Toilet Training My Toddler

At 2 years and 6 months, I started toilet training my toddler for the day.  My elder son was toilet trained at around the same age back then...

At 2 years and 6 months, I started toilet training my toddler for the day.  My elder son was toilet trained at around the same age back then.  I just recalled the signs of preparedness and the drills we did before and applied the same to my toddler.  I'm very pleased that it worked for the little one too!

From what I have been reading about toilet training, the average age for toilet training has increased from 18 months to 39 months for boys and 35 months for girls.  Studies show that the rise in the average age is actually a good thing because pressuring our little ones to toilet training may not be constructive for them.

I would like to share with you how I am toilet training my toddler (and still in the process of it - it's a continuous effort until he stays diaper-free at night).



How To Know Toddlers Are Ready
There are signs to watch out for to know if your toddler is ready for toilet training.  I carefully watched for these signs until I un-boxed his potty which was a gift from his ninang.
  1. Can already tell that he's peeing or pooping.
  2. Shows interest in the toilet by sometime watching you or asking you what you're doing.
  3. Feels uncomfortable to the point of being very cranky when his diaper is wet or has a "bomb".
  4. Is able to pull down his shorts or pants (to ready his "patutuy" to aim the potty)
  5. Shows independence and ability to follow simple instructions.
The Toilet Training Proper
When I realized that my toddler is ready for toilet training, I readied my patience for the drill and committed time for this. Here are some tips on how I successfully did the training for my toddler:
  1. Schedule Your Start Date: I am a full-time working mom so the only chance I could be with him the whole day is during weekends.  I scheduled my toddler's day 1 on a Saturday and made sure that we stayed home instead of going out.  Make sure that you commit yourself to observe him when he usually pees and be physically present during the entire day/s or process.
  2. Interest Him In His Own Potty.  Show and excite your toddler with his new potty.  In my case, I asked him to sit with me with I un-boxed his potty seat.  In my opinion, our toilet could be intimidating for the little ones.  Besides, it's too huge for their tiny butts and too high for their cute heights.  
  3. Remind Him To Tell You When He Has To Go.  When you start on your day 1, constant reminders to your toddler to tell you he needs to go helps a lot in making the trip to his potty a fun experience for him.  It also makes him more conscious about the activity and his need to eliminate.
  4. Keep The Potty Near. During the first two days of the training, I kept his potty seat near to where he was.  During the day, he plays with his cousin at our driveway so I placed his potty inside the house but near the door.  This way, when he says he has to go, he won't be burdened with a long trip to the toilet and control his bladder for a longer period of time.  As the day goes by, you could place his potty seat farther, then finally inside the toilet.
  5. Wear Toddler Briefs During The Day - Remove Diaper - To ensure a successful headstart, keep him diaper-free on his waking hours.  Make him wear toddler briefs with his favorite character.  Boy, do toddlers want to feel like they're big kids already.  
  6. Teach By Example. - I always believe in this.  So when my toddler's Dad and kuya go for a bladder break, we show him when they actually go to the toilet to pee.  He learns to: a.) Go to the toilet to pee or poop. b.) How boys do it: pulling down pants, standing up and aiming well.
  7. Never Say It's Yucky.  Try to control yourself in saying that his pee or his poop smells bad even if it really does.  This may make him uncomfortable inside the comfort room.  Instead tell him that eliminating is actually good for our body because it throws away the bad stuff from our system.
  8. Expect Occasional Wet Pants and Floor.  Just be ready for a lot of clothes for changing when he wets his pants and a mop for the floor to avoid any accidents.  A lot of patience is needed in toilet training your toddler.  Don't get mad at him should this happen.
  9. Make It Fun.  Put some creativity on how you could make toilet training a fun activity for him. It depends on what your toddler likes or his personality.  In our case, both my sons like the idea of running or being in a race.  So when my toddler tells me he has to go, we hold hands and mimics running to the toilet to get it done.  He giggles all the time and he likes going on toilet trips because of this.
  10. Reward.  Lastly, for the job well done, give your toddler some treats!  I don't usually give chocolates to him so for this activity, I buy him a chocolate drink he likes so much!  The "bribing" could stop naturally because when he's trained, he will naturally just go to the toilet to eliminate and he could also naturally forget about the "bribe".
Those enumerated above are the drills I did and continuously do for my toddler for his toilet training.  Remember that each child is unique and also readiness to the activity is not age-dependent.  As a mom, you would be able to tell when your child is ready to be toilet trained.  

How about you, what are your toilet training strategies? =)




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17 comments

  1. My son was potty trained 2 months before he turned two. Both sa poop and pee. And now kahit sa gabi na, that's almost 5 months na. He will turn 3 this June. Looking at the right signs is very important and it is also important that we will not forced them when they don't like it to.


    Mommy Maye2

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  2. my nephew is 2 years and 3 months,he usually tell his mama or anyone that he will make popo..:-)

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  3. My 2.5 year old daughter also succeeded in potty trainer. I would have to remind her yaya not to say yuck everythime, thanks to your tip #7.

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  4. Well my son mimic what his brother is doing when going to the CR. Sometime he would just ask to go the CR and says wee wee just to go to the CR without releasing any waste. hehehe.

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  5. Great tips. I might use it for my growing little boy (he is 1 year and 5 months old right now). Thanks mah friend for this tips!

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  6. Yes @Momaye:disqus good for you! Galing naman mommy! :)

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  7. Cute cute our kids noh @facebook-100000380911859:disqus ! :)

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  8. Thanks sis @disqus_5FirTnwp01:disqus yes, we shouldn't tell it's yucky. :)

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  9. That's so true @ac083410a84eebb89487dc7947909a46:disqus my toddler does that too! :)

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  10. Sure no problem Daddy @google-9b446bb085d25df2408cdb7e4325fb9d:disqus ! :)

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  11. Natawa lang ako sa patutuy. Hehehe. I'll be bookmarking this post so that I can read it again in the future para pag kami naman magtoilet training!

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  12. Thank you sis @Meikah:disqus ! I really tried to accurately put the things I did to toilet train the little one. :)

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  13. hehehe! cute diba @MaanLaxa:disqus ! Thank you sis! :)

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  14. you've got a great tips here
    i toilet trained my kids much earlier

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  15. Thanks @Max Galang ! Wow, good for you! :)

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  16. My kid is now on training. He should do good. Wish me luck.
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