. No it isn’t. Potty Training a special needs child is the hardest. I’ve done two boys and they were a breeze compared to my Miss Jade and her communication barriers. But after a long process; we are finally on the road to begin potty training. So I pulled out all the stops gathering up all the old information I stored away from when my boys were potty training. And I’m sharing them with you now! Hopefully we can help make this transition a little easier for you with these potty training tips, potty training supplies and potty training advice from real Moms!
Potty Training Supplies:
Lets start at the beginning. Before you begin you need to make sure you have all the necessary potty training supplies. here are the most common you will want to consider. You don’t need all of them. Just gauge your child and pick what you think would be best for them.
Books– This is for you! If you are new to potty training, or if it’s been a while, you may want to brush up on some potty training books. There are lots on the market. I remember I read Toilet Training in less than a Day and Potty Training for Dummies. I took bits and pieces from both books to help my boys potty train. I found helpful information in each one. But there are tons of Potty training books online.
Potty Chair or seat- Most small kids who are ready to potty train, are not quite big enough for a regular toilet. It can be scary, or they are just too small for that big hole. You definitely want to look into getting a potty chair. One of my favorites is the Pourty Potty chair. No cracks or grooves to get “dirt” stuck in and start stinking up your bathroom.
Or you can skip the potty chair and go straight for an extra attachment to your toilet seat. The benefit to this is that the child sits directly on the toilet. You don’t have to worry about dumping a potty chair. You don’t have to worry about finding extra space in your bathroom. It’s just super easy.
We started with the Pourty Potty chair for Miss Jade when she first showed signs of wanting to potty train. Apparently it was a false alarm and she regressed and wanted nothing to do with it. Well; I know better than to push. So we put it away. Now she is ready to potty train again. Only she is rather too big for it now. I love the Pourty Flexi-fit toilet trainer.
The Flexi-fit is the first toilet trainer that adjusts to fit any toilet seat! Seriously! It doesn’t matter if you have oblong, more round or what! The Flexi-fit actually adjusts and fits every single toilet seat in our house without sliding around! They have two prongs in the back of the toilet trainer that you can adjust to fit the toilet seat. And it is really easy to adjust to. I had our Flexi-fit out and set up fitting perfectly on our toilet in less than 3 minutes.
I also love how snug it sits on the toilet seat. When Miss Jade sits on it; and wiggles; the Flexi-fit doesn’t wiggle at all! It is very snug and doesn’t move until you lift it off. Which has been amazing at helping Miss Jade get over her fear of the toilet! When toddlers have a solid surface to sit on; it takes away a large part of the fear of the big toilet.
The Flexi-fit potty seat is made from a sturdy and smooth plastic and is contoured to make it comfortable for the child to sit on with confidence. It also incorporates a full splash guard below and above the seat to prevent unwanted spills. The Flexi-Fit comes in a stylish but discrete white with a blue rubber rim. It has really been helping us work with Miss Jade through her potty training. It is her favorite toilet trainer as well. Yes we have tried others. They didn’t offer the security seat, nor were they easy for Miss Jade to put on or off. So the Flexi-fit is a dream for her potty training needs.
You can learn more about the Pourty from their website. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.
Stool– if you are going to be potty training on the toilet with a toilet trainer seat; you will need a potty training stool. This is great for little ones to have confidence that they can climb onto the toilet seat themselves. But also that they can have their feet on solid ground while they sit. Plus it doubles as a stool for when they wash their hands afterwards!
Trainers– As the parent you will have a decision to make here. Many claim to just have kids run around naked. Well that didn’t work AT ALL with my kids. Not a single one of them. They hated being naked. They had to have clothes on. Silly modest kids. We had to have training underwear. You can pick between regular underwear, thicker fabric underwear, or the special potty trainers from Huggies and Pampers. But you will definitely want them out of diapers and in something that they can easily put on or take off on their own. So they are able to learn to be independent when it comes to going potty.
Flushable Toilet Wipes– Lets just say, sometimes potty training can be messy. You may find it very helpful to have flushable toilet wipes to help clean up the mess. Plus my kids hated the feel of regular toilet paper on their behinds after they went “poo poo”. They much prefer the fresh feeling of a wet wipe. Plus it leaves them a lot cleaner too.
Potty Training doll– Depending on your child; you may want to invest in a potty training doll. They have dolls specifically for boys and for girls; as they are SLIGHTLY more anatomically correct. It is just another helpful teaching tool to help the child understand how your body works and where going potty fits in. For my 2nd son; this was a must. He was terrified of going potty. After we showed him how it worked on the potty training doll and that it was normal; he wasn’t scared about the potty coming out of his body. And it made potty training for him a lot easier.
Tinkle Targets– If you have boys; who are learning how to go potty standing up, you will want to invest in these! It is basically just a fun way to teach them how to “aim” right. They have official tinkle targets online you can purchase. Or you can do it the old fashioned way with cheerios in the toilet bowl.
Potty Watch– When you potty train, you want to set up a system/schedule so you can be sure to get the toddler to the potty chair often enough. Usually the first few times getting the toddler to go potty on the potty chair is a trial and error. You have to hit it just the right time when they need to go potty for it to actually happen. Often when you take the child to the potty every 20, 30, 60 or 90 minutes; you are making sure that the odds are in your favor that one of these times they will actually go potty on the potty chair! After it syncs up often enough the kid learns that is how going potty is suppose to be. Then your job gets a lot easier.
A potty watch is just that. It’s a fun watch that you or the kid can wear. You set the interval timer and it will ring, flash lights and make it exciting that it is time to visit the potty chair again.
Reward chart– A reward chart is a must. Not only will it help to reward your child for successful attempts; but often you can use it to track a routine. Each time your child has a success you mark it. Each accident you can track as well. Although make sure not to “punish” your child for any accidents. It will work against you. After a while you may see a pattern develop and you will better be able to tell when they really need to visit the toilet.
Rewards– For a successful potty training, you will want to make it a very positive experience. Giving toddlers a reward when they actually go potty in the potty chair is a great way to reinforce the action! Often times parents use small pieces of chocolate like M&Ms, or fruit snacks, or a pretzel, or even a sticker. Just something small for each successful trip! You can also even make larger rewards such as a new book for a full week without accidents. A new toy after a full month of no accidents. If one reward doesn’t seem to spark the response you want. Just try a different reward. It took me 5 tries before I figured out my 2nd son didn’t care about anything except getting a sticker and watching mommy do a funny dance in celebration of him going potty. Once I figured it out; I did the embarrassing dance and gave him a sticker each time. He was potty trained within the day.
Books for kid– There are a lot of fun potty training books available that help approach the subject. Some of the most popular ones come from the favorite characters such as Elmo. But there are lots to choose from. Having a kids potty training book helps you to have some sit down time and be able to talk about potty time at the toddler’s level of understanding.
Movies for kid– Potty training DVDs work very similarly to the potty training books. Another way to approach the subject of potty training to your child. In a manner they can understand. And in an entertaining way.
Potty Time– Potty time is an American Sign language DVD, book, and potty watch system. This is great for those with kids who have speech delays or other developmental delays. It uses another stimuli of sign language to help the child understand more about potty training. It also gives them words if they are unable to speak them with their mouth. So they can communicate better.
Top 15 Potty Training Tips and advice
So it’s time for some great Mom advice about potty training. So where do I turn? To brilliant moms that I trust! And they have fabulous words of advice to help make your potty training experience much easier.
1. Don’t push it. Wait for your child to be ready. We tried everything to potty train our 3 1/2 year old son. Then we stopped. About 6 weeks later, he did it all by himself. No work. No bribes and only 1-2 accidents! My best advice…WAIT. When they are ready it will happen. -Kristen from Mudpies and Tiaras.
2. Offer a reward. Our son really became interested in peeing in the potty when we told him he’d get an M&M every time he went!- Kecia from Southern Girl Ramblings
3. Sometimes it’s easier to put little boys on toilet backwards. The front of the toilet seat is smaller to hold little bums hands free and they have a much bigger area to aim into! Jennifer (mom to 3 boys) – Jennifer from Mom VS the Boys.
4. Set a timer and have them, at least, sit on the potty at set times throughout the day. Consistency is key… but only when the child is ready to start training. – Staci from 7 on a shoestring.
5. If you have a child who is being resistant to training–especially, say, pooping in the potty; do NOT push it. With strong willed children it can quickly become a power struggle and it will leave everyone exhausted and feeling defeated. If you back off and be firm but encouraging it will come! – Nicole from Wyoming Girl turned Coastie Wife.
6. Simon Says Get On the Throne! Potty training two girls, I found that getting on the porcelain throne and showing your child how to use the potty helps. Also, taking their lead, trying to force them isn’t good for either of you. Understand accidents will happen, don’t make them feel bad about it when or if they do. Always reward successes and encourage, encourage, encourage. -Nancy, Whispered Inspirations.
7. Challenge them. We have the potty chair right next to the ‘big potty.’ I set an alarm on my phone to remind me when it’s time to go, and tell Abby I’ll race her to see who can potty first. She loves it! -Meagan from Sunshine and Sippy Cups
8. Age is just a number. There are no stead fast rules that say your child needs to be potty trained by a certain age, date or milestone. Stay positive and let your child take the lead and potty training can be a pleasant experience for all. -Michele from Just 2 Sisters.
9. There is no rule you have to day and night train at the same time. Often the pressure of night training can set back the daytime goals. It’s okay to not focus on nighttime at first, it will happen eventually, and is less stressful to the child. My first son potty trained at 24 months old with very minimal accidents, but it took another full year for him to get night training down -Emily from Family Life In Las Vegas.
10. We put the little potty right in the main living area where we were hanging out. That way, it was always accessible and it served as a reminder to them and me! Gena from Life with Captain Fussybuckets
11. Gradually switch diapers during the potty training process. If you’re using cloth diapers or disposables full-time, try to use them half-time (only during the night) at first. During the day use pull-ups and/or underwear to get your little one used to the habit of pulling down their diaper/underwear before using the potty. Make sure you take them frequently when starting out- every 20 minutes -Aly from The Michigan Mom.
12. Use the naked and $75 method. 2 weeks of nothing but naked time at home with the potty seat in the living area and a reward for every success. The $75 is to clean your carpet when it is all over. It works, I promise -Diane from Turning the Clock Back.
13. Don’t get frustrated. I know, easier said than done right? But it’s true. Your child will feed off of your energy throughout the process and they’ll take your frustration as a leveraging tool against you. They know they have control over you when you react negatively to the process. -Danielle from Simmworks Family Blog.
14. Involve older siblings, if you have them. When Xander was training, ALL of the kids got an M&M every time he went. So they were always asking him, “Hey buddy, you need to go? Why don’t we try going to the bathroom?” They encouraged him in positive ways and he loved the attention. – Maureen from Made By Marzipan.
15. Let the child pick! Every time my kids are ready to potty train, I take each one to the store and let them pick out their new big boy or big girl underwear. We talk about being a big boy and big girl and the importance of keeping the new underwear clean and dry. They are just so excited for new underwear that they picked out, in characters and colors that they like! It makes them more excited to give potty training a go. – ME- Amber! JadeLouiseDesigns.com
We are also offering one reader the chance to win your own Flexi-fit Toilet Trainer seat! Flexi-Fit Giveaway is live from March 19- April 3, 2014. Giveaway is open to USA. Plus the first entry is simply to comment on this post, so go ahead and do that now so you don’t have to come back.
What are your top Potty Training supplies?
What are your top Potty training tips?
We didnt use very many tools for potty training. Just a potty chair and stickers. lol
These are really great tips!! i potty trained 2 Autistic kids and 1 NT kid and the Autistic kids are a million times harder! My only advice is not to push it. It will take her longer and that’s just the way it is. Hugs!!
Wow these are some wonderful ideas to help with potty training. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be and I’m sure I’ll experience it one day soon. It’s great to have a list of ideas/tips and resources to take a lot of the guess work out. I like how the Flexi-Fit Potty works, definitely a good product to try for parents.
Oh! I have to say how much I love the toilet seat that has the kid seat built in. It flips up with the lid when you open the toilet and is unobtrusive. The child just flips down his smaller seat from the open lid when he needs to go. No taking the child seat off and on, no need to store it or rinse out a potty chair. Here’s a link: http://www.homedepot.com/p/BEMIS-NextStep-Round-Closed-Front-Toilet-Seat-in-White-583SLOW-000/202721306?N=5yc1vZbza2
These are some great tips for potty training. It was easier to potty train my younger son because I learned what to do with my older one.
This is really a great list. The flushable wipes were key for us and frankly, my six year old still uses them. He has a problem using too much TP and clogging my toilet, so the flushable wipes eliminate that.
Haha I loved Diane’s tip: Naked & $75. I’m going to try that if I have another little one. This is such a great resourceful post! I love all the information and resources you included. We actually used the Pourty when my son first started out and he loved it! He made the switch to the “big boy potty” after a week of using the Pourty!
Great tips and that toilet seat looks like it has a perfect design, especially for boys. I don’t recall our method, I’m just glad it is behind us.
This is a great list, and the tips are wonderful! I’m thankfully beyond the PT stage.
With my boys they preferred the actual toilet while my girl wouldn’t use anything but her princess potty chair. Sometimes you have to have both options on hand. I definitely agree that a reward system is a must. It makes things work so much better and motivates the child.
I agree that a secure seat takes some of the scariness of it all away. I was pretty patient for potty training. I was more of the let’s just wait until we’re sure we’re ready school of thought.
Wowee, now this is a resource! Although, I must admit being completely happy that I don’t need to do this anytime soon.. my cousin is expecting her first.. I am definitely going to share this with her. Thanks, millions!
I actually have tried several potty seats with my kids and that one looks like it’s designed really smartly! Wish I had this 2 years ago!
Great tips. Our youngest is not quite a year old yet, so we haven’t hit the potty training stage with her. How well I remember the trials (and failures) of potty training with the oldest two, though.
We only had little potty chairs when our kids were little…and by the time our grandkids were starting to get potty trained, almost no one used them any more. Now these seats that fit the big potty are the way to go. Wonder if they make Sid the Science Kid panties?
wow such an extensive list of tips! 🙂 we are 5 years past the potty training days. She is growing up way too fast, my little one was easy to train though, she hated the feel of being wet and yucky, so she learned pretty quick.
Thankfully potty training was a breeze for us. My oldest loved being able to be independent, plus rewards helped a lot as well (a bunch of M&Ms per tinkle in the toilet). My youngest was a bit tougher. We tried going without diapers but he did not care about being covered/surrounded in pee.
Waiting for the right time is the mot important tip I could give anyone. If your child is not ready it will be a disaster.
That looks super cute and I wish I knew then what I know know now about the potty business 🙂
With my daughter the potty seat was a must, it made training so much easier… And we would keep track with stickers and she loved stickers so this helped he go too.
Potty training was kind of hard for my first daughter but with my second daughter her daycare trained her within a week.
Great tips! For our potty training journeys we needed to have stacks of stickers for rewards!
Great tips! We will be starting soon with my 2 year old….one of the parenting things I dislike most!
potty training, I have to say, was a least favorite part of parenting.
and that says a lot because really my kids almost all did the training on their own, right before they turned 2.
I guess I am just lazy?!
That actually seems to be the prefect potty seat. Forms there little behind. Great tips, after training 3 I would tend to agree age doesn’t matter.
Eek I’m almost ready to train DD2. I hate potty trianing but it has to be done!! Thanks for the great products and tips!
So many great tips, the toilet seat has come a long way since my kids were little. We used the reward system and made shopping for fun panties/undies an incentive!
Eek! I don’t have kids so I don’t know what this is like, but I can’t imagine it is the easiest thing in the world! Seems like this would help!
That is quite the list of tips, we just kind of winged it with our boys. When they are ready they let you know. I decided to not have a battle and wait for it to occur naturally. Luckily both were ready early. We had a great seat for my youngest, it included a stool to step up with.
Potty training is definitely tough! One of my sons was easy and the other one was difficult, but we got through it.
I am so happy that we are done potty training. The hardest part was nap time. She’d have accidents on her floor. Thank goodness for owning a carpet cleaner. It is a wise investment.
Great tips! I’m about to potty train my 4th (and last – woohoo!) and I’ve not been looking forward to it. This post is perfect timing, at the very least to remind me that I’m not alone! Haha!
I have potty trained 3 kids so far (just 1 to go) and every one did it so differently! Some were motivated by charts, some candy, some nothing at all motivated them to go on the toilet. It was frustrating but I finally learned that they will do it when they are ready. So I’m taking my time with #4.
This is really a lot of a lot of great information in one place regarding potty training. I wish this would have been available to me many years ago. I love those tinkle targets. What a great idea. I see a mom invented those, of course. 😉
I like the training seat that goes directly on the toilet. It seems really convenient compared to the normal training potties.
I found with my twins, that diligence was the key. You really have to keep to schedule and no slacking, no matter where you are!
I went with the pick your own underwear and reward method. They got M&M’s and a sticker each time they used the potty. It worked.
I have to say my son was an easy potty trainer and I also have to admit I’m so glad i’m past it.
I remember those days. I found every child learns differently. The 11 year old, took to it in less then a day with only one accident to her name while the other one was a little more time consuming. I set up a timer every half our and took her to the toilet. After two days I knew her schedule and she was in underwear. I reminded her when I thought she might go and two weeks later she was good to go.
OMG! I hope I never ever have to potty train another child ever again – you do have everything covered here though – this is the best info in one spot that I’ve ever seen.
My daughter is 6 years old and is fully day time potty trained but at night still uses goodnights because she can’t seem to wake herself up in time. when I wake her up she never has to go and when I wake her up she screams and get’s upset that I woke her up lol. I have tried to do all kinds of different ideas for having her use only undies but the cost of washing her clothes at night in an apartment started to add up all those blankets and sheets. I am going to try again during the summer time at night because she wont have the pressure of getting up in the mornings for school and I will be able to hang dry her blanket outside
Very timely that I found this article. I’m potty training my first boy after 3 girls. He has no problems as long as he’s naked but put a pull-up or underwear on him and he’ll go in that. Lots of good tips here!
Wait until the child is ready. My son was dry when he’d wake up in the morning. I knew he was physically ready to potty learn.
Love the round-up of tips from other bloggers! When we were potty training our first, we got one of those fancy ones that makes a sound to designate success. Guess what. It scared her to death and she refused to go anywhere near the potty. She still has issues with automatic toilets that flush (sometimes while you’re still going). The option you provided would have been great for us.
Oh I remember these days with my kiddos. They are way past this stage. These are some great tips for potty training in style
This is a great list of advice! I’ve trained two of my boys. With the first one I had to try a few days and then leave it alone a few days. He just didn’t want to be pushed.
We will potty training the twins soon and may have to go with an on the toilet set for space. I love the features of this one!
I love how easy it is to install and will fit on any size toilet.
this is my 4th child to potty train and let me tell you they potty train different. It has taken me months and months to get him to potty train, there are days that we have many struggles and days that he does great. Encouragement needs to be the 1st and foremost tip!
I’m so glad to be done with potty training for awhile. I have one kiddo left but he is a month old 🙂
This stage is a distant memory for me now. It was a fun time in life. For us stickers worked wonders.
Patience was key for us. My eldest daughter was potty trained by 18 months , fully. While my youngest was 2. I tried earlier with her but, she wasn’t ready. So, I stopped and waited til she was and with time and encouragement she was trained. These are amazing tips, I love the tip for the boys, I could only imagine the difference.
Thanks for including me!! Great tips! Emily – Our Knight Life
Great post! A few of my mom-friends have just started potty training or are getting ready to jump into it – sharing this article with them!
These are really great tips. I love the insert, we used those type of things with our kids when they were potty training.
Oh my goodness, so many great tips! I have a little boy who is about ready to potty train and I needed to read this!!
My potty training days are long behind me – 14 years ago! But I used some of the same techniques you did when I was potty training! Great advice!
Ugh. Potty Training. It was so easy with my oldest kids. I’m starting right now with my youngest, and she is so STUBBORN and its been more difficult. I’m thinking I might have to wait a little longer with her.
Oh i know the feeling! My boys were so easy compared to this last one, miss Jade. She doesnt fight me going to the potty. Infact she loves it! And she asks to go potty all the time…BUT, she has an iron bladder. She never actually GOES! Seriously, i gave her 24 oz of water one morning, and took her to the potty every 20 minutes. Nothing all day long. No accidents, nada. Finally around 3pm, we do the potty trip andnagain nothing happens. No joke, five minutes after we leave the potty she has the accident. /sigh. This is basically every potty training day. So she hasnt learned to distinguish the feeling of needing to go with going to the potty yet. Here is hoping we finally luck out andnmake it to the potty when she actually needs to go.
I just tackled potty training with my son (he is 2). The thing that worked for us was just going cold turkey from diapers to underwear.
My son was a nightmare to potty train! A total nightmare. Finally, his preschool said “send him in undies, and send a bunch of change of clothes.” They somehow got him potty trained in a day where I had failed for over a year. I came to the conclusion that sometimes, it takes someone else to do it. Kind of like teaching your kid to drive. Some parents can handle it, while others hire a professional!
Great tips! I’m so glad we are done with potty training! haha!
I am so glad that I am past that stage with my kiddos.
My only tip is to be patient. Every child is different, and will do it when they can if they can.
Did they have things like this Pourty when we were kids?! It’s such a simple design but it must make the whole process so much easier. I hope I remember it when I have little kiddos to potty train. 🙂
Potty training is such a memory for this but I can recall having a seat which fit over the potty too. What a time; tears, cheers and big girl wear!
I agree – a non secure seat can be scary – even for an adult, ha! I am glad that potty training days are far behind me!
I really like this toilet seat. It looks more comfortable than the small potty chair I have on the floor at home. I am just worried that my son is uncomfortable so I’m hoping something like this will make him feel like a big boy.
Wow! That’s a lot of information on toilet training. We didn’t have a toilet training seat with our first but think it would definitely be useful. Hopefully things will go smoothly with our second one. Gonna try a few of the tips you shared.
One potty training tip I have is praise the kids when they go and attempt to make it to the potty.
Also make sure everyone who is involved in your child’s care is on the same page.
Luckily I am done changing diapers. These are great tips though, thanks for sharing!
We’ve tried potty training my son a little here and there for the last year. Now that it is spring, its time to get this done! He is ready… Told me last night when he pooped in his pullup… Thank you so much for these tips!
Those are some great tips. I’m still currently potty training and having the most horrible time with it. Thanks for these tips.
I enjoyed your article. I had so much fun during the potty training experiences with my children that I wrote and illustrated a book and created a song about them. The name of my book is “Potty Praise for Boys and Girls”. The name of the song is simply “Potty Praise Song”. Both the book and song are available at your favorite book and music online retailer. Many blessings to you and yours.
I have not been very consistent with my daughter. I have a baby on the way and am hoping to have her potty trained in the next few months.
These potty training tips and advice are very helpful. Thanks for sharing!