Diaper Free Toddlers
Many of you have asked when and how I potty trained my daughter, so I decided to blog about it and share it with everyone. I heard about a program called "diaper free toddlers" on TV once and it got me interested. I did some online research, tweaked the program to fit us, used it and had a great success. I believe the key is early potty training. Can your toddler walk? Stand? Sit? Follow simple instructions? Then, your toddler is ready to be potty trained. The longer you put it off and the "terrible 2's and 3's" have hit, it may be harder to potty train your toddler who is trying to take control of their own world. By 2 and a half, it is harder to hold their interest. I started at 18 months with Bella, but the stomach flu set us back a little. She was full potty trained by 20 months. Here's how we did it:
First, you will need to set aside 3 full days that you and your spouse/partner/mother/best friend can dedicate to this program. Two people are a key factor in this program. Going it alone will result in failure, exhaustion, and stress.
Then, get rid of EVERY SINGLE diaper in your house, car, babysitters house, grandmas house, etc. I suggest donating them to a friend with a baby or to a diaper bank. And don't even think in investing in pull ups yet, except maybe for bed time or nap time.
Next, buy some thick undies and a few cheap packages of undies that can be tossed out because ther will be accidents. Also, pick up some paper towels, Clorox wipes, or other sanitizer for the accidents. And if you don't have a training potty, get one of those too. I suggest a potty as a first birthday gift so baby will get used to seeing it and may get interested in using it. And let's not forget a reward for those potty successes! M&M's worked for us. Stickers, lolipops, or anything else your child fancys will do as a reward. And one more thing, get a few special toys for the potty like a potty book, a doll with undies, special coloring books, etc. You'll see where these are necessary later.
Now, you're ready for Day One! Right when little cutie wakes up, escort them to the training potty and have them sit on it. Get excited and tell them it's the big day when they can use the potty and turn it into a celebration of sorts! Show them one of their new "potty" toys like that dollie with undies. Encourage them to use the potty and show how you use the potty as an example. If they are able to go, whip out one of those rewards! If not, give it time and break out with the big boy/girl undies! Make sure you let them sit on the potty for 5 minutes or more. Sometimes it just takes time to get used to it and it takes a minute to learn to let your bladder go in the toilet. Here comes the challenge... take your child to the bathroom every 3 hours to give them a chance to use the potty. That's where two people come in handy to take turns encouraging your sweetie to use the potty. Even with going every 3 hours, THERE WILL BE ACCIDENTS! Don't fret! That's what you bought Clorox wipes for and extra undies to toss in the garbage. Have your child help you clean up the accidents!!! This will teach them that not going in the potty has consequences. No one likes to clean up messes! If your child naps, it's OK to use a pull up in case of an accident. We don't want any ruined matresses, right? At bed time, make sure they sit on the potty before going to sleep to give them a chance to empty their bladder and earn one last reward. Pull ups are OK at bed time too because no one likes getting up at night to pee, and NO ONE likes to be woken up from a dead sleep to be reminded to pee, so let little angel get some sleep!
Day Two should go just like day one. Wake up and potty, potty every 3 hours, rewards, clean ups, toys all the same. If your child is mastering the potty and racking up some rewards, it's time to take a little strip. Run to the grocery store to get dinner fixings and make a potty stop in the store to show them that they don't have to just potty at home. NO PULL UPS for errands! Take some clean undies and maybe a change of clothes in case of an accident. Pull ups are too much like diapers and can disrupt the process. Little tiger not getting it? Don't fret, you have one more day and hopefully you haven't taken out all the special potty toys yet for when it's time to sit on the potty. I suggest maybe a video like the Elmo one I picked up and watched again and again and again and again and... you get the point.
Day Three starts like one and two did. But, today, you can plan an outing to show little miss/mister how proud you are of their progress. We went to the zoo and after about 30 minutes there, Bella told us she had to pee and we took her to the bathroom and had a huge success! Day three we were accident free and enjoying our potty trained toddler.
If the three day process doesn't work, it is suggested that you wait 6 weeks and try it again. There will be accidents here and there. Sometimes your tyke just wants to play and doesn't want to be bothered with using the bathroom, so you have to remind them at times that it is time to take a pit stop. Don't forget to celebrate your child's success!!! We took Bella shopping for new undies and some cute clothes, which she enjoyed very much! Also, it's still OK to use pull ups at night and during naps. It's much more difficut to night time potty train. Sometimes toddlers are just too tuckered out from exploring their world. Waking them at night could be hazardous and set back the potty training success you have accomplished. Plus, everyone needs a good night sleep. When your child is ready to wake up and pee in the middle of the night, he/she will let you know. And when it does happen, make sure you celebrate that sucess too!
I hope you have found this useful and I hope many parents will have early potty training success!!!
First, you will need to set aside 3 full days that you and your spouse/partner/mother/best friend can dedicate to this program. Two people are a key factor in this program. Going it alone will result in failure, exhaustion, and stress.
Then, get rid of EVERY SINGLE diaper in your house, car, babysitters house, grandmas house, etc. I suggest donating them to a friend with a baby or to a diaper bank. And don't even think in investing in pull ups yet, except maybe for bed time or nap time.
Next, buy some thick undies and a few cheap packages of undies that can be tossed out because ther will be accidents. Also, pick up some paper towels, Clorox wipes, or other sanitizer for the accidents. And if you don't have a training potty, get one of those too. I suggest a potty as a first birthday gift so baby will get used to seeing it and may get interested in using it. And let's not forget a reward for those potty successes! M&M's worked for us. Stickers, lolipops, or anything else your child fancys will do as a reward. And one more thing, get a few special toys for the potty like a potty book, a doll with undies, special coloring books, etc. You'll see where these are necessary later.
Now, you're ready for Day One! Right when little cutie wakes up, escort them to the training potty and have them sit on it. Get excited and tell them it's the big day when they can use the potty and turn it into a celebration of sorts! Show them one of their new "potty" toys like that dollie with undies. Encourage them to use the potty and show how you use the potty as an example. If they are able to go, whip out one of those rewards! If not, give it time and break out with the big boy/girl undies! Make sure you let them sit on the potty for 5 minutes or more. Sometimes it just takes time to get used to it and it takes a minute to learn to let your bladder go in the toilet. Here comes the challenge... take your child to the bathroom every 3 hours to give them a chance to use the potty. That's where two people come in handy to take turns encouraging your sweetie to use the potty. Even with going every 3 hours, THERE WILL BE ACCIDENTS! Don't fret! That's what you bought Clorox wipes for and extra undies to toss in the garbage. Have your child help you clean up the accidents!!! This will teach them that not going in the potty has consequences. No one likes to clean up messes! If your child naps, it's OK to use a pull up in case of an accident. We don't want any ruined matresses, right? At bed time, make sure they sit on the potty before going to sleep to give them a chance to empty their bladder and earn one last reward. Pull ups are OK at bed time too because no one likes getting up at night to pee, and NO ONE likes to be woken up from a dead sleep to be reminded to pee, so let little angel get some sleep!
Day Two should go just like day one. Wake up and potty, potty every 3 hours, rewards, clean ups, toys all the same. If your child is mastering the potty and racking up some rewards, it's time to take a little strip. Run to the grocery store to get dinner fixings and make a potty stop in the store to show them that they don't have to just potty at home. NO PULL UPS for errands! Take some clean undies and maybe a change of clothes in case of an accident. Pull ups are too much like diapers and can disrupt the process. Little tiger not getting it? Don't fret, you have one more day and hopefully you haven't taken out all the special potty toys yet for when it's time to sit on the potty. I suggest maybe a video like the Elmo one I picked up and watched again and again and again and again and... you get the point.
Day Three starts like one and two did. But, today, you can plan an outing to show little miss/mister how proud you are of their progress. We went to the zoo and after about 30 minutes there, Bella told us she had to pee and we took her to the bathroom and had a huge success! Day three we were accident free and enjoying our potty trained toddler.
If the three day process doesn't work, it is suggested that you wait 6 weeks and try it again. There will be accidents here and there. Sometimes your tyke just wants to play and doesn't want to be bothered with using the bathroom, so you have to remind them at times that it is time to take a pit stop. Don't forget to celebrate your child's success!!! We took Bella shopping for new undies and some cute clothes, which she enjoyed very much! Also, it's still OK to use pull ups at night and during naps. It's much more difficut to night time potty train. Sometimes toddlers are just too tuckered out from exploring their world. Waking them at night could be hazardous and set back the potty training success you have accomplished. Plus, everyone needs a good night sleep. When your child is ready to wake up and pee in the middle of the night, he/she will let you know. And when it does happen, make sure you celebrate that sucess too!
I hope you have found this useful and I hope many parents will have early potty training success!!!
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