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Potty training pointers

6 replies

houseargh · 31/12/2022 08:05

Planning to start soon. A few bits I'm not clear on and would like to hear what worked for you:

Nighttime - did you keep putting a nappy on at night from day 1 or did you try nappy-free nights at first and then go back to nappies if that didn't work?

Naptime - DD still naps for 1-2 hours a day. Did you put a nappy on for naptime when you were first potty training? I imagine this might get confusing but also don't want to lose loads of naps to a wet bed

Out and about - we're thinking to just hold her over the loo when she needs to go when we're out. Is this a terrible idea / do we need a travel potty?

I know the done thing these days seems to be to have them half naked at first but it's Dec and we're not millionaires so I'm hoping clothes on is ok.

Anything else I'm not thinking of?

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babysoupdragon2 · 31/12/2022 08:11

Carry on with a nappy overnight until they are consistently dry.

Naps- worth trialing without, see how you get on but lots will still need a nappy on

For out and about you don't need a travel potty but the problem is you often don't get a lot of notice. My toddler's would announce they need a wee and then you had about 90seconds to get to somewhere. Even if you'd asked them 5 minutes before when you were in the sodding toilet. So I found a travel potty really helpful

Good luck and don't stress.

GiltEdges · 31/12/2022 08:30

Nighttime - did you keep putting a nappy on at night from day 1 or did you try nappy-free nights at first and then go back to nappies if that didn't work?
Night dryness isn’t a learned skill like daytime dryness, so personally I’d keep the nappy on for nighttime’s initially, although we switched to pull ups so they still seemed more like pants to DS. In his case, he still became dry at night within about 6 months of potty training, so we got rid of them then and now just have a waterproof sheet on his mattress as a back up (it’s never been needed).

Naptime - DD still naps for 1-2 hours a day. Did you put a nappy on for naptime when you were first potty training?
Initially we did. We just explained that he might need to wee when he was sleeping and wouldn’t be aware of it, so the pull up was to make sure we caught it if he did. However, we always asked him to use the toilet pre nap and were quick to remove the pull up once he woke up, as I found this was the time he was most vulnerable to using it. After a few weeks, we stopped using them altogether and just left him in pants.

Out and about - we're thinking to just hold her over the loo when she needs to go when we're out. Is this a terrible idea / do we need a travel potty?
We never had a travel potty, but we did (and still do) have a toilet seat cover which we bought for around £10 on Amazon. Best thing we ever bought, as there’s no way DS would have used the toilet with us holding him over it. We also limited where we took him initially to places where we could guarantee a toilet would be easily accessible at short notice and built up from there.

I know the done thing these days seems to be to have them half naked at first but it's Dec and we're not millionaires so I'm hoping clothes on is ok.
We never did no clothes, but we did limit to pants only on his bottom half, and as he became more reliable progressed to pants and shorts, then pants and joggers, etc. This was over the course of about a week. I think if we’d done full clothes from day 1 it would definitely have been confusing for him, as all the textures can end up feeling quite similar to a nappy. Though saying that, nurseries will generally require them to be fully clothed all day even when they’re still training, so it’s obviously possible.

Other tips
Kids can be stubborn, so don’t let the first couple of days dishearten you if there are lots of accidents, and/or you sense stubbornness and reluctance to use the toilet, which is purely based on preference. You have to remember that the change you’re asking them to make is more inconvenient for them than what they’ve been doing up to now, so resistance is to be expected. However, if they show signs of distress or still not understanding what’s expected of them after the first couple of days, be prepared to calmly give up and come back to it in another few weeks/months.

Also, look at getting a book you can read with them in advance, so they understand what’s to come. Maybe practice with a doll; we bought one for DS which came with a potty, etc.

Good luck!

GiltEdges · 31/12/2022 08:32

This is the type of seat we bought

Potty training pointers
Potty training pointers

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houseargh · 31/12/2022 20:15

Thanks both, this is incredibly helpful. Starting tomorrow - fingers crossed!

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BabyB2022 · 31/12/2022 21:43

We started on Thursday, how is it going?
I'm still doing nappy for night and nap, nursery also will be putting a nappy on her her nap.
I've got a my carry potty, a luxury and definitely dont need this specific type, but she loves it. We went out for half a day today (already pre booked so not ideal timing with potty training), she loved it and wee'd on it. She wouldn't have gone just us holding her over the toilet so you might need something, but I like the suggested travel seat above.

CoalCraft · 01/01/2023 10:06

Currently in the midst of potty training DD and so far so good.

Night time
We just put a pull-up on with no expectations, however two nights in a row now she's woken up dry and then did a big wee on the potty, so you never know, it may just sort itself.

Naps
We prompt DD to go for a wee before naps and that seems to do the trick - no naptime accidents yet.

Out and about
Probably depends on the child. DD finds being held over the potty terrifying and is too tiny even for the adaptor seat we got, so it's travel potties for us. Try holding over the toilet at home and see if your DC us comfortable with it.

Trousers
i wanted to do the half naked thing but DH pointed out it's too cold! Turns out having trousers on helps as DD hates the feeling of wet clothes and it incentivised her to go to the potty. Did mean a lot of washing the first couple of days, though.

My general advice would be to embrace bribes! Screen time, stickers, chocolate buttons, whatever works! We found that putting Hey Duggee on for DD really helped take the stress out of it for DD so she would sit on the potty without getting worked up (she gets literally zero screen time normally).

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