Potty Training Your 2-Year-Old Made Easy By Lindsey A. Potty training at 2 years old is not always simple! Everyone wants to know how to potty train the easy way, but there are endless theories and techniques. This is going to sound absolutely insane…but my 2-year-old daughter potty trained herself. One day she said to me, “Mama, I no wear diapers. I go on potty now.” We stared blankly at each other for a few moments, and I said: Ok…let’s go on the potty! I kid you not, for the first few weeks we had almost NO accidents. And the accidents we did have were when she couldn’t get undressed fast enough and she tinkled a little in her undies. So, you’re probably wondering, how did you get her ready for potty training at 2 years old? You can’t potty train a child that isn’t ready to potty train. Instead, you’re just going to cause frustration and power struggles. You may even make your child scared of the potty! Signs your child is ready for potty training • Your child can identify when they have to pee or poop • Your child tells you when they have soiled their diaper • Keeping a dry diaper for long periods of time • Showing interest in the toilet • Showing interest in other people using the toilet • Talking about the potty • Your child does not want to wear diapers anymore • Your child can tell you when they are going pee or poop *Your child may display all or just some of these traits to show they are ready to potty train Starting the potty-training conversation We started the conversations about the potty at about 18 months old, and when she was ready, she went for it! When she was around 18 months old, she started expressing interest in the potty. She told me when she was going to go in her diaper, would tell me if it were “tinkles” or “poo poo,” and would promptly want her diaper changed. We gave it a try for a few days, and she ultimately wasn’t ready. I took her to Target and let her pick out some Moana underwear, a potty seat, and a treat for when she went potty. Here and there she’d ask to go potty, but I never ever put pressure on her. I left it completely in her control. Every single time I’d change her diaper I’d say: Ellie, if you ever want to go on the potty, you just have to let me know. Once you start going on the potty, you don’t have to wear a diaper anymore. You can wear your Moana undies! Let me know if you ever want to try! She would always respond, “Ok, mama!” and go on her way. Then one day, she simply said, “mama, I no wear diapers. I go on potty now.” That was it, folks! She decided she was ready, and we got started. This was the easiest, no tears way to prepare my child for potty training and put her in control of her own body. GLOBALONEMAG.COM
What can you do if your child isn’t ready to potty train? If your child isn’t ready yet, don’t force it! Everyone is ready at their own time. You can encourage readiness by: • Talking about using the toilet when you go (example: “I’m going to the bathroom now because I have to pee! I don’t wear a diaper, so I need to sit on the toilet to go pee.”) • Talking about it when you change your child’s diaper (example: “I see you went poop! I go poop on the potty. If you want to try pooping on the potty next time, tell me before you have to go and you can go on the potty, too!” • Making elimination seem normal and acceptable • Reading books about potty training
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Here are some great books bout potty training! Reading to your child about potty training reinforces that it’s normal and an OK thing to try. If you can find a potty-training book with a character your child loves, that’s even better! A Potty For Me! By Karen Katz, We personally used this book. It’s a lift-the-flap book and discusses how you feel when you need to go and use the potty! Dino Potty With a cute dinosaur, this rhyming book talks about exactly what to expect when going potty. P is for Potty (Sesame Street) Any Elmo lovers out there? This life-the-flap book will interest your little Elmo-loving potty-trainer. Daniel’s Potty Time (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood) Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is one of my favorite children’s shows. This book follows along with the episode to make potty training easy.
Why I chose Child-led potty training Simply put, I want my daughter to feel like she is in control of her own body. She is a strong-willed child, so I need to respect her personality when raising her! I did not set a timer for 30 minutes and make her sit, I did not make her sit on one potty or another… I let her lead the way entirely. This is an unconventional potty-training method I know this is against a lot of “common” potty training methods. You’ll read over and over again to set a timer for 30 minutes, offer lots of praise and reward, let them run around without a
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