8 Tips to Training Your Child Early, Easily, and Actually with Pleasure...imagine that?! (Updated August 3, 2020)

Many people have asked why and how I potty train early, so I've compiled some information that I hope you will find helpful!  First and foremost, potty training doesn’t have to be drudgery for parent or child! In fact, it can be accomplished slowly over time and completed way before the age of two with just a little bit of time spent doing what you already do- engaging your child.  Come travel with me on a journey through the history of potty training and then voyage with me as a share ways I train my littles.  

History of Potty Training (Early Start Potty Training by Linda Sonna)

Did you know that as technology and our ability to communicate blossomed especially in the 20^th century, children began learning to use the potty later and later?   At the turn of the 20^th century, parents managed their baby’s waste with minimal use of diapers, which would make sense because there were neither washing machines nor disposable diapers at that particular point in time.  Thus, parents were motivated to train their babies early! It was common for parents to hold their child over a pot and make a certain sound, and overtime, the child began to eliminate upon hearing the sound and being placed on the pot.  The debate at this time around the United States was should parents start training around two months of age or give them an extra month?  In the 1940’s with the invention of the washing machine, potty training started even later around 6 months of age, which is about the time a child is able to sit up properly.  This was a direct result of being able to wash cloth diapers easily.  In 1946, Benjamin Spock wrote a book entitled “The Pocket Book of Baby and Child Care,” which became the bible of parenting at that time.  In this book, he recommended waiting to put a child on the potty until age 7-9 months of age.  Parents ran with his suggestion and once more potty training started later.  1n 1961, Proctor and Gamble began test marketing the first disposable diapers and found a pediatrician named Dr. Brazelton to promote them.  Dr. Brazelton recommended to parents that children should not be put on the potty until they are physically, emotionally, and mentally ready.  He added that if a child is older, a child would train much easier, and thus the road would be much smoother.  Many of his thoughts are still in place today.  Just google potty training and you will get the exact same ideas Dr. Brazelton advocated still in place today.  We think we are doing the “right” thing and the “normal” thing by waiting to put our children on the potty to begin learning because according to most pediatricians and “experts” a child is only ready when he shows certain signs mentioned above.  However, in reality; we are just following the original advice of someone trying to sell a product when we look back at history.  

Our Story

What if there was another way?  What if we could make potty training actually fun for the parent(s) and the child and just a part of the daily routine whether you stay home or work outside of the home? 

I stumbled across the book Early Start Potty Training by Linda Sonna when our oldest was 20 months old, and it dramatically changed how I saw potty training.  I had no idea the history of potty training nor did I have a clue how to train a child.  Before reading her book, I had planned to wait until age 3 to train him because that is what everyone else was doing.  Using Dr. Sonna’s approaches, I began right away training my child at the age of 21 months, and he was fully trained by 22 months old.  By fully trained, I mean he knew how to eliminate and could do it the majority of the time successfully.  He easily night trained not much longer after that.  I put the little potty in his room.  He would wake up and pee if needed and go back to bed.  With my second child, I began potty training at 11 months and he was fully trained by 17 months old.  He night trained right along with day training; however, I did limit his liquid intake to help out.  With our third child, I began potty training her at 9 months of age, and she was in big girl pants at 19 months old.  For a couple months, it was common for her to have occasional accidents when she did not want to stop and take time to potty.   I do not worry when this happens....just a part of the coaching phase and learning.  She truly did understand how to use the potty even though she had accidents.  She just had to learn through being uncomfortable (wet pants) that it is worth stopping and going to the potty.  She alerted me close to 100% of the time when her big girl pants were wet or soiled.  She night trained around the age of two yet I still kept her in cloth diapers at night until 2.5 like I did with my others.  With cloth diapers they feel the wet yet it does not get on the bed.  Almost always my child wet right when they woke in the morning so I recall just a couple times at most being woken due to a soiled cloth diaper.  As for night training, my children thus far have night trained by age two on their own with me limiting water, etc. at bedtime. We did a have a season that lasted a couple weeks where our second son wet the bed around the age of 3, but it went away as mysteriously as it came.  With my fourth child, I started training her right around 12 months.   She caught on the quickest of all my children and actually could go on command by 15 months  both in the bathtub on the little potty or wherever the potty was.  She could have been fully trained by 15 months, but I was in the throws of morning sickness with our 5th.  From 15-18 months, she would take her diaper off when soiled and say "gro gro".  It cracked us up.  If a potty was near, she would take her diaper off and eliminate right in the potty.  Right at 18 months, I put her in big girl pants and she was trained really with no effort at this point.  For a month, I did give everyone a chocolate chip when she eliminated in the potty for extra reinforcement, so her older siblings made sure she went in the potty frequently.  This is a great tip I remembered in the future...have the older siblings reinforce...learning goes so quick!  Children love all the clapping and attention.  At  20 months, she rarely had an accident.  When out and about, I did put a cloth diaper cover around her panties just in case.  It took a while for her to stop eliminating in her diaper during naps and nighttime.  I was not worried...she outgrow it!  Our fifth, another boy, was fully trained by 18 months and followed right in the steps of his other siblings.  I am currently training our 6th child and he is 13 months old.   

So, how does one train early?

In my experience with six children, I have found it easiest if I start young.  Training my five youngest was so much easier than training my first as an almost 2 year old, so I am going to share some ways in which I have found best to train my littles on the potty. 

8 Tips to How We Train Our Children Early

1) I wait until my child can sit well.  After training five children and in process with number 6 now, I think a year is a great time to start. 

2) I regularly take them to the potty with me or with an older sibling and tell them what the person is doing on the potty.  We talk about how pee pee and poo poo go in the potty as often as we can. 

3) I put my child on the Frog Potty 1x a day when I think they will most likely need to use the potty and spend time engaging them.  At first there is some getting used to for the child.  This is normal.  I praise them for sitting.  I have found a great time to put my child on the potty has been first thing in the morning after waking or right after drinking a lot.   I love the frog potty for many reasons.  It is easy to sit on and perfect to train boys as the lip to the potty is high and urine does not go everywhere.  Here is the link: frog potty

4) While the child is on the potty, we read books, play games, eat, whatever it takes.  For my second son, we threw the ball, read books, and ate a snack.  For my two little girls, the only way I could get them to sit still was to put the potty in the bathtub and fill it with a little bit of water while we read and played with bath toys. For my fifth, I did all of the above.  For my sixth, he loves to eat on the potty, throw the ball, read, splash.  

5) When the child eliminates, I make a big deal and clap.  As they are eliminating, I tell them what they are doing.  You are peeing.   What a big girl!  You are pooping in the potty.  What a big boy!  Overtime, they begin to get it.  "Getting it" means they understand, I sit on the potty and I eliminate and am able to do it pretty much right away.  This can take a few months depending on the frequency of potty sessions or quite some time.  For my second, he got it really quickly.  It only took him 4 months to really get it and eliminate almost right away upon being put on the potty.  With my third, it took almost 9 months for her to get it, but when she got it, she took off and I started her the youngest.  With my fourth and fifth, it took only 3 months.  Child number 6 is yet to be determined.  Children are all different.    But remember, this is 1-15 minutes a day doing what you already do- enagaging your child.  The only difference is he/she is sitting on the potty.  

6) Once I know the child understands the concept of eliminating in the potty, I move him/her to big boy/ girl pants and cloth diapers for nap time/ night time.  I figure out how often they eliminate and control his/her fluid intake so I can better estimate when to take him/ her to the potty.  The way I figure out how often a child eliminates is I let them spend some time naked outdoors if the weather is nice or where there is tile floor in the house.  I take notes.  As for timing the potty correctly, my second generally went potty every 2 hours, my third every hour, and my fourth every hour and a half.  Once I am ready to move a child from a session a day, I make sure to clear our schedule especially for the first few days to a week.   I don't want to have to go a lot of places during this time.  Even if we are out and about, I still put the child on the potty at the regular intervals.  The child wears big boy/ girl pants even when out with a cloth diaper lining around them so it does not soil the car seat, etc..  Thus, the child feels the moisture and does not like it.  I LOVE these training pants.  Here is the link: http://www.pottypatty.com They make them for small toddlers that catch moisture, but allow the child to feel moisture.  They make ones for girls and ones for boys.  They also make plastic pants if out and about to go over the training pants.  They are a little pricy, but worth it.  I really think it is important for a child to feel the moisture from soiling himself/ herself.  If a child soils himself/ herself, I want them to NOT like it.  When you don't like something you are motivated to change.  Disposables, even pull ups, actually pull moisture away and can cause potty training to take much longer. If there is an accident, I gently remind them that pee pee and poo poo go in the potty. 

7) I think for a child until he/she proves that he/ she can think for himself/herself.  This varies in time.  Thus, I continue to take them to the potty at whatever interval they need until they prove to me they can tell me when they need to go. 

8) Remember a child has been trained to eliminate in his/her diaper, so once you begin training them, throw away the diapers!  They have to learn to eliminate in the potty.  This takes time as the majority of his/her life all they have known is pee pee/ poo poo goes in a diaper. 

I really believe potty training early is possible and have experienced the results with my children!  Some people train their children even earlier then what we do.  Either way, it just takes spending a little time training once a day when you have time doing what you naturally do- engaging your child.   Just imagine being out of diapers!!???  Imagine not having to worry about a child wetting the bed late into their preschool years or severe constipation- just to name a couple of the problems now associated with late training.  I cannot recommend Early Start Potty Training by Linda Sonna enough. Here is the link to her book on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Early-Start-Potty-Training-Linda-Sonna/dp/007145800X In her book, she addresses different ages and approaches to training.  She also problems shoots with parents.  It is an excellent read worthy of every penny spent upon it.