Potty Training Boot Camp – Preparation

Potty training is one of those things that all parents talk about. When should we start? Is he ready? How should we do it? When is the right time? Which is the best way? The questions are endless and I am no different. I don’t know the correct answers to any of the questions but I’ve just decided to go ahead and try it out.

My youngest is just over 28 months. She stays dry for more than a few hours at a time. She tells me when she has to poo. She actually asks me if it’s okay if she does it in her diaper. She’s excited about the Superman and princess underwear that are sitting in her drawer.  Those are some of the signs that she is possibly ready. So I’ve decided to try out a 3-day (or one week) potty training method. I don’t want to drag it out if possible. With my son, it took a LONG time so I want to try something different this time. If it doesn’t work, that’s okay, but at least I know I tried.

Preparation

For the last week, I’ve been prepping Kyah, telling her that in 7 days (and so forth) we are going to be potty training and she’s going to be a big girl who wears underwear. We talked about getting rid of her diapers and she picked one of her favourite baby’s, Naila, to give her diapers too. We talked about what treats she will get when she successful goes in the potty. We also repurposed a calendar and found some star stickers for her to use every time she has a success. It’s created excitement and she’s being talking about it a lot.

The night before, I also got a basket ready with everything in it that we would need. Underwear, wipes, pull-ups (for nap and bedtimes) calendar, stickers and treats.

potty training preparation

We also have a potty for the house, a seat for the toilet and a portable potty, for when we eventually leave the house. I also have lots of books and the iPad charged to use when she’s sitting on the potty. This way everything is ready to go when Kyah wakes up in the morning for her first day.

potty seats

The plan is to keep Kyah in the house with no diaper, no pull-ups and no underwear for the first three days,. This is for her to get used to the feeling. Then every half an hour I will let her know that it’s time to sit on the potty to try and pee. We will sit for 10-15 minutes each time during which I will read to her. The iPad is on standby for when she doesn’t want to sit down because watching her favourite nursery rhymes on youtube is always a good convincer. When she gets up, whether she went or not, I will still be very excited, give her a high-five for trying and tell her how proud I am of her. I will also be watching for signs that she may need to pee or poo. The hubby will be around to help for the first two days especially with keeping the older brother busy because during this time, the focus has to totally be on the potty trainee.

So everything is ready to go. I just need to remember to be patient, positive and persevere.

(Click here for details on how the 10 days of potty training went)

When do you think is the right time to potty train and what are some tips that you think really help?

14 thoughts on “Potty Training Boot Camp – Preparation

  1. What a great idea with all the front-loading! I honestly don’t remember how we potty trained our two. It must not have been too traumatic, however, because I have no horror stories to tell! I will have to come back to see how your experience works out!

  2. I am trying to potty train already he is going to be 8 months, it’s all my moms idea she convinced me that the earlier you start the better and easier it is. She started holding him to poop since he was about 3-4 months (not on potty of course, I hold him over the bucket) he rarely poops in his diaper now only if he had runny stool. And he pees that way too so I don’t go through that many diapers . Which is nice ! He seems to understand what I want from him when I pull the bucket out so he pees right away or trying to go number two 🙂 now that he is sitting I am planning to try to sit him up on a potty with supervision of course. My nephew who is about a year and bit was trained this way too he stopped wearing diapers by age 1 ( he is 16 months now and does have accidents once in awhile)when he wants to pee he shows them as he doesn’t talk yet .so I am hoping Leo will do the same . Good luck with potty training, I am sure Kyah will do great !

  3. My son showed interest in the potty last summer – for about a month and then it faded. Now he’s 32 months and still not interested at all. We’ve decided not to force the issue and we will revisit it in the summer. I’ve heard girls are easier to toilet train though, and I would think, second children might be easier as well so I am sending you easy toilet training vibes:) Good luck!

  4. I set potties out early next to the big potty without saying anything about them other than, this is a potty just like mom’s bigger one & you can sit on if you want. My kids both became interested early. wanting to sit on the potty like mommy. They also wore cloth diapers, so hated to be wet, which led to early & easy potty training. I think the trick, though is not to force it. Yay for your prep, but follow your child’s lead. Even if that isn’t till later. Every child is different. I think staying home naked is a great plan! It was summer, so that worked well for my son. I covered the carpets with blankets & let him run naked & use the potty, which I moved closer to the living room, rather than him having to go find the bathroom. That helped him make it there a great deal more! And remind him since he could see it. Once he was in underwear, I reminded him & asked him to try to potty every half hour, then spaced it out a bit more as time went on & he could hold it longer. Another tip is if the kids want water at bedtime, they could only have a few sips

  5. If your daughter already tells you when she needs a poop then she is definitely ready. I think you can be confident she will sail through it!

  6. Your daughter will show more interest in using the bathroom as she
    watches you use the toilet. For initial time moms and dads, this task can be extremely challenging and time intensive should you lack the necessary strategies of being
    able to potty train a child successfully. Dog is pack animal
    by nature so that they is self minded if they get an impression that they are the leader of the group.
    Until they learn how to control the process this can be helpful for
    them.

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