Around 18 months we got a potty for each bathroom and she watched us go to the bathroom often. While we went she liked to sit on her potty (fully clothed and diapered). She eventually started handing us toilet paper to wipe with and she would pretend to wipe too.

We also got books and talked about it a lot. I really like Once Upon a Potty (it comes in a girl or boy version) Some of the language is a little odd, but you can use whatever words you want. The pictures are what’s great for kids because it shows a more or less anatomically correct toddler and pee and poop. I’ve found a lot of potty training books gloss over both things, but this makes it very clear what should be happening with the potty.

Between those two things she was very comfortable with the idea of the potty. When she started telling us that her diaper had pee or poop, it was time to start the actual training.

We started by having her remain bottomless (no undies or pants) all day and taking her to the potty every hour. When she was consistently peeing when we took her to the potty we tried wearing undies or pants. At first we still took her on a schedule, but after a few days we waited for her to tell us she had to pee. Now she just tells us she has to go and she’s working on more independence (pulling her pants up by herself, for example). I’m also having her start the process before I follow her into the bathroom. She can usually get her pants off and sit on the potty without me.

There were some accidents on the bottomless days, so have a mop or carpet cleaner handy. But they were important days because she was really able to connect the sensations and result when she had an accident.

We’ve been working on it since March and she’s 27 month old now. She’s fully trained during the day. I don’t remember her last accident. She still does pull-ups at naptime and nighttime. She is also still mostly pooping at those times in her pull-up, though she has gone a few times on the potty.

According to other experienced parents it’s best not to stress out about the poop or nighttime training. Pooping in the potty takes most kids a little longer to learn because it’s scarier for them and requires more patience. Just give lots of praise when they do it on the potty and don’t admonish the poop in the diaper or pull-up. Holding it while they sleep is also something they have to grow into. You can just keep talking positively about both things.

Potty training tips please

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