If you are feeling overwhelmed with the thought of potty training your toddler, you are not alone. If you stick to tried and true techniques, you can potty train your child in as few as three days.
Step 1
Assess whether your child is ready to train. If your child can understand simple requests, can communicate his needs on a basic level and is beginning to show awareness of his own body functions, he is most likely ready. He may also be able to take his own clothes off, climb up to the potty himself or keep his diaper try for several hours at a time.
Step 2
Shop for big-kid underwear, potty-training books and stickers with your child. Invite your child to go shopping and pick these items out in preparation for her big potty-training day.
Step 3
Create a sticker chart that will keep your child engaged in the potty-training process. Sticker charts are an essential element of the program if you would like success in three days or less. Some parents choose small candies as a reward--the choice is yours, although stickers are healthier and just as effective.
Step 4
Prepare yourself mentally. Potty training is no place for discipline, frustration or short fuses--and your child may meet these reactions with resistance or power struggles. MayoClinic.com says, "Potty training is a big step for parents and kids alike. The secret to success? Patience--perhaps more patience than you ever imagined."
Step 5
Choose the best time to potty train your child. Dates right before a holiday or vacation are not optimal. A laid-back, long weekend is the best environment--physically and emotionally--for your child.
Step 6
Dress your child in his big-kid underwear, and share in this excitement together. Talk to him about listening to his body, what it feels like to have to go and how to hold it until he gets to the potty. Get excited with your child about keeping his underwear dry.
Step 7
Give your child plenty of juice and fluids to facilitate more trips to the bathroom. Your child will have to urinate more often, and it will be easier to have an early pee in the potty if she is well hydrated.
Step 8
Set a timer for quick potty-training success. After big-kid underwear is on, juice is consumed and sticker chart is in hand, set a timer for a potty break every 15 minutes. After your child has successfully urinated in the potty, you can set the timer for longer periods of time, moving up to every two hours.
Step 9
Celebrate when your child has a success. Every part of the potty-training process needs to be supportive, so clapping, hugs and kisses, and "I'm so proud of you!" is essential to your child's learning quickly and boosting his self-esteem.
Step 10
Minimize accidents. Rest assured your child will get master potty training, eventually. It is reasonable to think your child can be potty trained in three days, but accidents will occur. Minimize them, and never show an attitude of disappointment or anger.
Things You'll Need
- Big-kid underwear
- Potty-training books
- Stickers
- Sticker chart
- Timer
