Want to know the real secret to potty training your toddler? It’s a lot easier than you might think! Read all about it here.
Right after my son turned 2, we tried to potty train him. I read some potty training books and blog posts all about how to potty train boys. I thought we were ready. Turns out, my son wasn’t.
We suffered through several days of pee on the floors, multiple outfits changes every day, and several sticky, poopy undies that I just threw in the trash.
My son wasn’t ready.
So we waited a few more months, and when he was 2 1/2, we tried again. And guess what? He was ready.
You’re probably asking what the big secret to potty training is. That’s why you’re here, right? Well here it is.
Wait until your child is ready.
You might be ready when your baby is 2, or 2 1/2, or 3, or whenever. But if your child isn’t ready, it’s not happening.
Yes, it can be super frustrating and hard to be patient, but every child is different, and every child will be ready for potty training at a different age. You just have to wait for it. Otherwise, you are going to get a ton of pee on the floor and a whole lot more laundry to do.
And lest you think that once your child is ready it’s going to be easy, let me just stop you there and say it’s still going to be hard. You are still going to have to clean up a few accidents and do some extra laundry, but if you are patient, it will all end in a potty trained child.
I know there are lots of posts saying they have tips for how you can potty train your kid in 24 hours or how taking their diaper off and letting them be free will help them be potty trained in a week, and that might work for some kids. But I think for the vast majority of kids, it won’t. And if it doesn’t, that’s okay.
Just be patient. Try some other things, and if it still isn’t working, just take a break. And wait until your child is ready.
Because when they are, they’ll figure it out. They can’t wear diapers forever!
Katie Clark says
Amen! This is exactly what happened with Jack.
Chelsea Johnson says
I’m glad to hear it!!
Jessica Dimas says
Couldn’t agree more. My oldest son wasn’t ready until 3.5 and my second one is a few months past 3 and isn’t ready yet. I know it will happen so I’m happy to wait until that moment comes.
Chelsea Johnson says
The more you stress the harder it’s going to be!! And kids can tell when you are stressed about it, too!
Ros Emely@stressfreemommies says
That is the number one advice I can give any mom who is starting to potty train their child. With my twins I was ready to start potty training them before they were. So last September I started the potty training journey and it was just not happening, they were ready in November and this helped me potty train them in just two days! It was very hard, and it took a lot of patience from me, but because they were ready it didn’t take long for them to be potty trained. Great advice or should I say secret 🙂
Chelsea Johnson says
I’m glad you agree! It really is up to them. We can push them all we want, but if they aren’t ready, it’s not happening. And when they are ready, like you said, it will be a lot better! Even if it is still hard!
Andreea says
I agree with you and you give great advices. Too bad kindergarten’s over here (I’m from Italy) request diaper free and he has to go in September and I’m 8 months pregnant. It’s so stressful… I have no idea if I should start right now, before the baby arrives, or wait and try at the last moment. Because let’s face it after baby arrives, for the first month or more, I won’t be able to focus of potty training. What do you think it’s best?
Chelsea Johnson says
Thanks, Andreea! I’ve also heard that during big transitions kids can have a hard time potty training, too. I would maybe at least try now! And if he doesn’t want to do it right now don’t push him!