Potty Training in Two Days — I Never Thought It Would Work, but It Did⁠↗

Over the course of the potty training weekend, my husband and I repeated the goal to my son what felt like hundreds of times — and it wasn’t just “poop and pee in the potty” — he’d known he was supposed to do that for months now and that hadn’t motivated him. The goal now was to keep his underwear clean and dry. We reminded him constantly that to do that, he’d have to tell us when we had to go. Trust your child to do that even if you think they won’t — kids this age don’t like to be forced to do anything.

f you’re going to ditch the training pants, you can’t expect your child to get it right away. Or even after a few accidents. It will take what feels like a million accidents. I handwashed my son’s underwear in the sink until the entire bathroom was filled with hanging, drying undies. I was sick and tired of cleaning pee puddles. Yet, I still kept handing my son sippy cups of juice and water — as much as he’d drink. The more accidents the better, really. Each one is a step toward learning. Just pick up all the area rugs and arm yourself with plenty of floor and carpet cleaner.

I did a little bit of research, and some people think you should get rid of diapers completely when you potty train — even at night. But I knew my son wasn’t ready since his diaper is pretty wet in the mornings, so I just focused on daytime and that was the right choice for us.

Every time I said to my kid, “Go to the potty and you’ll get a sticker” or “You can’t have an M&M until you pee in the potty,” he’d just throw a fit over the stickers or the M&Ms. So I didn’t promise anything. When he got it right though, I did usually offer a reward and always a ton of praise, and he loved that.