Try This Potty Training Advice If You’re A New Parent

The trick to potty training is that there is no trick! Just follow the simple potty training advice below and you’ll have the most successful experience ever.

Potty training.

It’s a rite of passage in motherhood and something that turns your baby into a somewhat functioning child.

As soon as my son turned 18 months, I was like “OK, I’m ready. Let’s do this potty training thing!” Bring on the potty training advice

RELATED: The Ultimate List of Parenting Tips And Advice For New Parents.

Here’s How That Went

It turns out Hudson was not ready.

So I pushed and pleaded and read all of the “how to potty train in 3 days” blog posts full of the best potty training tips for a new parent I could find, but he just wasn’t having it.

He would cry if I put him on the potty. So I took a step back and realized he was only 18 months and didn’t need to be potty trained just then.

So when my daughter’s due date started getting closer, I tried the potty training process again, because I did NOT want to be changing a toddler and a newborn all day.

But again…potty training resistance.

So I waited even longer.

When his third birthday came around I was about done changing his diapers, so we picked out special underwear, got him a potty seat, did the “run around the house naked” thing, and BIG SURPRISE…

He still was not potty trained.

Then I just decided to give up.

If he had to go to school in diapers, then I guess we would deal with that when we got there.

But guess what??

Two months after he turned three, Hudson decided he was finally ready to potty train!!

He told me he had to go potty one day, took his diaper off, and went!

So I put a pull-up on him and kept checking him to see if he was dry and he was!

This went on for three days and then he was wearing underwear! I did very little as soon as he decided he was ready.

Why did we go through all of that agony for 18 months??

Because I wanted him to be done with diapers when he wasn’t ready.

The Best Potty Training Advice

So all you mamas who are working on potty training boys, listen up! My biggest tip for potty training is:

Wait until they’re ready!

The secret isn’t a special potty training age or a special method or a special toy. They will not be truly potty trained until they are ready!

I mean sure you can “mommy train” them at 18 months.

I had a friend do that.

Her daughter was wearing underwear before Hudson even knew what underwear was(He’s older than her!)!

I was pretty upset for a while until I found out about all of the accidents (four times during a family vacation, once).

And saw all the asking during playdates:

“Do you need to go to the bathroom?”
“Are you sure??”
“Let’s just go to check.”

Every 10 minutes…

Yeah, no thank you!

Does it suck having to change a 3-year-old’s diaper?

Yes.

Does it suck having to buy diapers for a 3-year-old?

Yesssssss.

Does it suck seeing all of your child’s friends wearing underwear and going on the toilet?

Heck yes.

But you know what doesn’t suck??

Never having to clean out poopy underwear!

I can count on one hand the number of accidents Hudson has had and there have been NO poopy incidents (except for once when he was sick).

And of course, Hudson knew what the toilet was and how to use it.

He knew that he would get to wear special underwear when he went on the potty. We even bought him a special toy.

None of that interested him. No bribing or begging or pleading made him want to go on the potty.

He went when he was ready and that was that.

So now that Ella is nearing her second birthday, am I getting anxious for her to be potty trained.

You bet.

Do I talk to her about going on the potty?

You know it.

But, guess what??

She cries every time I talk about it! So I’m not going to push it and I know she’ll show us when she’s ready!

What age should a child be potty trained by?

Each child is so different, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all when it comes to knowing when a child is old enough to potty train.
Some of the signs Hudson showed were:

• He told us when he needed to go (probably the biggest indicator that they’re ready!)
• He was dry after naps
• He rarely had accidents in his pull-up
• He wasn’t afraid of the potty anymore
• He was taking his diaper off himself to go to the bathroom

This post probably isn’t the “three-day outline to get your 18-month-old potty trained fast” that you were hoping for.

I’ve seen so many of those on Pinterest and those potty training methods didn’t work for us!

This is what worked when we were having potty training problems and I’m hoping it will help another mom who is in the depths of potty training h-e-double hockey sticks.

You could consider these to be late potty training tips, but the potty training timetable is a bigger spectrum than a new parent might think.

Hint: when surveyed, a majority of moms said 3-years-old is when their child was fully potty trained.

And in case you’re wondering, here are the very few items I bought to help with potty training:

Want More?

If you liked this post, be sure to check out what to do when your consequences for talking back aren’t working.

Your Turn

It may not seem like it now, but you can do this!

Give your child the time and space that they need and they will figure it out.

Be consistent with using potty training language, and when they’re ready, it will happen!

Whether you’re potty training boys or girls, I hope this advice will give you the courage and confidence to keep trying.

How old was your child when they were fully potty-trained? Let me know in the comments.