8 Ways to Make Potty Training Fun

8 Methods for fun potty training

Most children learn best when they enjoy the process. Young children such as toddlers are at an age where they look upon everything with rose-tinted glasses and a sense of awe. Everything is wonderful and new. Their spirit yearns for happiness and play. Unlike many adults who have “soured” over the years due to failures and disappointments, children like being happy. In order to potty train your child successfully, you’ll need to make the entire learning experience fun and rewarding.

We will discuss 8 different methods that you can use to encourage your child to use the potty and comply with your instructions. You’ll face less resistance and your child will be much more eager to sit on the potty chair.

1. Use the blue and yellow make green method.

Show your child that by adding a few drops of blue coloring in the toilet water, it will turn blue. When they pee in the water it will turn green. This will work for many children and encourage them to use the toilet bowl.

2. Get them a musical potty chair.

The music will be fun to them and they’ll look forward to using the potty. for some children.( Mine would just continue to play with this potty and not use it for the serious work of actually using it.)

3. Practice toilet target practice with your boys.

Place a few small cereals in the toilet water and encourage your son to take aim at the cereal.

 

 

4. Don’t worry. There are potty training dolls for girls to help them.

These dolls are anatomically correct and by feeding the doll water, it will pee too. This will build association in your child’s mind and help her to understand the process.

5. Get your child a potty training watch.

These watches have reminders and the watch will vibrate at 30 minute intervals. This will remind the child to go to the potty and pee if they need to. It’s the constant repetition that makes this method so effective.

6. As mentioned in previous posts, use books, videos and DVDs

These tools are specifically created to help with the potty training process to educate your child and make them understand what is going on. Many kids are hesitant to be potty trained because they fear what they do not understand.

Children are naturally attracted to these colorful objects and they will be motivated to use the potty if they are rewarded with a sticker each time they get it right. Over time, decrease the frequency of rewards and give them a small gift if they stay dry and clean for 3 days in a row.

Make sure that your child is the one who chooses the pants and not you.

 

All these methods can be used interchangeably to keep things interesting and fun. Despite all these unique methods, there may be times when your child accidentally messes up and makes a mistake. Take this in your stride and don’t blow it out of proportion.

They will get it!

Gently remind them of the toilet and let it go at that. They will realize that they need to hit the potty every time they feel an urge to pee or poop. Once the realization hits them, they will do it on their own accord and you can breathe a huge sigh of relief.

P.S. What methods do you use to make potty training more fun for your child?

P.P.S. Do you think musical potty chairs are good or distracting?

Share with us your potty training fun strategies in our comment section.

Get Potty Training Essentials Here

Til next time,

Happy potty training!

 

 

 

Must-Have Potty Training Essentials: Setting Your Child up for Success

Choosing potty training tools

After you have observed your child and decided that your child shows interest and is physically ready to start potty training, you will have to choose potty training tools. It is good to have your child participate in helping to choose potty training tools when possible. They can help pick the colors, style and types of tools needed. Even though they may like a particular item, it may not work well in your home setting so you have to use your best judgment as well.

After you pick your potty training gear, you should feel free to change the tools you have already chosen if they do not seem to help you reach your goal of toilet training. For example, I and my eldest son picked out a cute blue potty pot that had a cute puppy face on it. He ended up just sitting on it for playtime and did not actually “potty” in it. I had to move to the toilet adapter seat for the adult toilet for him to take his toilet training seriously. He needed the adapter seat on the toilet to differentiate play time from toilet training time.

Potty, Potty Chair or Portable(adapter type) Training Seat?

This is really up to your preference and what is easy for your child. The actual potties come in various sizes, colors and shapes. Basically it is like a bucket to sit on and catch the waste, feces or urine. You then empty the waste contents into the toilet and clean the potty. If you don’t mind cleaning the potty every time your child uses it, it is comfortable for him to sit on, he actually goes on it and not play with it, you may prefer this choice.

The potty chair is the potty placed into a chair. The chair has an opening where the pot fits in. The advantage to this set up is that the potty does not move around on the floor. It is stationary in the potty chair. Your child can sit on it easily without it moving around and he can sit for long periods since he can sit comfortably with back support. Some potty chairs have arms on them so he can rest his arms while sitting and waiting for his package to arrive. The disadvantage again is the clean up afterward which you may have to do many times a day, depending on your child’s elimination pattern.

                                                                                      

Advantages and disadvantages of potty seats

The portable potty seat is a portable potty ring, potty adapter or seat reducer that fits into the adult toilet.This makes the toiler seat size fit little bottoms comfortably. Your child can sit on the toilet without feeling like he will “fall in.” The advantage of this is that you can skip the step from potty or potty chair to adult toilet. You can also skip the continuous cleaning and sanitizing the potty after each potty trip because you just flush the waste down just as when the adults use the toilet. Your child can get used to using the toilet without fear sooner.

The disadvantage is that your child may need help to sit on the toilet where with the potty or potty chair, he can sit on it himself. It may be difficult for him to reach the seat since it is higher up off the floor where potty seats are at his level. To compensate for this disadvantage, there are little potty ladders and step stools to help your child reach the toilet seat safely.

Potty Training Ladders

If you opt for the potty training adapter seats, you will need to make sure your child can get on the toilet safely. Using the toilet adapter seat means he may go to the toilet more on his own. You should purchase a potty training step ladder or step stool. They can be either attached to or placed directly in front of the toilet that your child uses. They are usually made of plastic. Some are made of plastic or wood. They have a skid-proof base and are available in a range of colors, designs, and sizes.Place a nightlight or some form of illumination on his path to the bathroom just in case, he has to use the potty during the night. That way he can see how to climb the potty ladder or step on the stepping stool to use the toilet.

Potty Training Motivations

Children love to have fun. Adding fun to potty training will make it easier and entertaining for your child. With toddlers, one has to guide them with positive motivation. One way of doing this is with incentives or rewards that boost their willingness to learn new things while also building up their self esteem.Along with praise, your child may also like to receive a little reward when using the potty. You can give him a cookie or a little of his favorite treat or a little prize that you can keep in a prize jar or prize box that you can create together. Sticker charts are a great reminder of your child’s progress to reaching his goal to potty independence. Place one where he or she can touch and see it. Place the stickers where they can get them and place on chart.

Optional Fun Tools

Part of the process of potty training is timing when to go. You can take your child at regularly scheduled times such as hourly, before or after meal times or some other set time you have determined works for your child. One of the innovations of today that we did not have when I was potty training my children is the potty watch. Today’s potty trainee can have his own watch to let him know when it’s time to go. This innovation helps with the challenge of reminding your little one it’s potty time. The Potty Watch does that for you. It alerts your child with flashing lights, music or ringing sounds that grabs their attention. It alerts them from 30, 60 , 90 minute intervals letting them take a break from playtime to go to the potty. At the same time, it is fun for them because of the flashing watch and music telling them to go and they will have fun on the way to potty.

Potty Training toys

Potty training toys and books to reinforce the potty learning steps. Toys can illustrate using the potty with dolls using toy potty seats. Books about potty time can be used to encourage your child to use the potty. They can even look through these books with colorful pictures while sitting on the potty.

Potty training is a journey that is unique for each child. What you used for one of your children may not work for your next child. But with consistency and the proper potty training tools that work for you and your child, you will be successful and your child will be potty independent before you know it!

Potty Training tools

P.S. What is the most helpful potty training tool you use?

Which potty training tool do you feel is most important?

What do you think about gadgets like the potty watch?

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Happy potty training!