Potty training the strong willed child
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.
Do you want more tips? Check out this book or hop onto our facebook page for more info.
