I recently read an article by a fairly well known parenting coach and author and was quite surprised by his philosophy on potty training. I won’t mention his name or go into detail but he doesn’t believe in waiting for readiness signs.
His idea of potty training is locking them in the bathroom until they poop on the potty. He believes you should get rid of all pull-ups, feed your child a high fiber breakfast, then gate them in the bathroom naked from the waist down, and tell them the doctor said they have to stay there until they use the potty.
AND to top it all off he says “do NOT offer incentives or even encouragement”. He says to respond as if it’s no big deal!!! With this method, he believes your child can be potty trained in 3 days!
I don’t agree with that in any way shape or form! Quite shocked actually. Whether it works or not, it seems degrading and cruel. I decided to create a list of Do’s and Don’ts from my own personal potty training experiences. I also love the Duggar’s potty training philosophy – click the link to read an excerpt from their book and learn more about my potty training journey.
DO praise – Children need positive reinforcement. When you give your toddler positive praise for the behavior, they will be more likely to repeat the behavior. Many children respond well to a reward – a sticker or a small treat – but don’t go overboard if it doesn’t help. More treats won’t get your more progress.
DO wait for readiness signs – It’s a good idea to introduce them to the potty and even have them sit on the potty at an early age. However forcing them at an early age can cause other issues like constipation and frequent bed wetting.
DO potty train siblings – Potty training two at once sounds intimidating but it can actually be exciting and comforting. Have a potty party! A successful potty break could be an encouraging learning experience for both.
DO teach good hygiene – When potty training your children, teach them to wash their hands with soap for at least 20 seconds and dry them off with a clean towel for 20 seconds after using the potty.
DO be patient – It takes on average 8 months for kids to be fully potty trained (including nighttime).
DON’T make it a competition – Don’t get frustrated if your little one is not progressing as fast as others. Different kids potty train at different times. Comparing your child to other children could actually be uninspiring.
DON’T criticize or punish – Ultimately, your child is in charge of his or her own body; you can’t force your child to potty train. Punishment often leads to more defiance. Your child could start to withhold urine and/or stool, which can lead to urinary tract infections and constipation, sometimes severe.
DON’T start to early – At some point your child will learn to use the potty. Children cannot effectively hold their bladder until at least 18 months. Potty training goes more smoothly when you wait to start training until you see signs of readiness, including: stays dry for two hours and/or through naps, asks to be changed, doesn’t like to be in soiled diapers, shows interest in the potty, able to sit for two to five minutes, can pull pants up and down, has words for pee and poop.
DON’T get frustrated – Embrace the milestone, 48% of moms believe potty training bonds them closer to their child.
As a member of Clever Girls Collective, I was selected to participate in the Healthy Habits program sponsored by Kimberly-Clark and Colgate-Palmolive. The content and opinions expressed here are all my own. #healthyhabits #cgc
These are great tips. I do not agree with locking a child in the bathroom. That is crazy. Wow. I don’t see how that would work.
Totally don’t agree with the locking your kid in the bathroom…its not a punishment!
Great tips you gave, yet I always say every child is different. They all learn and grow at there own pace, something just need a little more time. 🙂
From what I’ve heard, you just wait until they start to go and quickly rush them into the bathroom. After a while, they will get the hang of it and realize they need to go instead of making them sit on the toilet all day when they don’t have to go. You don’t want them to feel like they’re being punished.
Locking your child in the bathroom for potty training just sounds wrong! I like your tips much better. My son is turning 2 next month, and I know that potty training is just around the corner for us!
I could never imagine forcing the child to use the potty. All kids will get it at the own pace, with help & encouragement
I do daycare and have two 3 year old boys and one stared potty training at home and the other one didnt show any rediness signs but he saw the other oy getting stickers and he wanted them too!!! Its been a week and a half and they are both doing amazingly well!!! 🙂
That’s great Tisha! My oldest is still stubborn but it really helps her when my youngest gets involved too! She’s much more willing to sit for awhile if her sister is there too! 🙂 Good Luck with your potty training!
What is the trick to get them to do #2 on the potty!
My husband and I have 3-yr old twins (boy and girl). The biggest challenge for us is the #2 on the potty. I have cleaned more poo in the past few weeks than ever in my life. They are terrified of pooping on the potty. HELP! We have a treat bucket inclusive of stickers, matchbox cars, m&ms… it only works for #1. Every time they end up going #2 in their pants. My husband is giving up too fast and I am trying to hold it all together.
I feel your pain!! Haha! We haven’t mastered the whole pooping on the potty part either. My 3 yr old will even take off her panties and put on a diaper when she needs to go, instead of just going to the potty! She’s close though! Stay consistent! They’ll get it eventually!
This is a great post! I’ve just started potty training with my 26 month old twins, and at first it was because they were interested, but suddenly they seem to have lost their fascination with it and it’s become a battle of sorts. This just reminded me that I need to take a deep breath and back off. 🙂
Mom of a 3 year old boy here! I initially tried potty training when my son was just under 2 but didn’t have much success. I decided to scrap it til he seemed more ready and it has been a breeze. We did do rewards but, as with some of you, he didnt seem to want to poop in the potty. He was GREAT at peeing in the potty and rarely had accidents. We just could not get him to poop in there! Finally we realized for some reason he was AFRAID of pooping in the potty. Basically what we did to solve it was everyone in the family went number 2 with the kiddo and told.him what they were doing and that it was okay and within a day of that he was pooping away on his own! Every kid is different but thats what helped my son overcome his fear of pooping in the toilet.