Potty training my first child was easy. Potty training my second child was a challenge, but eventually, she figured it out on her own terms. Potty training my third child has been a whole different bowl game. Thankfully, as part of a sponsored campaign, CVS sent Parenting Squad their CVS Training Pants just in the nick of time, and my daughter was officially trained just a month shy of turning three!
She wanted to wear underpants but didn’t want to be bothered with the apparently bothersome act of walking to the potty. Things got messy fast around here. Months went by and I thought I might actually be the first mom to send her child to kindergarten untrained. But then, with a few simple tricks I hadn’t used with my older two girls, my youngest was trained in a week. Here's how I did it, and how you can, too!
Find Your Child’s Weakness
We all have it — that one item we can’t resist. For me, it’s chocolate, or more specifically, chocolate covered peanut butter. And that worked well for getting my oldest daughter to do basically anything, including using the toilet, so I thought it would work for my youngest, too. But for my strong-willed almost three-year-old, fruit snacks turned out to be her weakness. I’m convinced she’d clean the bathroom for a pack of those gummy goodies. Now, when she uses the potty, she gets a fruit snack or two. Eventually, the thrill of the treat may wear off with your child, as it did with mine, so it’s good to have another plan in motion as well.
Never Underestimate the Power of Princesses
When all else failed, I called on Ariel. Yes, the Little Mermaid. There’s a special bathroom at our daughter’s school where Ariel, Sebastian, and Flounder adorn the walls. If my little one wanted to use the bathroom dedicated to her favorite princess, she had to consistently be using the regular, boring bathroom at home for at least three days. No accidents allowed. That’s the moment she actually stopped putting up a fight when I took her for potty breaks.
If you don’t have a fancy bathroom to entice your child with, you can always turn one of the existing bathrooms in your home into your child’s dream latrine. All it would take are a few wall stickers, and maybe some temporary curtains. Upgrade a bathroom your child probably hasn’t used before, like the master bath. Surprise your child with the changes and tell her that once she uses the regular bathroom, she can use the fun, big girl one. After she is successfully trained, that fun decor can be moved to her bedroom.
Use Training Pants That Work Well
Another trick that worked well was the one where she thought she was wearing underpants. We used CVS Training Pants and she was convinced they were just like her big sisters' underwear — complete with hearts and magic wands. CVS Training Pants have refastenable sides with a comfy, all-around stretch for a great fit. My daughter could pull them up and down easily, which allowed her to get herself on the potty, and boosted her self-esteem. Bonus!
Plus no training pants went to waste because the refastenable sides allowed me to put the same dry pair back on my daughter if she ripped them off accidentally. CVS Training Pants also have a handy wetness indicator that fades when wet, and have customized, absorbent protection for both boys and girls. They never leaked, not even during her 11 hours of somewhat solid sleep at night.
Start the Moment Her Feet Hit the Floor
Finally, the trick that really helped me help my daughter was to make sure she used the potty the moment she woke up. Sometimes the feeling of having to use the bathroom is what wakes us up in the first place. If I put her back to sleep or let her play while I caught a few more Zs, she likely would have peed in her training pants first thing in the morning. But taking her to the bathroom as soon as she woke up allowed both of us to start the day off on the right foot and set the “going potty” habit in motion.
Potty training is never as easy as we want it to be, especially if your child is determined not to trade in her diapers for some big girl underpants. However, with a few tricks up your sleeve, you will succeed in helping your child use the bathroom successfully and consistently. Don’t give up!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of CVS Training Pants.
