About a week ago, as we were getting Little Oats ready for the bath, she declared “I go pee!” Since she was diaperless, I put her on the toilet to see what would happen. Sure enough, she peed…and cheered herself on when she was done. I was surprised, but sure that it was just a fluke; after all, she was standing *right* beside the toilet.

The next morning, we were headed out the door for daycare, and she announced again “I go pee!” She ran into the bathroom, tugged at her pants, and asked me for help. I took her diaper off, sat her on the toilet, and again, she peed and cheered. This has happened randomly and spontaneously at different times throughout the last few days, and every time, Little Oats is thrilled with herself. She will occasionally go if we ask her, but it’s usually her own doing. So, despite the fact that we hadn’t planned to potty train for another several months (she’s 22 months), I started reading, researching and planning out our potty training approach.

So, how do you know that your child is ready for potty training? Here are some great signs and signals from different sources (BabyCenter, this article)

Signs of Potty Training ‘Readiness’

  • walks and runs steadily
  • urinates a fair amount at once (as opposed to a little bit several times a day)
  • has regular bowel movements at somewhat predictable times
  • has ‘dry’ periods during naps, at night, or for at least 2 hours (showing bladder control)
  • can pull pants up and down
  • seems to dislike the feeling of a dirty or wet diaper
  • shows interest in others’ bathroom habits
  • can give a verbal or physical sign of bowel movements
  • takes pride in accomplishments
  • isn’t hesitant or resistant to using the toilet
  • is in a generally cooperative stage
  • understands the feelings of ‘having to go’ and can tell you before it happens
  • can follow simple instructions

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It’s important to note that these are just readiness signs – they don’t all have to be present for your child to be ready for potty training. Your child might also display most of these, but NOT be ready for potty training. Little Oats can’t really pull up or down her pants alone, and she certainly isn’t in a cooperative stage. She doesn’t have long dry periods (that I know of), but it seems like she’s just about ready.

Over the years, there have been several posts by different Bee bloggers about the methods they chose and what worked for them. I love this post from Mrs. Bee on her potty training essentials; I’ve written my list of things to grab from the store based off of this. Mrs. Checkers also shared her essentials list here – I love the sticker chart! This guide on choosing the best potty is helpful, also.

When you decide that your child is ready for potty training, how do you go about choosing a method? There are dozens of different ideas and theories surrounding potty training, and it’s a little overwhelming when you first dive in. Here are some of the methods other Bee bloggers have shared:

1. The Training Pants Transition: switch from diapers to pull-ups, and prompt your child to use the bathroom at certain intervals. Training pants tend to absorb less, and give your child more of that ‘wet’ feeling when they’ve gone to the bathroom. This alerts them to their own bodily function and helps with awareness. Training pants tend to be more expensive than regular diapers, so this might not be a good solution for everyone. Mrs. Pinata used this method with Little P here, and had some good success.

2. No Real Method: practice regularly, asking your child to sit on the toilet and pee. Reward them for whatever they do, and gradually transition from diapers to underwear. This takes a long time, and it might take awhile for your child to initiate using the potty on their own, as opposed to always being asked. Mrs. Confetti wrote about the ‘practice stage‘, and taking a slow, relaxed approach to potty training. Mrs. Twine also shared here about the difference between her kids, and why potty training ‘bootcamp’ wasn’t going to work for their family.

3. The Three-Day Method: spend a weekend letting your child go diaperless (naked, or in underwear), with a potty available at all times. Any time your child starts to pee, or indicates that they need to use the potty, rush them to the potty and sit them down. It’s messy and could cause complications when your child can’t get clothes on and off fast enough, but it’s fairly simple, doesn’t require a lot of planning, and people say it works quickly.

Mrs. Tictactoe trained Liam using a loose version of the Three-Day Method; her post here is a great testament to working with your child’s daycare provider to train successfully. Plus, the fact that he was 22 months old certainly gives me hope for our situation!

Mrs. Jump Rope also took advantage of a long weekend to try out the Three-Day Method. From reading her experience with 26-month-old Chloe, I think we need to jump on Little Oats’ love of Elsa and Minnie Mouse, and letting her pick out some underwear to try. There’s a long weekend coming up in August, too – might be some perfect timing.

Mrs. Cowgirl, Mrs. Sunglasses , Mrs. Yoyo and Mrs. Checkers all used the Three-Day Method as well. It seems to be the method of choice among the Bee bloggers.

Regardless of what method you choose (or what combination of methods, here are a few great tips to keep in mind (from Pampers):

  • get the right equipment: potty seats on the floor (so feet can touch), or a smaller seat for the toilet (handles help)
  • minimize liquids within an hour of bedtime – better the chance that they will wake up dry, band boost their confidence
  • learn to recognize your toddler’s ‘gotta go’ signs
  • don’t worry about night training at first (overnight bladder control comes later than daytime control)
  • coordinate with other caregivers – everyone should be on relatively the same page
  • don’t make punishment part of potty training. If the child gets uptight, it could lead to constipation, avoidance, or refusing to get out of diapers
  • make it fun: use rewards, cheering, books, songs, Cheerios in the toilet bowl (target practice for boys)
  • wait for readiness signs

We haven’t quite decided if we’re going to choose a method, or just roll with it and see how it goes. What was potty training like for you?