When I was thinking about potty training Mushroom, I regularly took ‘how-to’ manuals out from the library, reading as much as possible about how to do it ‘right.’
While I was still busy thinking about it, Mushroom was already ahead of me. Having had him in pull-ups for a while (he simply wouldn’t sit still for nappy changes from about 16 months), it didn’t take him long to figure out how to pull them up and down. The first time he did this we were in a busy family pub with friends! I wasn’t sure at this stage whether he was ready for potty training or just wanted to be naked, so I just asked him if he wanted his nappy changed and carried on as normal.
Only a few weeks later we were playing at home and I told him I was going to the loo. “Mummy wee wee?” He asked. I nodded. He seemed more curious than usual. Suddenly, he ran to the toilet ahead of me, pulled down his pull-ups and lifted himself up onto the loo. He did a wee. At this stage, I probably didn’t need any more signs, really. He’d been using the potty before his bath every evening and he was clearly demonstrating his readiness. Was I ready though? No.
All of the potty training books say different things but the one thing they all have in common is this advice: “The child has to be ready. And so do you.” So I did nothing – said “We’ve got too much on, I need to clear my diary.” It would have taken a few phone calls. Or “I want to be at home with him, not hand potty training over to nursery.” I work part-time! Now, though, I’m ready. I’ve finally caught up with him. So, to all those who are where are was a few weeks back, here’s yet another potty training diary to reassure/terrify (delete as appropriate) you before you get started!
Pre-potty training
In the end, I went purely on instinct with this one. I ignored all the books had to say about not using pull-ups because it’s confusing. He was already using them and going to the toilet when he felt like it so here’s what we did:
- We talked about potty training. A lot. We read books, we looked at pants and we chose some together
- We bought some different pull-ups and I explained they are special learning pants while he learns to listen to his body about when he needs the toilet
- I started asking him if he needed to use the toilet or potty when we were at home. He usually would give it a go. The one time he did a poo in the potty it shocked the life out of him, he wasn’t expecting it. The look on his face was hilarious. I tried not to laugh and congratulated him. In the end he seemed quite pleased with himself
- We bought some underpants together and talked about how he would be wearing them soon like his friend Strawberry*
- When he had a dry morning, I told him he was getting so good at using the potty, that he’d be able to try wearing his underpants really soon. This was on a Saturday morning. He was at nursery Mon – Weds and we started with pants on the Thursday.
Potty training proper
Mushroom wasn’t bothered about reward charts so we stick stickers on the potty to decorate it, which he loves doing.
Day 1
We talked the night before about how he’d be wearing his new pants in the morning. I explained that it was a special day and we would just stay at home together and he’d have my undivided attention all day.
In the morning, he chose a pair of ‘robot’ pants (from ASDA** – I’ve found the George range to be the best fit for Mushroom) and put them on himself. He had his first accident not long after. This was to be expected. We simply cleaned him up and put new pants on.
By the end of the day, we’d had 16 accidents and and used up all but one pair of pants. Thank God the weather was good! He made it to the potty just once or twice and we were both getting a bit stir crazy.
Day 2
I decided we’d have a playdate (with a close friend. At home!) to ease our boredom a bit. His friend is potty trained so I thought this might help. He did sit on the potty when his friend refused, which was good. But he couldn’t go. About 20 minutes later he had an accident in the hallway. I was so glad to have someone to talk to as it was beginning to get frustrating and of course I was trying not to show it (to Mushroom)! We managed a short walk to the corner shop, which eased things a little. He did make it to the potty about three times, albeit with wet pants but at least he was starting to get the idea.
At the end of the day, we’d had 9 accidents and three proper successes (all in the evening when I was starting to feel like giving up already!).
Day 3
Mushroom put on his pants in the morning and stayed dry all morning. We went to the park (I put him in bambino mio training pants** for this, just to give me more confidence without resorting to pull-ups) and he went on the potty twice in the park (we have a Tippitoes travel potty**)! Result! He also had three potty successes at home, one of which was totally unprompted. I started to feel much better about the whole thing. After his nap, he stayed dry until 7pm and even did a poo, unprompted, on his potty. We were celebrating when he had his first accident, which was messy enough to bin a pair of pants. Then he did a wee all over the kitchen floor. He seemed distressed so we reassured him. Then he went into the garden and had another accident…. I was busy with the mop and disinfectant all evening! He needed a lot of reassuring after the long day, which I think had given us all a false sense of security.
In total, by the end of the day, we’d had just 3 big accidents and had to throw out one pair of soiled pants. Still, a good day I think and certainly an improvement on day 2. He was definitely starting to get it.
Day 4
This was an interesting one. We kind of backtracked a bit. He had three accidents in the morning but two of these were on the potty – with his pants on. I don’t know if he forgot to pull them down or just left it too late but at least he tried to make it! The afternoon was better but an exciting ‘Uncle’ (family friend) visited and we had a couple more evening accidents.
At the end of the day, we’d had 6 accidents but he was definitely becoming more aware of when he needed to go and at least trying (most of the time)!
Day 5
Nursery day! I was a bit apprehensive about how this would go as Mushroom has only just started to open up since he moved to the toddler room (he takes a while). Last month he wasn’t even speaking to the grown-ups so I hoped he would ask to use the toilet when he needed to. I needn’t have worried. He had a totally dry morning and it’s hard to tell about the afternoon as they did water play in the paddling pool, which I’m sure they were all ‘having accidents’ in.
He only had one accident that evening. Yay!
I think that’s more than enough detail so I won’t list any more here but we are now a couple of weeks in and Mushroom is having on average between one and three accidents a day, which I think it pretty good going. The first day was hard but that was expected. The second day was the most frustrating and I was considering giving up at one point. If you’re here, don’t give up! Day three made it all worthwhile and now I know he understands the concept it’s only a matter of time before we graduate to toilet training proper, with ping pong balls in the bowl to help him perfect his aim!
Whether you’re about to potty train your child, in the middle of it, or it’s a distant memory, I’d love to hear about your successes/horror stories – so do leave a comment below!
*Strawberry is a boy (in case you were wondering). He just likes strawberries.
**The underpants mention, and the travel potty and training pants links are recommendations, this post is not sponsored in any way. Read my PR and disclosure policy for more info.
