Potty Training Bundle
Potty Chair // Step Stool // Toilet Training Seat
The first step was getting her familiar with the potty. Once we received the Potty Training Bundle, I first put the Potty Chair in the bathroom and let her get acquainted while she was still in diapers. Since she always gravitates to things that are her size, she was naturally curious and started sitting on it. Having a potty with a tall back proved to be perfect for keeping her comfortable, as she prefers to take her time. She also loves to read while sitting, and that's a great feature for having a spot to lean back and relax. My favorite feature of the Potty Chair was the convenient potty chamber. It lifts right out for a simple rinse and wipe - it cleans really easily. With progress, Meriwether actually started enjoying taking it out herself to flush, which was yet another act of independence she enjoyed and built on. Additionally, the chair itself has a rubber strip underneath that keeps it in place on the floor, and it's the perfect height for her to sit down and stand up unaided.
Speaking of independence, that proved to be a huge part of having success with potty training. Doing small tasks by themselves gives them the confidence they need to thrive with larger tasks like going on the potty. I tried to encourage her with small acts of independence outside of the bathroom. Things like putting on her shoes and coat or picking up her toys. She really started to enjoy other tasks too like helping me with laundry and throwing away her trash in the bin.
For next steps, we started practicing actually sitting on the potty. I assigned a full week on our calendar during her school's Spring Break to hang at home and practice. I set my alarm every forty-five minutes with fun music or as we called it "potty music". Every time the alarm went off, we danced and got excited to sit on the Potty Chair. I think a key aspect of this method was that it wasn't me telling her to go each time. It was a third party alarm/music that went off - plus I also acted excited and surprised. The more fun you can make it, the better. She didn't have results every time, but it was a quintessential part of teaching her the process and getting in the habit. When she had a successful trip, we clapped and danced and I gave her tons of praise. She also got to choose a fun sticker for #1 or an M&M for #2.
As she's learned and gotten the hang of it, we've started a new routine of going after every meal, before we leave the house and before bedtime. The consistency of a routine has proven to be really important, as with most things. After our first week of being home and practicing, I thought she had gotten the hang of it and we fell out of our routine. Accidents started to happen, so I got us back on track and she's thriving once more.
Once she started going on the Potty Chair and her confidence grew, we began tackling "the big potty" as we call it. The Step Stool and Toilet Training Seat are safe and secure. This process was pretty seamless. The Step Stool has the same no-slip rubber strip feature as the Potty Chair, and the Toilet Training Seat adjusts to tighten on the larger seat. This proved to be essential in making her feel safe. Now she's happy to go on either potty, which is perfect for our house. We keep the chair in her bathroom upstairs and the stool/seat combo downstairs in our powder room for ease. She used to shy away from going on the big potty in public places, but over time she's become comfortable and it's no longer a problem. She currently uses a nighttime pull-up for sleeping while she continues to learn consistency and nighttime training, which usually takes much longer to get the hang of.
Every child is different and will likely have varying experiences on the potty, but my biggest take away has been not to put too much pressure on it. Wait until they're ready, make it fun, and they'll be excited to learn something new. The more pressure you put on them, the more they'll get nervous. Dance, sing, encourage independence and give them tons of praise when they make strides. Before you know it, they'll be experts! Please let me know if you have any other questions about our journey, as I'm always happy to share or help where I can. A big thanks to BabyBjörn for making incredible products for us to use at each stage, and for sponsoring this post.
Share this story
