I’m sitting here on my couch thinking of the difficulties of the past two days. We started potty training Lia (25 months)…and it has NOT been easy. You know you read those stories where parents potty trained their kids in 3 days and you think to yourself “Three days piece of cake” …and then you start the training and you realize this is NOT going to happen in 3 days. I don’t have for you some magic formula or trick to get your child trained fast , heck, I’m still working with my toddler…but what I do have are some words that might make you feel better about the struggle.
Potty training is HARD
It is not an easy task. Out of all the behaviors I’ve taught Lia, this is by far the most difficult one. Sleep training was a piece of cake compared to this. Weaning her off the boob was easier than I hoped it would be, pacifiers disappeared in one day and she accepted it, sleeping in her big girl bed happened without a fuss. But potty training…this one is one she can’t wrap her head around it
It might not get easier Day 2
Everything I read and everyone I spoke to said it gets easier by day 2….to me…Day 2 felt just like Day 1. It was all commotion with the exception of day 2 we had a poop success! If anything Day 3 was even harder than Day 1 and Day 2.
You will want to quit
After you’ve gone through cleaning accident after accident or your child continues to scream when you sit them on the potty you will contemplate whether to stop or keep trying.
You will be exhausted
I am so so so tired. Blame the pregnancy, blame the potty training. Heck I don’t know what to blame anymore but I am so tired. You basically stalk your child for the slightest signal of the potty dance and then run them to the toilet. The cleaning gets exhausting, and the consistency gets exhausting.
There is no cookie cutter way
Just like you I sat down and read everyone’s 3 day tips. I took notes, heck we even read a book. We bought all the supplies, did everything we read we should. And when it all started we found what we read did not work for our Lia. And it might not work for your child. You might have to change things around, find rewards that work for your child, or just take a whole different approach and that is OKAY!
There will be small wins
Not all of potty training sucks. You will have small wins and when you do you will feel like it’s all worth it.
It can take time
SAY IT WITH ME- AND THAT’S OKAY! So you need more than 3 days, maybe you need 2-3 weeks of just good old consistency, THAT IS OKAY! We see so many stories of these quick successes and automatically feel if we have gone past the 3 days we must be failing. Trust me, I was getting discouraged too. Then I realized, Lia has her own learning curve typically about a week to get used to something new. At this point we are so far in there is no going back. Slowly but surely it will happen. Keep your head up mama! You got this!
Potty training is definitely hard! All kids aren’t ready when mama is ready for them to kick the diapers. That’s another thing no one tells you – no matter how hard you try, it won’t work if they aren’t ready! Keep it up and hopefully she gets it soon!
yes totally agree if theyre not ready it wont happen
Potty training is my worst nightmare! I have 3 kiddos. My oldest, I swear it took 6 months, stared at 2.5 years and he was not fully potty trained until he was 3. He could NOT get it. My middle child, a girl, was potty trained at 2.5 years with no problems. Now my third child, he will be 3 in March and we have yet to start potting training. I do not feel like he is ready yet. I agree, all kids are different and what works for one will not work for the other. Good luck mama!!
yes they are all so different!
I’m in the process of getting my son ready to start potty training. He got a potty seat for Christmas and right now I’m letting him get used to sitting on it for a few minutes before his bath. I’m not ready to go into full-blown potty training yet though lol! It’s definitely not something I’m looking forward to doing.
that is the best way to get it started!
Hang in there momma! I know these can be rough days, but you will look back on these days and wish them back. 🙂 Just keep on loving
yes i totally think i will miss these days
Nice and useful post. Will share it among my friends with kids x
Gratefully I’m through the potty training stages of life, but now my kids get to enjoy this with their littles.
they are in for a treat
Truth
I have potty trained 4 boys and they were all different. Some harder than others.
yes totally different
It is such a pain to potty train. Both my kids did well at first and were potty trained for months and then decided it wasnt for them. I am working with my 3 year old now on getting potty trained… again. Potty training is the worst!
it is totally the worst
I am in the process of potty training and these are so true especially the part about taking a long time, I dont know how people get it in the 3 days process.
I don’t trust anyone who says it takes 2-3 days… they are the exception not the rule. Thanks for sharing your experiences. We’ve yet to start with my toddler and I’m reading a book too!
So true…all of it! It amazes me how differently it has been training my son and daughter. He took 2 days, and 2 months later we are STILL working on it with her.
My baby girl is only 1, so we have some time, but I will definitely keep this post in mind when we begin the joyous journey of potty training!
lol its soo much fun jk lol