Potty Training 101

Melissa Moog

My daughter was finally potty trained at 2.5 years old and it was a long, drawn out process. I tried everything and even swore I would NEVER do the M & M candy bribery but I gave into sugar! That didn’t even work. What did work was my persistence, extreme patience and allowing her to find her own way (after a bit of prepping of course). After a while, she knew what needed to happen when but it was a battle trying to get her to go. Never the less, the day did come and we finally graduated to big girl underwear! In the end, I collected some great tools and tips that every parent should consider. If you’ve gone through the potty training school of hard knocks and have some words of wisdom to share please don’t be shy – share them here.

Potty Training Tools:

• Potty Book or Potty Doll

• Toddler Toilet Seat Cover and/or Small Potty

• Step Stool

• Big girl or boy underwear

• Night time training pants

• Reward System - stickers, potty chart, grab bag of goodies

• Waterproof covering for mattress (helps with bed wetting)

• Egg Timer - you can use an egg timer to set a routine

Potty Training Tips:

• You can start at 18+ months old or earlier but have realistic expectations

• If you start when baby is much younger than a toddler she should be able to sit down on her own for at least 10 mins without slouching or needing a prop

• You'll want to train your child by age 3 especially if they are head to pre-school or daycare

• The average age to be completely potty trained is 2.5 yrs old

1   2  Next Page >>