Are you trying to potty train your toddler? Don’t stress out just yet! Read these honest potty training tips and hacks to get your toddler potty trained in no time! 

This post is all about potty training.

The Best Potty Training Tips

Potty training sounds fun at first, but trust me, it’s not! It’s actually pretty exhausting!

But like everything else with parenting, you’ll get through this! Hopefully, this secret hack to potty training success and other tips will help make the process easier for you!

I have three girls and one boy and used these tips on all of them! My youngest is a boy and I was so worried he would be the hardest to train but he ended up being the easiest one!

Let me be honest here, potty training is a pain in the butt because it’s a ton of work.

It really is a lot of work for YOU!

And this is where I’ll tell you what the number one secret to getting your little child potty trained is……

You, yes YOU!!

The mom, dad, or caregiver who is in charge of potty training has to be ready for it.

Yes, your little boy or girl also needs to be ready as well! However, I’m going to be straightforward here, they are going to follow your lead so if you’re not ready to commit 100% to potty training and getting rid of diapers, then they won’t be either!

It’s soooooo easy to just throw that diaper right on and let them do their business in it. That’s why I tell all my friends that start that they (meaning mom or dad) need to be ready for it.

So, I’ll break it down for you exactly what you need to get your little one potty trained in about 4 days.

I say about 4 days because it literally takes months for them to be completely potty trained but in 4 days of working hard at it, they get the idea.

For free potty training charts…….keep scrolling down 👇

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Step 1- Prepare yourself (and I mean you, mom, or dad!)

Seriously, go look at your calendar right now and find a long weekend or free time where you can do nothing, especially the first three days but potty training.

I’m talking about you don’t leave the house! No visitors stopping in and have nothing planned at all!

Yes, it will be a long weekend but you have to prepare yourself because if something comes up, then trust me, you won’t have time to stare at them and chase your toddler as much as you need to!

Also, you have to be mentally and physically ready to do this yourself!

You’ll be chasing them down constantly or picking them up and running to the bathroom NONSTOP! So, if you are under the weather or hurt your ankle playing basketball, then this is not a good weekend!!

To give you an example, my 2-year-old was definitely ready to be potty trained, but I just wasn’t ready.

I was too busy because I work from home and had a million deadlines at the time. Plus, my oldest daughter was on the swim team which required a ton of swim meets that I knew my toddler would have trouble making it to the bathroom all the time.

Basically, the timing was just wrong for ME! and if it’s wrong for me, then guess who else it’s wrong for? Yes…my little potty trainer!

So, TRUST me when I say, YOU, the parent have to be ready to do this because you don’t want to start and then something comes up and you stop. That will just confuse your child and that’s the last thing they need!

Find a good long weekend that’s right for you, mark that date and tell yourself you’re ready, so she or he will be!

Get a refrigerator calendar like the one below and mark down the weekend or week that you will be potty training them. Make sure your toddler can see it and show it to them often so they can get prepared and excited for it as well! This really helps!

Remember, as long as YOU are ready and you go over the same thing with your child over and over about going potty, they will get it! They need constant repetition and as long as they know you are dedicated and not giving up on it AND they get rewarded for it, they will use the potty!

Step 2- Potty Seat: Have them pick out big kid underwear and a potty seat!

Take your little one to Target the day before and tell them tomorrow she’s/he’s going to be a big girl/boy and has to pick out her big kid undies!

Or make it easier on yourself and show them some on Amazon and have them delivered in 2 days! Tell them you’ll start potty training as soon as they arrive and watch them wait for them in the mail!

Have them pick their favorite characters out and you’ll see how excited they get!

Below are some Spiderman and Disney Princesses my kids went bonkers over! Click below for more details!

Picking out a potty seat:

****IMPORTANT- when I say potty seat, I DO NOT MEAN A SMALL toilet!

Instead, have them pick out a potty seat that inserts into your adult toilet!

TRUST me, you do not want a small children’s toilet! I realize some parenting experts will tell you to get a child potty but I’m here to tell you that it’s a hassle, pain in the butt, and waste of your time! (not to mention gross!)

Do you want to know why??

Most toddlers that are trained to use their small potty, won’t go on a big one!

That means every time they pee and poop in the little one, you have to clean it out and transfer it. It also means it will take them longer to use the regular toilet and some kids won’t use a public bathroom toilet because it’s too big!

This just creates more problems for you!

Don’t do this to yourself!

I made the mistake of trying those little potties and it backfired on me. One of my good friends then told me to get an insert potty seat and not waste my time.

BEST ADVICE EVER!!

Besides, isn’t the point of potty training so you don’t have to keep cleaning out poop messes? If you get one of those little potties, you’ll still be cleaning up messes!

Gross! Give yourself a break already and get an insert! You’ll thank me later!!

Have them pick out a cute potty insert seat and a stool they can put stickers on or even write their name on it. They will love this and can use the stool to wash their hands after!

One tip for boys: MAKE SURE you get a potty seat with a splash guard on the front! You’ll learn quickly why this is necessary!

Click the photos below for more details!

Or for Girls:

Or you can get one of these potty seat and stool ladders that come all in one and make things super easy for your toddler to get up and down.

Whichever method your toddler loves best is the one that will work! The one below comes in 4 colors and is foldable so you can store it away easily!

Get a Travel Foldable Potty Seat

While you’re at it, I found that having one of these traveling potty inserts on hand helped me so much! 👇🏻

My daughter didn’t want to use big toilets without her seat which made traveling or using public restrooms impossible until I discovered these foldable potty seats.

So easy to disinfect and put in a plastic bag and keep in your purse! Check these out below:

Step 3- Take them to the potty every 20-30 minutes

Once you talk over what your plan is with your toddler, the very first thing you want to do is put on their big kid underwear that morning and put them on the potty!

Get some amazing potty books so you can read and explain to them what is happening while they sit on the potty. The first few times, they won’t do anything and just sit there happy.

Give them a lot to drink and prepare yourself!

You can’t make phone calls, have friends over, do some cleaning or do anything other than keep your eyes on your kid! Take them to the potty every 15-20 minutes depending on how much they drink so you can catch them in the act.

Get them a potty watch for some extra help! It reminds both mom/dad and toddler!

Yes, they will pee through a million pairs of underwear but once they realize every time they pee, you run them to the potty, it will start to sink in and they’ll get it.

Be sure to say, “Do you have to go potty?” and even if they say no, still take them!

This is where my husband got confused! They will most likely always say no in the beginning! Take them anyway because it’s a way to teach them the phrase “go potty” and they will eventually catch on and use it!

PottyBooks: Make sure you stock up on some good potty books!

You are going to be in that bathroom so much with your little one and you’re going to need them to sit there and get used to the potty so read to them!

Go to the bookstore or buy a bunch of potty books for kids on Amazon and keep them in the bathroom.

My kids loved the flushing potty books below and a few others that I have read over and over and they couldn’t get enough of!

This Dora potty book was perfect because it actually shows Dora using a potty seat and stool just like we used it! It was one of the best potty books we found!! My girls also loved Daniel Tiger and he also has a potty seat insert and stool!

If your kids are more into ipads instead of books, there are many apps you can download to have them learn about the potty as well.

The apps come in handy if you have more than one kid and can’t sit there for 20 minutes each time reading to them!

Trust me, you’ll be in there A LOT!

So prepare yourself with books and apps!!

Step 4- Potty Training rewards: Reward them!

This is HUGE!

My kids worked great with little M&Ms. Some kids love little toys and trinkets from the dollar store, whatever works best for your kids, try it!

Even if you catch them starting to pee and then they finish in the potty, make a huge deal and give them a treat saying how proud you are that they peed in the potty!

You can use a potty chart and for every time they make it to the potty, you can give them a sticker and then after 5 times, a prize or go somewhere special.

Below are some we love:

Potty Training Prize Box

Most kids have a harder time pooping in the potty more than anything else. I had to tell them that they will get a “poop prize” if they poop in the potty and this worked! You could also take a mason jar and fill it with their favorite treats and call it the poop prize jar.

Or you can get a prize box and use that! My daughter loves popsicles so I’d tell her she could have a popsicle but only if she poops in the potty.

I used a potty reward chart with my first daughter and it helped because she loved getting stickers! Once the potty chart was full, I took her to get ice cream or we did something fun!

It’s best to put the potty chart on your refrigerator or in the bathroom hanging up behind the door, somewhere they can see it the most!

Update- here are the potty training chart printables! Click this link and it will take you to download your free potty training charts! Or click the photo below 👇

**IMPORTANT Potty training tips

The key to potty training working is to consistently do this nonstop for at least 3 days until your little one gets it.

If you put a pull-up on at night and forget to remove it in the morning, you can be darn sure they won’t remind you!

I do continue to use pull-ups at night for the first month or so because I believe potty training at night takes much longer.

My son caught on WAY quicker than my girls which was very surprising to me! 

Don’t believe the theories your child will be completely potty trained in 3 days.

This is just not true, they can be day trained within a few days -YES, however, it takes weeks for them to fully catch on without any accidents and sometimes months until they can control their bladders at night.

I know some parents use pull-ups on their kids at night until age 4 because they have accidents! Hopefully, your child will catch on.

My kids were all able to night train themselves by 3 1/2 but every child is different! I can’t stress that enough! What your toddler does won’t be the same as your friend’s toddler!

Potty training is different for every kid and every adult! It’s much easier to potty train a child when you only have one child in the home to take care of!

Some kids can actually grasp this completely in 3 days, but for most, it will take about 3-4 days to grasp the concept of it and a few weeks to fully understand it all without any accidents!

And even then– when you think your toddler is doing perfect, out of nowhere they might have an accident!

It happens, so expect it!

Don’t stress yourself out about this, as long as you are consistent with it yourself and they catch on, they will eventually be potty trained!

Don’t worry if your friend’s daughter at 1 and 1/2 is already trained! Some kids and some moms are just not ready yet!

Remember, you BOTH have to be ready to take this on!

Hang in there and good luck on your potty training adventure!

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This post was all about potty training.