I hate potty training. Sorry, that’s probably not what you want to read at the start of a blog post about potty training tips, but I feel better now it’s out of the way! Potty training can be messy, tedious and embarrassing at times. I had my fair share of ‘poonamis’ sans nappy (well, not mine, the kids’!) and puddles in the middle of town.
A Positive Potty Training Experience?
Potty training can be all these things but it doesn’t have to be, and as I am starting another potty training journey with my youngest, I have decided to shake off that negative mindset and to give Wriggly a positive potty training experience with the Huggies Pull-Ups 6 Steps to Potty Success. Go me!
Rather than worrying about the negatives (puddle of urine at the Waitrose checkout, anyone?), I will be patient and focus on the overall sense of achievement Wriggly gets when she manages to control her bladder. The plan is to be prepared when we’re out and about so I can take a relaxed approach to little accidents.
3 Potty Trained Children, 1 to Go!
I will not bore you with a detailed account of each of my children’s potty training days (there’s a video below for that!), but here is a short summary of how it went:
• Crevette: boy – out of cloth nappies soon after he turned 2.
• Beanie: girl – started potty training at 2 1/2 – took a long time (about 18 months) before she was fully dry during the day.
• Jumpy: girl – toilet trained herself (no potty) a few months before she turned three.
When Do You Know Your Child Is Ready to Potty Train?
Wriggly has just turned 3. She is more than ready to potty train, but until recently, I was not ready, so I waited. Every child is different and they all respond in their own individual way to potty training. One method might work with one but not with the next.
Wriggly recently started picking her clothes and getting dressed in the morning. Every morning, she tries to wear knickers instead of a nappy. Her key worker at preschool also suggested it was time to go with the flow and encourage Wriggly to use the toilet or potty. In light of all this, I joined forces with the lovely people at HUGGIES® Pull-Ups®, who sent us lots of potty training tips, expert advice and a box full of goodies to help us achieve this monumental milestone. The box was so big Wriggly could fit in it.
So could her sister!
HUGGIES® Pull-Ups® and potty training expert Dr Wittenberg also shared The 6 steps to Potty Training Success with us. It all makes a lot of sense. Check out the 6 steps here.
Copyright: HUGGIES® Pull-Ups®
If you watched our video above, it is quite clear that Wriggly and I are both ready (step 1). We waved goodbye to nappies (step 2) for good last week. When I tried putting a nappy on her last night as she had just been sick, she refused and demanded her night time training pants (HUGGIES® Pull-Ups®). I particularly like this checklist focusing on readiness. If you can tick 3 or more, you are ready to get started with potty training!
Copyright: HUGGIES® Pull-Ups®
We are most definitely on step 3 with Wriggly. She wears Pull-Ups® with knickers on top and every hour or so, I encourage her to use the potty, without being forceful. Although we have only been going a week, I find it really encouraging that we are on step 3 out of 6. There is a sense of achievement and I can see us succeeding without too much trouble. Wriggly still needs to lean wet from dry. That’s our next big thing (step 4), then we will focus on night-time dryness (step 5). All we will have to do after that is being consistent (step 6). Doesn’t seem so hard or tedious now!
Here is a little video about our experience of potty training, a few potty training tips, things that worked and a cute toddler!
Our Potty Training Essentials
Here are the things I mentioned in my video:
• HUGGIES® Pull-Ups® Day Time
• HUGGIES® Pull-Ups® Night Time
• Potty
• Toilet seat adapter
• Step
• Soap or nice hand wash
• Stickers
• Glow-in-the-dark stars or feet to guide your little one to the toilet at night (or night light)
• Timer to remind your little one it is time to go to the toilet
• Potty training books and activities
• wipes
• backpack for little one to take when out and about (couple of Pull-Ups®, wipes, plastic bag, change of clothes)
Save me on Pinterest for later:
Have you got any good potty training tips?
Disclosure:
This is a commissioned post as we are working with HUGGIES® Pull-Ups® this year but all opinions and photos are my own. You can get HUGGIES® Pull-Ups® from the baby aisle.
Hee hee, you must think I am a crazy lady ditching the nappies, straight on with pants and carrying a potty everywhere!
You’re mad!!! I would never ever do that. You must be French; that’s what my Mum did with Crevette, he he he!
You’re mad!!! I would never ever do that. You must be French; that’s what my Mum did with Crevette, he he he! xxx
You’re insane!! You must have been French in another life: that’s exactly what my mum did with Crevette!
What great tips! Rosalie was potty trained by 2 and half. She is 2 years and 10 months now and although dry in the day we are yet to tackle nighttime nappies and tbh. I don’t know where to start xx
I wouldn’t worry about night time just yet if I were you. When she’s ready, she’ll have dry nappies every morning 🙂
we ditched the apnoeas and went straight to underwear with my daughter and it helped so much – she was nearly three though! it was all very quick as she was very ready x
Gosh you’re good! I think that’s what I have to do… I’m scared!
potty training really is so tedious. My son is ore or less there now, but he can also be so lazy if he’s having fun that we still encounter many accidents!
I just need to get the guts to just put pants on her one morning and get on with it!
These are great tips and I’m sure will be very useful for those about to start potty training! x
Thanks lovely
Great tips. I’ve potted trained 1 and have another to go and won’t be too long before we give it a go. Reading the tips has reminded me what I have ahead of me.
Good luck! I really really really don’t like potty training!
Sophie is ready for this & I’m scared haha!! My first time doing it so looking for all the info I can get so thank you 🙂 x
Good luck my lovely! Not my favourite thing to do, but I have to say I have been quite relaxed about it this time round.
Great tips and no doubt very useful to those about to embark on potty training.chloechloe
Thanks sweetie
I potty trained my twins together, but one was not ready, you could tell she was not ready, she was not interested at all. So I left it, tried again in 6 weeks and she did it!
I think that’s what I’m going for with my little lady…
Having potty trained three children, all I can say is that they are all so different. We found with numbers one and two going cold turkey and ditching the nappies worked really well and it was done in a few days. Number three needed a completely different approach and it took months!
I’m thinking of ditching it all on Monday and going for pants only. Wish me luck!