Best Potty Training Tips To Make It Easy and Fun!

Potty training your child doesn't need to be stressful. Once they're ready, I've got some potty training tips that will help make this milestone easily achievable! I've partnered with Kandoo to share them with you.

I wonder if I can even count how many hours I spent researching how to teach my son to use the potty. I was a first-time mom and desperately wanted to have him potty trained by the time his little sister arrived. I bought children's books, videos, special training underwear, and eventually let him run around our home naked for days at a time. Potty training my daughter turned out to be a totally different experience. Now that I'm finally on the other side and have said goodbye to diapers, I'm sharing the best potty training tips and tricks that I've learned over the years.

Best potty training tips

1.) Make sure your child is ready. Child readiness is a huge factor here. If your child isn't ready then you're going to get frustrated and potty training will be a painful experience for both of you. My son simply wasn't ready the first time I tried, and looking back I can see that I was the one that was ready for him to use the potty, not him.

2.) Make it fun. Decide right here and now that potty training will be a fun milestone for your child. Your attitude about this experience can make or break it. Once you've got your mind right, get her on board too. Make up a song, do a little dance, give her a little pep talk. Do whatever you need to do to get her excited. This is a big step and she needs to know that you think she is ready to be a big girl.

3.) Buy special items, perfectly sized for her. Imagine being 3 feet tall and having to climb to the top of a toilet taller than you with a cold, gigantic hole in the middle that you might fall into. Yeah, that's how your child feels too. Help ease those fears and pick up a small plastic potty. Maybe you can even get one in her favorite color. My daughter tells me at least 4 times a day that pink is her favorite color. So, guess what color her potty is?

Another special item that you can get for your child is a brand new tub of Kandoo Flushable Wipes. These wipes have been around for a bit, but their newly designed tubs were created with little hands in mind. They even include stickers so children can personalize their tubs!

The new spring-action, Pop & Lock lid makes it easy for little ones to open and close themselves, and the new and improved locking mechanism prevents the wipes from drying out by locking that moisture in.

Kandoo Flushable Wipes will pop up through the lid one at a time so you don't have to worry about them reaching in and grabbing a handful at a time. You know how kids just LOVE to do that. The new tubs also have an anti-slip base that keeps the tub in place so it's not slipping and sliding around or off the back of the toilet. That's one less thing for me to worry about, and I am ALL FOR having fewer things to worry about.

Even my  6-year-old appreciates Kandoo Flushable Wipes. Most adults in our family use flushable wipes, so why shouldn't he feel super fresh and clean after using the restroom?

While they're learning, I like to set up a little space for them in the bathroom with their potty, Kandoo Flushable Wipes, and some books. In our bathroom, my daughter had this little space underneath my vanity that was all hers. I think she liked having her very own nook.

4.) A little bribe goes a long way. With my son, I made the mistake of promising one BIG toy once he successfully went to the potty and was without accidents for so many days. Young children and toddlers often can't really grasp the concept of having to wait so long for something they want right now. They're all about instant gratification and that's why little treats will be your best friend while you're working on potty training.

I kept a jar full of small candies on the kitchen counter, in plain view. Almost every time my daughter walked by the jar she asked for a treat. I made it clear that she could only have a few when she used the potty. Usually, she'd run right to the potty and earn her treat. That was a big motivator for her.

You just need to figure out what your child's motivator is. Maybe it's a sticker chart, a few candies, a new book if they make it the entire day without an accident. Whatever it is, embrace it! If you need a handy-dandy chart, Kandoo has a really cute potty training chart that you can print for free.

5.) Make a BIG DEAL out of small accomplishments. The little treats were key to my daughter's success, but I think my positive reinforcement was even more important. Every single time she used the potty, I made sure to tell her how proud I was of her and gave her hugs and high-fives. We celebrated every small accomplishment and she lit up with happiness when she saw how excited I was.

On the other hand, don't make a big deal out of accidents. As I mentioned, when I tried to potty train my son before my daughter arrived (he was just under 3-years-old), he simply wasn't ready. He'd have accidents and I had a huge belly and hated to bend down to clean them. So, I huffed and got frustrated, and guess where that got us? Nowhere. I decided to just give him a break and we went back to diapers full-time. However, just 2 months later he showed signs of readiness and within just a few days he was fully potty trained and has never had an accident since.

6.) Let her pick out her own underwear. When we were getting ready to transition our son to a toddler bed, we let him pick out his own bedding. It got him excited about having his own place to sleep, and he felt connected to it because his bedding had his favorite character on it. Likewise, I let my son and daughter pick out their underwear. They're always more likely to want to wear something they chose themselves, and it helped my daughter let go of her beloved diapers.

Make it a special occasion. Talk about going to the store and letting her pick any package of panties her heart desires. It's little things like this that can really motivate a child to use the potty.

Are you ready to tackle toilet training?
Let me know which of these potty training tips work for you!

These potty training tips have been sponsored by Kandoo Flushable Wipes. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.