Potty training 101
This past Sunday morning we began what I call "potty training boot camp" with Sienna. At age 2 1/2 she showed all of the signs that she was ready for this and I can confidently say that as of yesterday (Wednesday) she is 100% potty trained!
How so fast, you ask? Well here is a list of how we implement potty training boot camp for those of you wondering!
1. Set aside one week where you or someone constant in your child's life can stay home 100% with your child. This might seem difficult or even impossible, but trust me, if I can set aside a week to do this, anyone can! We chose Jaden's spring break week to stay home because we wouldn't have to transport her to / from school and I made sure we had no commitments outside of the home (we did end up leaving the house yesterday since I was sure she was trained, but all children are different and it took Jaden 5 full days before she was ready to leave the house). Also in committing to stay home all week, know that you won't get much done because you have to focus all of your time and energy on the potty training, but it will be well worth every minute spent in the end because your child will be trained very quickly!
2. Load up on SALTY snacks and SUGARY drinks:
I must've looked like the most unhealthy mama in the world when I purchased all of these things last week! ha! Salty snacks keep the child thirsty and sugary drinks don't quench that thirst as well as other things making them want to drink more. It's only for one week, so don't sweat the unhealthiness of this part!
3. On the first day of your potty training boot camp, put underwear in the spot where the child's diapers / pullups have previously been stored. HIDE all diapers and pullups so that they know you're serious and feel as if their only choice is to wear the underwear proudly! In our case, Sienna's diaper basket was filled with girly undies on Sunday morning when she woke up. She's been picking out which diaper to wear lately so this time we just had her pick which undies she wanted to put on! We put her diapers in a hidden spot in our laundry room and she has no idea where they are :)
4. Ask your child if he / she has to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes. This may require you to set a timer for yourself at first and believe me, 15 minutes goes by very quickly! At the beginning, we not only would ask Sienna, but also would sit her on the potty every 15 minutes because sometimes children aren't exactly sure if they are feeling like they have to go. This asking every 15 minutes part may last 1-3 days and once the child starts going consistently in the potty and not having accidents you'll know you don't have to ask so often. By Monday we weren't having to ask Sienna nearly so often--woohoo!
5. Have treats and prizes ready for when your child goes in the potty. For peeing in the potty, Sienna was allowed to pick three of these:
Another option if you aren't a fan of giving your child so much sugar would be to give him / her pennies for his / her piggy bank. We have done that a few times too and since Sienna loves to put money in her bank, it was just as rewarding as candy!
For pooping on the potty, we had a bunch of little prizes (about $1 each) that she could choose from. The first thing she chose was a lipstick (such a girl!!) and the second thing she chose was the Abby Cadabby figure.
6. After two full days of staying dry, reward your child with something bigger. We gave Sienna a Cinderella baby doll that she has been asking for every time we see it in Target. I paid $16 bucks for it just to give you an idea of how "big" this prize should be.
7. After you are totally confident that your child is potty trained (5-7 days staying totally dry, telling you when he / she has to go instead of you having to ask, etc), give him / her another big prize. This prize could be anything from a day at the park your child loves to go to or something you buy such as a leapster which is Sienna's big prize (which she hasn't gotten yet, but will very soon!!)
Now you may be thinking, gosh this potty training boot camp such is going to hit me in the wallet! Let me ask you though, isn't one week of potty training with prizes going to cost less than another month or two of diapers?? YEP! In total with both Jaden and Sienna I spent $60-$80 on prizes (I shop sales so got some good deals!) and that is about the same amount or even a little less than I've been spending on diapers, pullups, wipes, butt paste, etc in a month! Now next month I'll see the real savings (thankfully!).
Another note--we wear only shirts and undies the first few days so that we don't have a lot of clothing to take off each time we visit the potty. Since we weren't leaving the house at all, it wasn't at all a problem to go pantless!
And finally, we've chosen to have a little potty for training, but we have also encouraged our girls during potty training to use the big toilet so that when we do go out and about they aren't afraid to use the bathroom.
If you have any additional questions or want me to clarify anything, I'd be happy to! For now, I'm off to play with my newest little potty-trained princess (who hasn't had any accidents in 72 hours now--woohoo!)!
How so fast, you ask? Well here is a list of how we implement potty training boot camp for those of you wondering!
1. Set aside one week where you or someone constant in your child's life can stay home 100% with your child. This might seem difficult or even impossible, but trust me, if I can set aside a week to do this, anyone can! We chose Jaden's spring break week to stay home because we wouldn't have to transport her to / from school and I made sure we had no commitments outside of the home (we did end up leaving the house yesterday since I was sure she was trained, but all children are different and it took Jaden 5 full days before she was ready to leave the house). Also in committing to stay home all week, know that you won't get much done because you have to focus all of your time and energy on the potty training, but it will be well worth every minute spent in the end because your child will be trained very quickly!
2. Load up on SALTY snacks and SUGARY drinks:
I must've looked like the most unhealthy mama in the world when I purchased all of these things last week! ha! Salty snacks keep the child thirsty and sugary drinks don't quench that thirst as well as other things making them want to drink more. It's only for one week, so don't sweat the unhealthiness of this part!3. On the first day of your potty training boot camp, put underwear in the spot where the child's diapers / pullups have previously been stored. HIDE all diapers and pullups so that they know you're serious and feel as if their only choice is to wear the underwear proudly! In our case, Sienna's diaper basket was filled with girly undies on Sunday morning when she woke up. She's been picking out which diaper to wear lately so this time we just had her pick which undies she wanted to put on! We put her diapers in a hidden spot in our laundry room and she has no idea where they are :)
4. Ask your child if he / she has to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes. This may require you to set a timer for yourself at first and believe me, 15 minutes goes by very quickly! At the beginning, we not only would ask Sienna, but also would sit her on the potty every 15 minutes because sometimes children aren't exactly sure if they are feeling like they have to go. This asking every 15 minutes part may last 1-3 days and once the child starts going consistently in the potty and not having accidents you'll know you don't have to ask so often. By Monday we weren't having to ask Sienna nearly so often--woohoo!
5. Have treats and prizes ready for when your child goes in the potty. For peeing in the potty, Sienna was allowed to pick three of these:
Another option if you aren't a fan of giving your child so much sugar would be to give him / her pennies for his / her piggy bank. We have done that a few times too and since Sienna loves to put money in her bank, it was just as rewarding as candy!For pooping on the potty, we had a bunch of little prizes (about $1 each) that she could choose from. The first thing she chose was a lipstick (such a girl!!) and the second thing she chose was the Abby Cadabby figure.
6. After two full days of staying dry, reward your child with something bigger. We gave Sienna a Cinderella baby doll that she has been asking for every time we see it in Target. I paid $16 bucks for it just to give you an idea of how "big" this prize should be.
7. After you are totally confident that your child is potty trained (5-7 days staying totally dry, telling you when he / she has to go instead of you having to ask, etc), give him / her another big prize. This prize could be anything from a day at the park your child loves to go to or something you buy such as a leapster which is Sienna's big prize (which she hasn't gotten yet, but will very soon!!)
Now you may be thinking, gosh this potty training boot camp such is going to hit me in the wallet! Let me ask you though, isn't one week of potty training with prizes going to cost less than another month or two of diapers?? YEP! In total with both Jaden and Sienna I spent $60-$80 on prizes (I shop sales so got some good deals!) and that is about the same amount or even a little less than I've been spending on diapers, pullups, wipes, butt paste, etc in a month! Now next month I'll see the real savings (thankfully!).Another note--we wear only shirts and undies the first few days so that we don't have a lot of clothing to take off each time we visit the potty. Since we weren't leaving the house at all, it wasn't at all a problem to go pantless!
And finally, we've chosen to have a little potty for training, but we have also encouraged our girls during potty training to use the big toilet so that when we do go out and about they aren't afraid to use the bathroom.
If you have any additional questions or want me to clarify anything, I'd be happy to! For now, I'm off to play with my newest little potty-trained princess (who hasn't had any accidents in 72 hours now--woohoo!)!
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