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Share your top tips with Penwizard on encouraging your children with their potty training for your chance to win a £300 Love2Shop voucher! NOW CLOSED

254 replies

KathrynMumsnet · 29/06/2015 09:59

The team at Penwizard have asked us to find out your top tips to encourage your children with their potty training.

Here’s what Penwizard say: "We all know potty training can be a tough time for both toddlers and parents. That’s why in our new personalised potty training book we guide children step-by-step through the process to help them understand what’s involved and help parents motivate their child. But we want to hear from Mumsnet posters what tips and tricks have worked for them whilst handling this delicate process and any advice they would pass on to first time mothers”.

So what are your top tips? What do you wish you’d known about potty training before starting the process? Do you have a reward system in place? Whatever it is, we’d love to hear it!

Everyone who posts their comment on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky Mumsnetter will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Please note: your comments may be used anonymously elsewhere on Mumsnet and by Penwizard on their website, marketing materials and possible elsewhere, so please only comment if you are happy with this.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

p.s. if you would like to find out more about Penwizard’s new book click here.

Share your top tips with Penwizard on encouraging your children with their potty training for your chance to win a £300 Love2Shop voucher! NOW CLOSED
OP posts:
angiehoggett · 13/07/2015 10:05

I found rewards very helpful and really letting them know how well they'd done each time they used the potty

Flossiecrossie · 13/07/2015 10:15

We used marbles as a reward for each time the potty was used. Once the marble jar was full we realised that we were through the worst of it and our little one was potty trained.

smit23 · 13/07/2015 10:36

The most important thing is to recognise that it is about their pace, not yours.. when they're ready, they'll let you know!

If they have accidents or just don't want too, try not to get frustrated or tell them off, just move on and keep encouraging them.

notjusttheirmum · 13/07/2015 10:48

I let my daughter choose her own 'big girl knickers', something with a picture on, & because they were want she wanted she didn't want to ruin them.
She was trained through the summer so any accidents happened outside, she was left in just knickers & a top to make the pulling-down-of-trousers exercise not as much of a problem if she was desperate which helped avoid accidents.
Accidents are bound to happen, just don't get angry! Be upset so they know it shouldn't be happening, & lots of praise if they make it on time. I never wanted her to feel bad about having an accident, it can't be helped sometimes!
& ask constantly if they need it. I think being in summer & her drinking so much made her be more aware of when she needed to go as was going more often, but asking every 15minutes if she needed it kept her remembering she wasn't in a nappy & was to use the toilet.

matphil · 13/07/2015 12:04

Wait until they are ready and show an interest. Let them come with you to the toilet so they can see it's a normal thing to do.
Encourage them and praise them. A toilet seat insert is helpful as a lot are scared that they will fall in.
When at home leave their clothe off and have a potty in the room they are playing in.

VickyRsuperstar · 13/07/2015 13:15

My youngest son was very resistant to it - every time we tried it was a complete failure so we would leave it a little bit longer to see if he would be a bit more ready later on. I got under a lot of pressure from my mother as he headed toward 3 and still not potty trained. We started off training mostly using pull ups and using a potty and being positive with lots of praise for any time he got it right, but he was very inconsistent some days were good and some days nothing went in the right place and he would be quite comfortable to pee in the pull-up! I started to feel that the pull up nappies were encouraging him to be lazy! In the end we switched to underpants and he decided that he didn't want to use the potty, he wanted to use the toilet instead and when we did that it just suddenly clicked with him practically over night and he has been dry both day and night ever since.
After this experience (& he is my 8th child) I feel that even if it's slightly later than normal (normally mine have been trained round 2-2.5) that there is no point in trying to train a child who really isn't ready just because of increasing family pressure.

I would also say to anyone struggling to get their child to use a potty, try offering the toilet with a step stool instead. 2 of my daughters also did not want to use a potty and one would hold the wee for hours all day rather than use it, but as soon as we offered her the toilet she was happy to use it instead. I don't know what she didn't like about the potty, but once we offered her the toilet she was potty trained in a week.

I think the best thing is to be flexible, keep an open mind and go with the flow until you find something that works!

Looploop2 · 13/07/2015 15:11

I tried several times to potty train my little girl as she had been dry all night from 16 months. It never worked until she found a pack of kitty pants she liked and decided she would wear them from now on. Tip - let them choose their own pants.

jacqroberts68 · 13/07/2015 17:46

Save a special toy for potty time only so it gives them a reward and a reason to go on the potty.

Tkw2014 · 13/07/2015 19:39

Definitely wait until they are really ready otherwise it's stressful for mum and child. Lots of praise worked for us and taking a potty out on day trips. Also not worrying about the odd accident, it will happen, don't give up once started!

Ryancrawshaw · 13/07/2015 20:24

I leave the potty out - I also let out daughter go to the toilet with me so she can see what is happening, making a game out of flushing the toilet and pulling the toilet paper. No pressure - letting her take it at her own pace

welshpolarbear · 13/07/2015 22:28

I dreaded potty training, then dreading it some more, so I have to say that try not to as it's really not as bad as you'd imagine.I think the main tip is to keep going once you start. Starting and stopping on seems to give the idea that there is a choice in the matter. Sticker charts worked for us. I'd also recommend a potty downstairs as well as upstairs.

eve394 · 13/07/2015 22:51

My son loved the pirate Pete potty book. We read it whilst on the potty which he loved especially guessing which pants and potty belonged to Pete! This helped him relax on the potty as it took the focus off trying to do something and he always looked forward to reading it whilst using the potty!

helcrai · 13/07/2015 23:29

I wish I'd have known that it can take a long time & doesn't happen in a couple of days like my mother claimed! Maybe I didn't persevere enough at first but I made no real progress with my Dd1, probably because I was frightened of her having accidents round the house and really should have let her run round without a nappy rather than going straight to pullups.
She was a little too young for reward charts so we gave her big claps and praise whenever she used the potty. We also let her decorate it with stickers as she progressed so she associated it with fun & customized it ( ott maybe but it seemed to work!). We encouraged the grandparents to make a fuss of her the same way for consistency when she was looked after by them and that seemed to help too. When she was finally dry in the day I took her shopping to choose her own 'big girl knickers' which she was very proud of.

nushcar · 13/07/2015 23:36

Wait until they're ready! It could take 2 weeks or 6 months, choice is yours! for boys, I found the toddler urinals that you can attach to side of toilet really helpful.

beehummingbird · 13/07/2015 23:57

Reward them for using it.

pamxxmcm · 14/07/2015 00:24

My daughter was 1 when she started on pull ups then did sticker rewards onto bathroom wall so everyone she did a p she got a sticker and for every ten she got a special gold star she only wet the bed twice never wore another pull up or nappy after her second birthday

pamxxmcm · 14/07/2015 00:26

Also she never liked the potty so bought a Minnie mouse seat to go onto toilet that did the trick

MNHQ
KathrynMumsnet · 14/07/2015 13:25

Thank you everyone for all your posts, some wonderful tips and suggestions! The prize draw is now closed.

Congratulations to BiscuitsForBreakfast for winning the £300 Love2Shop voucher for their comment.

For more opportunities to win prizes keep your eye on the insight page.

OP posts:
Sc107 · 16/07/2015 13:05

Don't bother with a potty - Use a toilet with a childs seat. Wait until you have a few clear days to pay full attention to the toddler. Patience. Patience and patience. It is a natural thing to do a pee or a poo and in reality it doesn't take long for the child to get it.

catgirl2 · 20/07/2015 10:38

Star chart and letting them choose their own pants with fun design. Loads of praise and no criticism.

BlackeyedSusan · 20/07/2015 23:21

they are ready when they are ready and not before. If they have no idea that a wee or poo is about to arrive then they will not be successful, although it is possible to catch a lot of wee and poo in the potty and there is nothing wrong with getting them used to the potty, just don't expect to be accident free.

don't worry. they will learn. if there is an issue medical intervention will not happen for quite a while anyway so don't stress. (not being trained at three is still0 in the normal range according to many of the medical profesionals we have seen.)

asd children often train later than nt children.

hypermobile children have problems with other connective tissue including bladder and bowel.

if your child has toddler diarrhoea, sod the advice to go straigt to pants, use pull ups. pants barely slow the flow of toddler diarrhoea.

asd children can potty train in one day... just the day they choose when they are ready.

CrumblyMumbly · 23/07/2015 20:15

Don't bow to peer (older family members) pressure and wait wait wait until they are ready.

Get exciting seat for toilet and step. Mine didn't like the potty and went straight onto the toilet. My dd liked the book about the princess and the potty with cheering noises.

Bribes worked for us - 1 chocolate button for a wee and 2 for a poo. She was still asking about 6 months after she was trained so maybe (another) rod for back - you could try a star chart with treat at end. Loads of praise and no stress at accidents.

Relax, they will get there - nobody goes to a job interview wearing a nappy...

Fizzyplonk · 26/07/2015 21:50

I waited till nearly 3 and was very quick and dry at night too. So I'd say don't rush.
That said I want next one to be dry for school nursery!!

clopper · 28/07/2015 21:40

Do it in the summer and spend a lot of time outside. Don't worry about what other mums and DC are doing as its not a race or competition.

throwingpebbles · 08/08/2015 08:30

Peer pressure/ encouragement really helped my boy. He went nursery a few days a week and they had a toilet with several pottys in and the children would all update and encourage each other