Welcome to the party!

If you can count potty training as a party, that is. ;)

We started our party 2 months ago and I think it’s been going great! Our 2 year old daughter has been handling potty training quite well now, for daytime that is. She can do #1 and #2 in the potty… that is the goal right? Does it matter she doesn’t tell us when she needs to go? Does it matter we have to bribe her into going to potty? Nope, you know why? Who cares HOW she gets on the potty, we only care that she does her business IN the potty! In addition, she has not had an accident during the day for 2 weeks now, we are so proud of her!  I’m going to share a few things that we used/tried to get the potty training party started and going strong.

The things you will need for a potty training party are:

1) A Potty – Preferably a cute looking one in your toddler’s eye. There are many out there from just a seat ring to go on your adult toilet to multi-use potties and musical potties. The one we have is both multi-use and musical potty… all pink too because, well, we have two girls!  I recommend one like the one we have because your baby will feel it is her/his own, they are more comfortable on a potty than on an adult potty, and it’s portable (very important because you never know when/where you will need it). This pink potty can also be a step stool, and the soft ring seat fits on your standard adult toilet too!

2) Pull-Ups or Underwear – Your toddler will need this big step: from diapers to big girl/boy undies! Your child will feel older, bigger, and smarter! This is a huge transition for your child and putting something other than diaper will be essential to your potty training success. Of course, diapers go back on during sleeping time.

3) Books – Gather your baby’s favorite books, especially ones that he or she has read ten thousand times! This is one of the best ways to get your child to sit on the potty for a long enough time for him/her to do something on the potty.

4) Toys – Are there any small gadgety toys your child loves to play with? This can help keep your baby on the potty longer.

5) Toilet Paper – Our potty is not in a bathroom because we have two floors and only one bathroom upstairs so we have to put a separate roll of toilet paper with the potty. This is fun for your toddler too because s/he could help you tear off the amount you want to use.

6) Small shelf – Just a small shelf to store the books and the toilet paper beside the potty. It could even just be a storage box where you flip the box so that the bottom is against the wall and the top of the storage box (the opening) is facing you. The toilet paper can be stored on top of the storage box (which is actually the side of the box), and the books stored inside the box.

7) A Reward System – Tape a piece of paper on the wall next to the potty and have a “Pee” and “Poo” section on it. Whenever your child goes in the potty, you can either put fun stickers in the appropriate sections or just use a pen to draw a reward like a happy face, star, hearts, or whatever makes your baby happy!

8) Change of Clothes – You never know what will happen when you’re out. You probably should have the pull-ups on your toddler but hopefully underwear instead.

9) Disposable Toilet Seat Covers – OMG, I never knew these existed! My sister told me about them and I bought them right away when I saw them at Walmart! They are so much better than those paper toilet seat covers because they are more comfortable (plastic, not paper), bigger (covers more), and have cute designs on them (which helped get my daughter to go potty at the park).

10) Patience – Oh, you will need lots of this!

Now that you have all the tools, you will need to get your little baby used to the potty first.  Have it out and let him/her explore it, sit on it, and play with it.  The point is to get them used to the idea of it.  Then you try to have your child sit on it long without the diaper on, so this is where your books and toys come in.  First try to let your child sit for 10 – 15 mins, or even shorter, but you increase the time as you go.  Try to sit them on it at their usual “pee pee” time.  Patience is key here!

Believe me, once you have that first pee come out, it is the BEST feeling in the whole wide world!!!!  When you get that first pee, you need to praise your child like you have never before!!!  Make a BIG deal out of it!  Show him/her what she did, let them look into the potty!  Dance!  Sing!  Clap!  Celebrate!  Give them the “reward” immediately too!

You have to keep at it everyday and be consistent.  Try not to have any plans the first week and just be at home and practice, practice, practice.  Then you can work on “poo poo” which you will need to sit them on the potty longer like 20 – 30 mins.  Mine usually does it within 20 mins!  I had my fair share of accidents to clean up but when she got it, she got it.  Also, she was really good at telling us when to go potty in the first 2 weeks, but after that for the next month, it was accident after accident.  Now that I’m more consistent of getting her on the potty when she needs to (instead of waiting for her to tell me), she hasn’t had any accidents for the last 2 weeks.

Again, just be patient and you will reap the benefits! If you have any potty training stories, please comment below!

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