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MNHQ

Share your tips on potty training with ASDA - £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

339 replies

PoppyMumsnet · 06/07/2016 10:05

Teaching toddlers how to go to the toilet is one of the unavoidable tasks all parents must face - but it needn't be something you dread. There are many who've already been there, done that - and their learnings are invaluable.

So if you're smiling smugly from the other side, share your top tips for parents embarking on the potty training journey. What advice can you offer to make the experience less stressful - maybe even fun?

So, what words of wisdom can you share? How did you know when your child was ready to start training, and how did you integrate it into your everyday routine? Maybe you discovered clever strategies for introducing a potty or tricks for simplifying the transition from nappies to proper underwear?

How did you encourage and praise little ones for a job well done - or respond to the (inevitable) accidents without undoing all their good work? Do you have any potty training tricks for when you're out and about?

Whatever your top tips for successful potty training are, share them with Asda below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 ASDA voucher.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

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Share your tips on potty training with ASDA - £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED
OP posts:
snorepatrol · 13/07/2016 16:41

My dd has asd and was a such a long haul to potty train her it took me 2 1/2 years.

My dd didn't really pick up on the sensation of being wet or dirty and it just didn't bother her at all.

The best thing I discovered (eventually) was a reminder watch

I didn't know anything about them at first so used an alarm clock until I heard about them

I took my blinkin alarm clock everywhere and set it 2 hourly so my daughter got into the routine that the alarm went off and she had a wee it worked really well I printed a picture of a stick man on a potty and stuck it on the back of the clock so she had a visual reminder and the alarm as an audio reminder.

She's now at school and I found out about reminder watches it vibrates discreetly so no other children know it just looks like a regular watch and she goes to the toilet every time it goes off at school.

MummyBtothree · 13/07/2016 16:52

Let them watch Mummy, Daddy or older siblings use the toilet so they are familiar with it all.

PeggyMitchell123 · 13/07/2016 21:19

Go at your child's speed and use lots of praise. Don't make a fuss over any accidents. They will get the hang of it with time.

lhlee62 · 13/07/2016 22:31

The biggest tip is wait until they are ready, don't try to rush. When they show signs of being ready get the stickers out.

ForgetMeNot730 · 13/07/2016 22:58

I started potty training my son when he was 2 and a half and I did it at the start of the warmer weather. It's much easier to wash 10 pairs of shorts than 10 pairs of trousers! The best tip I got was to not change him as soon as he'd wet himself. I waited 10 minutes after he told me he peed his pants so he'd feel a little uncomfortable (but not too long that it would chafe or give him sore bits). He didn't like wearing wet pants and within 2 days he was potty trained. Hopefully it's as easy 2nd time round.

Firewall · 14/07/2016 14:15

Wait until they are ready. Then if you go out let them wear their pants with a nappy/training nappy over. That way they know if they have an accident but none of the mess.

bambooleaves · 14/07/2016 16:21

Nappy off time in the garden is a great, relatively mess free way to start. Gives you an idea of how often they go, whether they know they are going and whether they have any control. Getting it in the potty is a surprise, not an expectation at that stage!

And avoid pull ups unless it's over nap time!

Roseformeplease · 14/07/2016 18:42

Bob the Builder, or modern equivalent was only on when DS was on the potty. It led to him shouting Bob Poo, Mummy, need Bob Poo.

rhinosuze · 14/07/2016 21:13

I let her get used to the potty existing first and gradually started talking about how big girls don't wear nappies anymore. I think it helped that she had older cousins and so wanted to copy them. We let the teddy have a potty too (clean of course) and it was great as she started showing teddy what to do. It wasn't as bad as I thought, obviously there were a couple of accidents but we made sure she never felt in trouble when it happened

beckyinman · 15/07/2016 00:02

Don't feel pressured by other mums - you'll know when they are ready. Maybe GCSEs is too late though!

cookie09 · 15/07/2016 12:26

To encourage our son to use the potty, we put a drawing of a racetrack on the wall. Every time he used the potty he got to put a sticker on the racetrack. When the racetrack was filled with stickers, he got to pick a small toy as a reward. Its a great incentive and lots of positive enforcement works wonders.

CremeDeSudo · 15/07/2016 15:23

We used a reward chart and chocolates although I think what made the biggest difference in the end was to stop nagging and asking the poor boy if he needed a wee! As soon as we stopped asking, he cracked it. Poos took a bit longer, but both nailed within 2 weeks.

hanliying · 15/07/2016 17:27

wait until they are ready. It is much easier to train at 2 and half vs 2.

user1468607650 · 15/07/2016 20:41

paint their favourite character on the potty in washable paint

K3rry · 15/07/2016 22:24

We went pants free for a week under house arrest and went crazy everytime they did a wee or poo on the potty, we had it cracked in 3 days

BreconBeBuggered · 16/07/2016 00:48

Stop listening to anybody else and their woundrous tales of potty-trained one-year-olds. If your child is clinging to pull-ups at nearly 3, and you're all happy, it's fine. I went with the laissez-faire approach and never had a single wet bed or even a pair of trousers. Once they were fully in pants I was slightly sad to discover that their bladder control was better than mine and I couldn't used them as an excuse for an extra visit to the toilet when we were out.

Sid98 · 16/07/2016 08:27

I use a potty and tell my child what to do and I give them rewards

carolineandryanandseb · 16/07/2016 09:53

My advice would be just not to worry about it and ignore the people who tell you 'my little one was potty trained at 3 months old etc etc'. I imagine that little one may have had an extremely distressing time with it and the best thing to do is not pressure or rush them in the long-run. My individual experience is that my little boy went straight to the toilet (skipping the potty altogether as he didn't like the idea of doing something all the grown-ups didn't) at age 3 1/2. We just told him one day we weren't using nappies any more and put a step so he could reach toilet seat. No big deal, no bribery, no singling him out, no making him feel any different. He switched to toilet and out of nappies that day and has never had a nappy on since.
But all children are different- leave it up to them and don't rush it if you can help it (although I know some people feel rushed for things like nursery or school). As with everything else, the most important thing I've learnt, and I've learnt it time and time again, is relax and don't worry :)

sadiewoohoo · 16/07/2016 11:24

Have a simple reward chart placed directly above the potty so its associated with it. We also whooped like crazy fools every time there was a successful potty use lol

BikeRunSki · 16/07/2016 12:39

If they are not getting the hang of it, stop and wait for them to ask. You've planted the idea. We had a pretty unsuccessful 4 days with DS at 2.8, then 2 weeks later he asked to wear pants, and was reliably dry within a fortnight. DD asked for "pants today" at 2.2 and got it in 48 hrs. Both children did wees and poos, night and day at once. I'm sure that this is largely down to potty training when they decided, not when I decided.

Mozarmstrong · 16/07/2016 20:44

Don't panic no child went to school in a nappy make it a happy rewarding time chi l Doren learn everything very quickly

amanda08 · 16/07/2016 22:34

I bit the bullet with my son when he trained. Did not leave the house for 3 days lol. Had a supply of little toys every time he used the potty or toilet, never made a fuss if he had an accident and composed a poo song to get him over his splash fears lol. 3 days later and he was trained :)

Andbabymakesthree · 17/07/2016 09:29

Dont compare your child to their peers. You'll know when they are really ready.

JoJoBaldwin · 17/07/2016 11:48

I got a couple of picture books about using the potty, then left a potty in the room - all nonchalant like. Wasn't long before DD took it upon herself to copy the little girl in the book - then lots and lots of praise!

amz12 · 17/07/2016 11:58

My DS is autistic and we decided to wait unit he was 3 yrs and 8 months to potty train. We didn't use a potty and put him straight on the toilet for obvious reason. He has only started to speak and he didn't understand me telling him to go toilet. So I had to show him, that meant a weekend of making him drinking lots of juice (refuses water) and putting him on the toilet every 30 mins and giving him a treat every time he did a wee or poo and after a month he is dry both day and night, with a few mishaps.