Learning to Potty-Train a Toddler Girl

We have done it, Folks! For the first time, we have successfully potty trained a child.

This is exciting, big news for us! Johanna is officially out of diapers and Pull-Ups! That is, when she's not sleeping.

She will turn three in December, and it's been about a month now that she's been wearing her big girl panties with very few accidents. Woohoo! Can you tell we're excited?

However, as I was writing this post she decided to get on our bed and have an accident (on Daddy's side)...go figure.

Our happily potty-trained little Johanna at 2 years 8 months old.

To be honest, this part of parenting intimidated me. Really, I should have considered it a breeze when compared to learning to catheterize a toddler girl, because that is what was and is required with Johanna's big sister Adria.

But I imagine most parents are apprehensive of potty training the first time around. It can be a daunting task that takes time, consistency and discipline. We first introduced Johanna to the potty more than a year ago, but we didn't really get serious about it until early this Spring. It seemed to make more sense to try harder once warm weather got here, so that she could spend more time outside...and the accidents would be left outside!

There is a great deal of expert advice on how to potty train, and I've even had some friends who were able to do it in just a day or two, but our approach proved to be more the "slow and steady wins the race" style.

In case you are preparing to or attempting to Potty Train your toddler, here are some tips from our success story:

1. Buy a simple, pretty Potty
One day at Wal-Mart, we stood there staring at a dozen options for toddler toilets. We ended up with a simple pink one that has a lid and doubles as a stool. It's nothing fancy, but it does have a soft cushion that separates from the bowl for easier cleaning. For some reason, this cushion top now has teeth marks in it...not sure why it looked chewable to Johanna, but I sure hope it was clean when she did that! I suppose that would be a drawback to this particular potty...

The Pink Potty ready for use!

Put the lid down and Presto! you've got a stool for hand washing

And yeah...these are the bite marks. Don't ask, I have no idea.

2. Let her pick out fabulous Panties
For many little girls, an interest in fashion and being "pretty" develops at a rather young age. Johanna is no exception. She loves wearing heals and dresses, so it only makes sense to let her pick panties that she's excited to wear before embarking on this potty training adventure. I let her look at various patterns and characters in the store, and she shrieked most about the Tinkerbell package of panties. Fairies it is.

These Tinkerbell panties are the real reason she's potty-trained.
She can't wait to wear them!

3. Watch for the Signs
We started putting her on the potty by looking for the signs. She would run away to another room and be too quiet. Whenever she had to poo, she would lean over something on her belly, so we would try to whisk her up and onto the potty. Of course, she did not always appreciate her private moment being interrupted. Nor did she like sitting up versus her leaning over approach.

Possibly the face of a child ready to do some damage...

4. Get Super Excited with her Success!
If we were able to catch her in time and get her to go on the potty, it was celebration time! Mommy even made up a little sing-song chant. It's super clever...."Yeah, Johanna, she pee-peed on the potty!" Genius...Big sister would often join in and we'd sing it several times. Now, Jo-Jo likes to sing it too. And she likes to help as we go through the not-so-pleasant task of dumping her full potty bucket into the adult toilet. Naturally, she prefers to be the one to flush it!

5. Reward the Trickle
The sound of your toddler's trickle is a blessed thing to a parent. After the potty is empty and the hands are washed, it's time for a reward. We had a huge bag of Christmas M&Ms that had never been eaten, so we kept them in the linen closet and gave her one or two after going on the potty. As she became more regular with going, we did not need to give her candy every time, but it was a great motivation to get things going!

6. Don't nag about when she has to Go
Some of the best advice we received when we were first getting serious came from Jo-Jo's pediatrician. She said to let her have a few accidents in panties and have her help clean up the mess. Encourage her to tell you next time she needs to go, but don't ask her every five minutes "Do you need to go potty?" We soon learned that when and if Johanna said, "Potty!" we had approximately 3.5 seconds to get her on one. We also learned that she has a large bladder, but if over two hours passed and she hadn't said anything, we would go ahead sit her on the Potty.

7. Try to remain calm when Accidents happen
Getting angry or frustrated when there is a giant puddle on your living room floor is only natural. We know this! The nasty clean up of the child and house is labor intensive and can evoke strong emotion. But yelling at a toddler for doing what she's been doing (peeing wherever and whenever) for the last two years is not the way to convince her that potty time is a great thing.

8. When you are ready to start, be Consistent
Like I said, we introduced potty time a while back, but it wasn't until spring that WE were ready to commit and be consistent. If Daddy and I were serious, the Pull-ups had to stay in the drawer and the panties had to go on for her to learn. And we had to pay attention to how much she drank and how often her body needed to Go.

Mommy and her girls

Now, our little girl refuses to wear a diaper during the day. She usually wakes up in the morning complaining about her full diaper and excitedly wants to put on her "Tinkerbells." It's a good feeling to have successfully navigated this hurdle of parenting. Although it does make going out in public more interesting...beware of public restrooms and tiny bums!

P.S. I hope you don't mind all the Potty Talk!