How to Potty Train

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

time
patience

Step 1

Make sure your child is ready to be potty trained. He/She will need to be able to communicate their needs, walk to the potty, etc.
Step 2

Take your child to the store to buy "Big Kid" underware/panties. Let them pick out which character and design they want. Then explain to them that they only get to wear these if they keep them clean.
Step 3

Determine what words (i.e., peepee, poopoo, etc) you want to use and be consistant.
Step 4

When at home put the new underware on the child. Take the child to the potty every 15-20 minutes to try to go. When the do go, use positive reinforcement. Such as stickers, prizes. With our son we found that our excitement for him was the best reward. He just wanted us to be proud.
Step 5

Once your child learns the habit of going in the potty you may be able to increase the time between potty visits. Be sure to watch your child for signs that they need to go. Many children will start to find a hiding spot to go to when they need to potty. If you find them going towards this spot, ask if they need to potty and encourage them to try at that time.
Step 6

Once the child is mostly potty trained they may still get to "busy" playing and not want to go to the potty. Be sure to remind them often to stop and potty. If this does not work sit your child down and talk to them about being a big kid and using the potty like mommy and daddy. Another option is to only allow them to have their underware if they can keep it clean. It may seem odd at first to have your child running around with no pants, but it works. Our son was trained in 2 days after losing his pants for not using the potty. Only use this method when you are certain they are able to recognize the signals that their bodies are sending. Otherwise, you and the child will just be frustrated.
Step 7

Once the child is waking up with dry diapers/pull-ups, start using the underware at night as well.