Every parent knows potty training is no fun! It takes a lot of time, patience and effort but in the end it’s worth it! I was on a mission to have my daughter, Ella potty trained by the time she turned 2 but it took a little longer than that. Four months after her second birthday to be exact, but we did it! I tried many methods, some worked and some didn’t. Here’s my experience and what worked for us.

Take Off the Diaper!

Taking off your child’s diaper and letting them go about their day while naked is a helpful way to teach them how to know when it’s time to go potty. By having accidents on the floor, they can see what it feels like to be wet or dirty and understand it doesn’t feel good. Pee pee and poop belongs in the potty. Talk to your child and explain this every time an accident occurs.

Reward your Child!

The most important part of potty training is to reward your child every time they successfully go potty. This lets them know they are doing the right thing and gives them an incentive to continue going to the potty. You can reward them with a snack or stickers or pretty much anything your child is into. Have different options available so that they don’t get bored.

Read Potty Training Books to your Child

Ella loves story time, especially right before bed. I purchased a potty training book to read to her and get her excited about going to the potty. A book full of illustrations is a great way to teach your child about going potty as they can get a visual of other children going potty and feel motivated to do it too. The book I ordered can be found on my Amazon store as well. It’s bilingual (English/Spanish). Potty training songs and videos are great too. YouTube has tons of them!

Get a Potty Training Chart

This by far was most helpful in our potty training journey! Ella did well with peeing in the potty but she was very scared to poop in the potty. I was running out of ideas when one of my mommy friends suggested a potty training chart. Right away I ordered one on Amazon and it honestly it helped so much! (Check the “Baby” section on my Amazon store.) Ella is obsessed with unicorns and she loves stickers so this was the perfect one. It comes with a chart you can hang in your bathroom and signs you can tape on the walls and over the sink designating each step of the potty process. It also brings cute stickers to give as rewards and a diploma with a crown to give your child once they are fully potty trained. Ella loved the visuals and stickers and was excited to go potty every time. She even started to poop in the potty within 3-4 days after incorporating the chart!

Wait Until your Child is READY!

The last piece of advice I can offer is to wait until your child is ready. I definitely learned this the hard way. I wanted to start potty training as early as possible and my first attempt was soon after Ella’s first birthday. I read about babies who were potty trained as early as 1 so I thought I would give it a shot. But she was far from ready and I was just stressing myself out for no reason. I tried again at 1 1/2 and then at 2. Each time I tried again I noticed a huge improvement but it wasn’t until Ella was completely ready that it finally worked. Once she started to talk and tell me she needed to go pee pee or poop, that’s when I knew it was time.

Don’t overwork or stress yourself out if you try and your child is not ready. Just wait a few months and try again until they show signs that they are ready. The process will be much easier at that point.

If you have any tips to share please leave them in the comments. If you try any of my methods or the Potty Training Chart, please let me know and tag me @curlsnpearlsss on social media if you share photos! Good luck! Xo