10 Tips for Potty Training Success – Seriously.

Ten Tips You Need for Potty Training Success is sponsored by Pull-Ups®.

Most of you know about the struggles Abby and I have had with potty training. If not – long story short. {Like I can ever say anything short, ha. :)} But – we had a great start at a little before 2 years-old. Then she started having seizures. Her meds had horrible side effects. I didn’t want to introduce anything else into life. You know? But, she got better, we moved forward, and I was uh-MAY-zingly lucky to get to partner with Pull-Ups, who I was already totally relying on for the best products. {I really mean that, total fave.} Working with them gave me the opportunity to learn SO much about the science behind potty training, the best practices, and – the most important part – making it FUN. For moms, dads, AND kiddos. And, how darn cute are their products, right?

I’ve been a fan of the Pull-Ups Big Kid’s Academy website for years – honestly, at least two years now, as we’ve moved through our struggles, and tried to potty train Abby in a low-stress way. I’ve talked about it SO many times, both online and in real life. And I’m super excited to share how they’ve updated their site and added SO many more cool features I think you’ll love. I’m going to share my own tips – but I hope you’ll go there to find how they expand on those ideas, and have awesome stuff to help you even more!

1. Timing: One of the biggest questions I get about potty training, is when to start. But, that’s SUCH an individual decision, that depends on each kid and family. Just like every kid starts solid foods at a different age, crawls at a different age, or starts walking at a different age – potty training varies a ton. What you mostly want to look for, is signs of readiness in your kiddo.

2. Readiness: How do you decide whether your kid is ready to start potty training? Well – the Pull-Ups Big Kid Academy Site has a ton of tips to help you determine that. The biggest trigger to me was when Abby started noticing her diaper was wet, and when she got interested in what we were doing in the bathroom. Once they thing the potty is “coo,l” or at least interesting- it’s a good time to start introducing potty training skills.

3. Celebrate: Here’s the BIGGEST tip that I have for new potty training parents – Don’t Stress! :) If you focus on the negative {when kids have an accident and get in trouble} versus the positive {kids go in the potty and are excited} – you’ll make potty training stressful for both parents and kids. So, especially in the beginning, just work on celebrating their successes!

4. Rewards: One way to keep things positive is to offer rewards for good behavior. Things like a sticker, sucker, or the awesome checkmark sets that come in some of the Pull-Ups sets can seriously motivate little ones to want to be excited about going potty.

5. Routine: Once you get some momentum going, you want to build a routine. A great way to do that is to enroll in the Pull-Ups Big Kid Academy. {It’s totally free.} You not only get answers to all of your potty training questions – but there are SO many fun tools. Things like a timer that reminds you when to take kids potty again {don’t tell me you never get busy and forget :)} And tons of cool character fun for the kids.

6. Consistency: Once you’ve got a routine going, consistency is key. You want to make sure you are reminding them to go on a regular schedule, and following the same schedules. The app that’s available once you join the Pull-Ups Big Kid Academy is a huge help. Totally what made it possible for me to potty train Abby while working from home all day!

7. New Locations: Once you get a schedule, it can be tough to keep up the potty training routine when traveling, or even just visiting other locations. Kids can get nervous in places. One tip is to bring Post-It notes: If you’ll be in a public restroom, place one over the sensor that makes the potty automatically flush, so when you’re little one is squirming around, they don’t have a constant stream of loud flushes and splashes scaring them. Bring their own potty seat from home, if if’s portable. Pack a Potty-Bag. And remember to always show them where bathrooms are in new places, so they know they’re available.

8. Involve Friends: Friends make any life change easier, right? So be sure to use the tools on the Pull-Ups site to let your kids get access to their favorite Disney characters like Jake from the Neverland Pirates, or Doc McStuffins. Makes everything feel more like fun, and less like work!

9: Never be afraid to ask for help! The Pull-Ups site isn’t the only place I recommend finding help. As moms, we all of course ask our friends, co-workers, and family. But a great resource for potty training help can be reaching out to your kiddo’s caregivers – babysitters, daycare providers, etc. They’ve helped guide loads of different kids through the potty training stage, and have seen it all.

10: Keep it Going: When you get discouraged – remember that all kids are different. They all move at their own pace. Don’t get upset. And when you have questions, or need help, or extra tools and resources, just visit Pull-Ups on their site, or on Facebook and Twitter. They are SO responsive, and will always answer your questions. You can also chat with me on Facebook and Twitter too – I’m always ready to help listen to a yucky potty training story, give advice, give a cyber-shoulder when things aren’t going smoothly – or help celebrate successes!! :)

And be sure to follow my Potty Training Tips board on Pinterest too – there are tons of super helpful tips, tricks, and ideas to help you keep potty training fun and successful!