Potty Training in 3 Days
Okay, I know you all are looking for this…..HOW TO POTTY TRAIN!! Yes, I know you are because I was. I have to say that it was by far the scariest thing that I had to deal with so far in the parenting game. I honestly wanted to leave it up to his school to handle. And I was okay with that. Then he came home and I knew he was interested in using the pot. Little rugrat just couldn’t stick to the plan. You should know that I was an early child development teacher too. But I was early, early. Meaning I worked with kids that pooped in their pants not in a potty, and I honestly didn’t mind that. It was so much more controlled.
The only reason I am talking about this now is because the technique that I used worked very well for me. I swear by it. This weekend when talking with a fellow mom who is going through what I went through two years ago, I discovered that people have thought that my research wouldn’t work for them. BUT IT DID! I have told two, now three moms how I did it with Camden. And oh my God, the joy I see when they say it worked for them. So I am going to share it with you.
It’s called the Potty in 3 Days!
Before you say no, just hear me out! It is totally worth it. You will find that it is easy and less of a fuss than it sounds. I want to also point out that you need three consecutive days, so if you are looking to potty train, this three day weekend is the perfect time! You will need a few potties. I find it best to section off a place in your house that you will remain fully on that first day. My area was the family room. It was connected to the kitchen and had a bathroom very close. I put a potty in the middle of the floor between the kitchen and the family room so that I could run and get him on the pot as fast as possible. The main bathroom was used in case that was the closer option. You can have as many pots as you wish. But I thought that 2 was enough.
Now here is a little background. Basically you leave your child naked from the waist down and encourage them to go to the pot every twenty to thirty minutes. You sit them down and say something like “okay, let’s use the potty!” If they go you reward them with a song of praise and a sticker. They may have accidents trying to get back and forth to the pot but that’s okay. It’s actually the point. But as the parent it is your job to catch them before they have fully went on the floor. You want to show them they are supposed to make it to the pot.
First day:
From the start of the day you are going to only put your child in a t-shirt. That’s right, no underwear or diaper. The child must be either fully naked or only in a shirt. The whole point of this is because the clothes restricts the children from feeling free. They are to go on with the day as usual. Just as if they are fully clothed. Increase the amount of juice or water they are having and encourage them to go to the bathroom every 20-30 minutes (and don’t forget to praise them). When they don’t make it, show them that you are disappointed, not angry just disappointed. They will have a few accidents. Camden had two on the first day. I think for most kids they get embarrassed that they peed on the floor and will make an effort to make it to the pot.
Second Day:
This day is the same as day one. The only difference is that you are to take the child outside for an hour. Now I have seen reports of parents who have taken their child in the backyard with no bottoms. I wasn’t very comfortable with that. So I just put him in some pants and no underwear and we went to the grocery store. Before you head out make sure you sit on the pot so that the child knows that you are to use the pot before you head out. (Accidents should be very few by the end of day two.) Camden didn’t have any accidents this day. I honestly felt like we were done! It was a breeze for me by the end of day one honestly, and that’s the same story I got from the two ladies I told to try this.
Day Three:
The exact same as day two. By this day the child should be fully potty trained and no accidents or just one.
I will point out a few things with this technique. IT WILL NOT WORK IF YOU CAN’T STAY CALM AND AVOID BEING ANGRY. You have to be willing to deal with the mess, the long times in the bathroom, the rewards, singing, and running back and forth. You have to give it your best effort to make it work. Also evaluate your child, is he ready to be potty trained? If he isn’t asking to use the potty it might be too soon. If that’s the case, there is a chance for regression. If so, just try again in a few months. There are a ton of helpful articles on Pinterest too. That’s where I first saw this.
From my personal story with Cam, it worked great. I swear by it. The next kid will def. be going the same route. Camden didn’t regress, he used a pull up at night but after a week even those started to be dry every morning. I think that it’s all about getting the child to see what it really means to pee on yourself! Camden saw how much work it was to clean it up. (OH YEA I MADE HIM CLEAN IT UP WITH ME, what I look like!) Oh one other thing I get asked a lot, does the child poop on the floor? Camden didn’t. Which was normal. It’s actually pretty common for a child newly potty trained to skip pooping for a few weeks. It’s a psychological thing. You can read up on that too on Pinterest. Once they get more comfortable with peeing in the pot, they will poop. I promise. Let me know how it works for you. Don’t be scared, I promise it changed my life.
The only reason I am talking about this now is because the technique that I used worked very well for me. I swear by it. This weekend when talking with a fellow mom who is going through what I went through two years ago, I discovered that people have thought that my research wouldn’t work for them. BUT IT DID! I have told two, now three moms how I did it with Camden. And oh my God, the joy I see when they say it worked for them. So I am going to share it with you.
It’s called the Potty in 3 Days!
Before you say no, just hear me out! It is totally worth it. You will find that it is easy and less of a fuss than it sounds. I want to also point out that you need three consecutive days, so if you are looking to potty train, this three day weekend is the perfect time! You will need a few potties. I find it best to section off a place in your house that you will remain fully on that first day. My area was the family room. It was connected to the kitchen and had a bathroom very close. I put a potty in the middle of the floor between the kitchen and the family room so that I could run and get him on the pot as fast as possible. The main bathroom was used in case that was the closer option. You can have as many pots as you wish. But I thought that 2 was enough.
Now here is a little background. Basically you leave your child naked from the waist down and encourage them to go to the pot every twenty to thirty minutes. You sit them down and say something like “okay, let’s use the potty!” If they go you reward them with a song of praise and a sticker. They may have accidents trying to get back and forth to the pot but that’s okay. It’s actually the point. But as the parent it is your job to catch them before they have fully went on the floor. You want to show them they are supposed to make it to the pot.
First day:
From the start of the day you are going to only put your child in a t-shirt. That’s right, no underwear or diaper. The child must be either fully naked or only in a shirt. The whole point of this is because the clothes restricts the children from feeling free. They are to go on with the day as usual. Just as if they are fully clothed. Increase the amount of juice or water they are having and encourage them to go to the bathroom every 20-30 minutes (and don’t forget to praise them). When they don’t make it, show them that you are disappointed, not angry just disappointed. They will have a few accidents. Camden had two on the first day. I think for most kids they get embarrassed that they peed on the floor and will make an effort to make it to the pot.
Second Day:
This day is the same as day one. The only difference is that you are to take the child outside for an hour. Now I have seen reports of parents who have taken their child in the backyard with no bottoms. I wasn’t very comfortable with that. So I just put him in some pants and no underwear and we went to the grocery store. Before you head out make sure you sit on the pot so that the child knows that you are to use the pot before you head out. (Accidents should be very few by the end of day two.) Camden didn’t have any accidents this day. I honestly felt like we were done! It was a breeze for me by the end of day one honestly, and that’s the same story I got from the two ladies I told to try this.
Day Three:
The exact same as day two. By this day the child should be fully potty trained and no accidents or just one.
I will point out a few things with this technique. IT WILL NOT WORK IF YOU CAN’T STAY CALM AND AVOID BEING ANGRY. You have to be willing to deal with the mess, the long times in the bathroom, the rewards, singing, and running back and forth. You have to give it your best effort to make it work. Also evaluate your child, is he ready to be potty trained? If he isn’t asking to use the potty it might be too soon. If that’s the case, there is a chance for regression. If so, just try again in a few months. There are a ton of helpful articles on Pinterest too. That’s where I first saw this.
From my personal story with Cam, it worked great. I swear by it. The next kid will def. be going the same route. Camden didn’t regress, he used a pull up at night but after a week even those started to be dry every morning. I think that it’s all about getting the child to see what it really means to pee on yourself! Camden saw how much work it was to clean it up. (OH YEA I MADE HIM CLEAN IT UP WITH ME, what I look like!) Oh one other thing I get asked a lot, does the child poop on the floor? Camden didn’t. Which was normal. It’s actually pretty common for a child newly potty trained to skip pooping for a few weeks. It’s a psychological thing. You can read up on that too on Pinterest. Once they get more comfortable with peeing in the pot, they will poop. I promise. Let me know how it works for you. Don’t be scared, I promise it changed my life.