We are about to embark into the land of “all things potty-related” at my house.  My 2.5 year old is almost ready.  He asks about the potty, he watches his big brother, and he tells us when he’s gone.  The signs are there.

 There is no right way to potty train a child.  Some people believe you should wait until the child fully makes that move themselves, and some think you should start as early as infancy.  I’m not here to debate the two schools, but I want to share with you my experience with my older son and what is to come with the little guy. 

My older child was an easy train.  We started a week before his third birthday, and by the time the big day came, we were in big boy pants, using pull ups for naps and bedtime only.  My opinion of pull ups back then wasn’t very high; we used them for the first six days of training and he did excellent until he had an accident in one and realized how diaper-like they were.  That’s when the pull ups went away (except for the aforementioned sleep times).  I was at home with him, so it was a leisurely, quiet time with just us to get him trained.  We used Smartie candy as a reward (one per successful trip) and all was well.

Enter child #2.  Things are a bit different now.  I work part time, we are out of the house quite a bit, and slowing down to learn to use the potty is not that high on my priority list.  However, back in May, he had a keen interest in the potty, wanted to sit on it, would go at bathtime and pretty much anytime you sat him on it, so we went for it.

And failed.

We failed miserably.  After a few days of cheering and gummy bears (his choice of reward), the crying started, and the holding, and the protesting, and the accidents.  It just wasn’t worth it.  He was two and a half, and this was NOT what potty training was supposed to be like.  So, we did what every “expert” tells you NOT to do; we pulled out. 

My younger son is now in diapers again and a very happy, well-adjusted little boy.  He still goes on the potty at bathtime, and on a whim you can catch him and he’ll go.  But, he’s just not ready.  He will be – soon, I hope.  My new “plan” is to try around October, just as he’s getting ready to turn three.  We’ll be in a pretty solid routine by then, and I sense he’ll do quite well with it.  One thing I will do differently this time around, though, is invest in a potty chair.  While we didn’t have one with our first son, I can see this as a pretty valuable tool to becoming self-sufficient on the potty.  Not only is it important that the child is able to undress themselves to go to the bathroom, but they also need to be able to get to the potty on their own.  Little potty chairs are perfect for such an event.

You can check out some adorable potty chairs on Wonderbrains…and don’t limit yourself to just thinking of them as a potty when the training is over…they make a great plant stand, too!

So, what are your successful potty training hints?  Share with the rest of us in our comments section!