#1 Potty Training Hack

June 12, 2o2o

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When my daughter turned 2 I immediately started thinking about potty training. All over Pinterest were articles about how people had their child potty trained by 18 months or by 2. I felt like I was falling behind. That somehow I failed my daughter because I hadn’t even tried to potty train her yet. So I started by turning to articles that told me how to potty train in just 3 days! I read and read all about how to tell if your child is ready and make sure to do A and B or it won’t work.

After reading and reading I made the plunge to potty train! My daughter was 2 plus a few months and I got everything I needed, panties, treats, charts. The goods! I picked a week where we weren’t going to go anywhere. I was willing to be home bound to get it done! I was determined and it was going to happen! 

We started and she did pretty good. But then guess what! She regressed! She HATED pooping! Like it was the absolute most terrible thing she could ever do in her whole life, HATED. She would refuse to go in the potty. I am pretty sure my husband and I scarred her because we would make her sit until she pooped. Tears were spilt. Anger was felt. Many and many accidents happened.

Then I gave up! I decided that she wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready. That I wasn’t going to fight her anymore. We put away the undies and pulled the diapers back out. I felt horribly defeated. I felt as though I must have done something wrong. All these moms were training their kids by 18 months and 2 years. Then there was my daughter rocking the diapers edging closer and closer to 3. 

A couple of months before my daughter turned 3 I decided to try again. I pulled all the goodies back out and made time to start again. And guess what happened?! My daughter totally nailed it! I don’t even remember many accidents, she did have them, but not many. She even got the pooping down! Want to know the hack?!

#1 WAITED UNTIL SHE WAS 100% READY/OLDER

I know shocker! So easy! But seriously just waiting those extra 9 months was a game changer. She was able to understand what I was asking because she comprehended more about the world and her little body. She knew how to hold in her pee. She could understand when I explained what her body was telling her. It was AMAZING! She still struggled with pooping but it takes time and she got better each week. Night and day difference between what happened 9 months earlier. 

This made me think… Why is potty training forced at such a young age? I worked at a daycare before staying home with my babies. All the kids had to be potty training at 2 or they couldn’t move up. This is ridiculous! Kids all learn and develop at their own pace. Forcing a child to learn something they are not ready for is going to go nowhere. Children are stubborn and if they are not ready then they are simply not ready. No amount of bribing or pleading is not going to change this. Also what happens if it takes them longer to potty train?? NOTHING!

My daughter wasn’t going to go to college in diapers. So why was I placing such a big emphasis on potty training her at 2. It was because that seemed like the expectation. She had cousins being potty trained and I compared her to them. So DUMB! My daughter is her own person and she learns and grows differently. The expectations that all those articles put on moms are annoying! Who really cares? No one! So what if it takes a child until they are 3 or 4 to get it down? Great! At least they are potty trained!

Kids are unique and amazing. Potty training is a pain whenever you decide to do it. But make sure your child is 100% there to do it. Make sure they understand what you expect from them. Because if you wait it will be that much easier and you may walk away without feeling like you scarred your child. God has said “And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength” (Mosiah 4:27). It is too easy to compare ourselves, and our children, to others but God does not. He does not judge our journey in comparison to others. We can be more like Him as we are patient with our children and teach them in their time frame not ours.  My #1 potty training hack: wait until they are old enough to truly understand. Simply be patient and wait for your child to get there. Because I promise they will, whether it is at 2 or 3 or even 4. They will get there. 

When you do decide to take the plunge make sure to check out these potty training essentials that made my journey much easier.

1. Potty Chair. Fits their little bums so you don’t have to worry about them getting up on the toilet or falling in.
2. Step stool for sink to wash hands. So nice not to have to lift them up to wash hands! All about that independence!
3. Potty Chart. My daughter loved putting stickers on her chart to get a prize!