Potty training the strong willed child Kids Activities Blog

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Not every child is ready to be potty trained just because you are ready to have them potty trained. Sometimes, you will have a reluctant child so today, we are sharing our favorite tips for potty training the strong-willed child.

First, let me just remind you that every child is different. Our oldest son was a breeze to potty train, while our younger kids were a little harder. That’s ok because, in the end, I don’t remember any students walking into my second-grade classroom in a diaper… so it will happen.

In the meantime, here are some potty training tips to get you started…

Try letting him run around in a long tee shirt without pants.
Have a potty training weekend, where all that you focus on that weekend is using the potty.
Try potty training outside when it is nice out. Take your potty outside and work on it while you play. This will make cleanup a breeze, too. My sister in law did this.
After he masters using the potty, start teaching him to wear pants and be okay with it. This is definitely one of the hardest steps.
You can start young and potty train from 18 months and up.
Go cold turkey and get rid of the diapers. Give them to the diaper fair (like the tooth fairy, but she takes diapers and leaves underwear).
If you flip back and forth it is very confusing for kids. Have some books by the potty for him to read when he is sitting there.
Use a sticker chart and keep it right by the potty so he has the visual.
Watch for potty training signs. If he is not showing the signs, you may want to wait and try again in a month or so.
Give your son an M&M every time he goes in the potty- it usually works well!
Use the potty train in 3 days method- many people have had success with it!
Go shopping for underwear and let him pick out what kind he likes for when he is ready.
Stay positive! If you turn it into a negative experience, he will get frustrated.