By Jamie L.

Being someone who way over-plans things, I plotted our potty training months in advance. We
ended up with a potty training plan almost like a birth plan. And just like a birth plan, things did
not go as planned (luckily for us, it went better than expected), but having the plan in place
helped us all be on the same page as we navigated the unexpected joys and challenges.

I am going to focus on the preparations for potty training rather than the actual potty training method itself. Our own Jennie L. wrote a fabulous blog post on the popular “Oh Crap!” method. I read up on a couple other methods and ended up doing a blend based on what we felt would work for us and our daughter’s learning style.

Decisions to Make Ahead of Time

• Are you going to use rewards?
  • We decided against it since we thought our daughter would respond well to praise and high-fives, and the sense of “I did it!” Rewards seem to work well for many parents though – if you decide to use them, make them small like 1-2 skittles (since they will be trying to go a lot in the beginning and you don’t want them on a sugar high).
• Are you going to allow entertainment (books and/or screen time) during potty time?
  • The “Oh Crap!” method does not recommend screen time but books and other activities are ok to have around to help them with sitting and relaxing if they have trouble. We decided not to have anything else around to start – it seemed like a distraction and we also worried it might make our daughter sit there longer than she needed to. She ended up not needing any entertainment. We would have considered it if she wouldn’t sit still.
• Are you going to nap and/or night train at the same time?
  • We decided to nap train but not night train. It seems reasonable to expect our daughter to be able to hold her pee for the ~1 hour she typically naps for, but night time is too long. She also always woke up with a super full diaper in the morning, and we have no interest in waking up in the middle of the night for potty reasons for now.
• Are you going to leave the potty in her room during nap and/or night time?
  • We decided to leave the small potty in her room during nap and night time so she can go whenever she wants to without getting out of her room or waking us up. We did worry a bit that she’d make a mess with the potty contents when we weren’t looking, but so far she hasn’t tried to dump them out in her room or anything.
• Are you going to do naked and/or commando or skip it and go straight to underwear?
  • The “Oh Crap!” method recommends commando for a month, but our preschool requires underwear (typical for daycare and schools). We decided to skip commando and go from naked straight to underwear to prepare for school. Anecdotally it looks like many parents were able to skip commando just fine, and some potty training methods start with underwear anyway.
• What’s the potty routine / when will kid always have to try to go potty?
  • We decided we will always have our daughter try to go potty before & after sleep, before meals, before we go out, and after we get home.

Preparation

• We had our daughter practice taking pants on and off herself during diaper changes.
• We made the decision to transition to a toddler bed for potty training so she can go whenever she wants to without bugging us. A couple other things went with this:
  • Ok-to-wake clock because we want her to stay in her room until a designated time
  • Night light so she can see and use the potty in her room in the middle of the night (she has done this quite a few times so it turned out to be a good buy).
• Start hyping up potty training.
  • Watch shows and songs related to potty training
  • Tell her that we will be throwing the diapers away and we will learn to use the potty. Ask her who uses the potty at school. Tell her big girls use the potty, etc.
• This might not be for everyone: Let her watch us pee and poop – not just being in the same bathroom, but let her actually see the pee and poop come out. This came as a recommendation for kids with a fear of release (a fairly common issue since suddenly realizing/seeing pee and poop coming out of their body can be a scary thing). I stumbled upon this as a suggestion to do prior to potty training, too, especially if the kiddo has never gone in a potty before.
• Plan to increase fluid intake at the beginning of potty training. High fluid fruits like watermelon and more salty snacks (Ritz crackers) so she drinks more water. We decided against boxed juice, but did blend our watermelon into watermelon juice.
• Plan to dedicate complete focus to potty training over a long weekend. Helpful to have prepared food that’s easy to reheat for the weekend.

Gear to Consider

• “Small” potty: Easy to move around the house and easy for kid to sit on for training. Don’t get one with any bells and whistles. Simple is best.
• “Big” potty: Installs onto an existing toilet and allow ease of use for both adult and kid. Need a step stool for kid to get onto. Recommend a double step stool so kid can have feet on the stool while using potty. We have a single step stool and while Ava can climb on, she’s a little wobbly while on the potty with feet dangling. Another option is to get one that you take on/off the potty every time.
• Travel potty: To carry around in case kid needs to pee where there’s no nearby toilets available.
• Car seat liner: Other options include waterproof pads / puppy pads, pull-ups over pants, training pants, or nothing… We ended up getting 2 liners so we can swap out in case of accidents.
• Underwear: Remember to account for extras to leave at school and to bring for outings.
• Pull-ups: If not using pull-ups already, switch to pull-ups for sleep so they can easily pull on/off like a regular underwear if they do decide to go to the potty instead of peeing in the diaper.
• Pajamas: Similarly, if still using footie and or sleep sack, switch to pajamas for sleep.
• Extra crib sheets and waterproof mattress liners: If planning to nap and/or night train too.
• Small sticky notes to cover public restroom sensors.

Being as prepared as possible has helped us stay calm and consistent throughout the process. Whatever potty training method you choose, I hope this preparation list empowers you to confidently take on potty training whenever you are ready. Good luck – you will be so proud!