How to Potty Train in LESS than a Day!

You guys, this method of potty training is just TOO GOOD not to share! And no, I didn’t invent this method, and I didn’t write the book. I’m just a mom who had such a great experience potty training ALL 3 of my kids that I feel the need to share this awesome book/method with you!

I actually just finished potty training my youngest daughter a few days ago, and it went so well! We just completed day 3 of her wearing her big girl panties (not pull ups, but real panties), and she had no accidents on day 3! She is now going potty in her little potty completely on her own, without any promptings or reminders – woo hoo!

To prepare for potty training you need to buy the book (and other supplies listed below, especially a doll that wets), and read through the entire book. Don’t worry – it’s a pretty quick read! I made notes on my phone as I read through the book so that I could refer back to the notes quickly during our potty training day. (This book is a little outdated, but I promise that it still does the trick! My mom actually used this book to potty train my brother and I, in less than a day, over 30 years ago!)

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THINGS TO BUY:

• potty training book – make sure you get this exact book. It uses a very specific (and proven) method of potty training children. I’m convinced that you will NOT find a better potty training book/method! 
• potty seat – this isn’t the exact one I used but it’s the closest I could find. You just want something simple – it doesn’t need any bells and whistles. 
• Baby Alive doll that wets (comes with water bottle and diapers) – you must have a doll that wets to do this potty training method correctly – don’t skip this step, I promise that it’s crucial to potty training your child in less than a day. When picking out your doll just make sure that the doll drinks/wets. The Baby Alive dolls that drink/wet come with a water bottle and diapers.
• special/fun underwear for your child (I let my girls pick out their underwear with me on Amazon – Trolls, Frozen, Disney Princess, etc)
• pull up diapers for night time – we used Pampers Easy Ups
• salty snacks, and treats, fun drinks (lemonade, juice etc)
• travel potty – this travel potty will make your life SO MUCH easier! Trust me, this thing is worth every penny! It can be used on the ground as a potty seat, or it can be folded out flat and used on top of a normal toilet so that your child can sit comfortably on an adult sized toilet at a public restroom, without the fear of falling in. Even when I would support/hold my kids on top of an adult sized toilet they would still always say they were scared, which made it too hard for them to relax enough to go to the bathroom. Also, this travel potty is small enough when folded that you can carry it in a little tote bag when you are out in public so that it’s always handy. (Instead of buying the liners for the travel potty I use extra Target/Walmart plastic bags with a couple of folded up paper towels in the bottom.)

Okay, that’s it! That’s all of the supplies you need! One of the main ideas of this method is to have your child “potty train” their doll right before you potty train your child. This gives your child a framework for what they are about to do. It is extremely helpful and crucial to having a successful experience. 

To “potty train” the doll I made doll sized panties for her. This is NOT necessary, but it was very helpful. I had 3 pairs of doll panties on hand so that after the doll had “accidents” we could put new dry panties on her.

Here is how I made the doll panties:

• gather a few old socks. I used a few of my socks that were missing their match. 
• lay the sock out so that the seam of the toe is on one side, and it’s smooth on the other side. This will help you cut the sock straight.
• measure up about 3″ from the toe of the sock, and then cut a straight line across to cut the toe of the sock off.
• cut two “leg holes” out of the toe of the sock (the curved part) leaving about 1.5″ in between the leg holes. *Ta-da! You have perfect underwear for your Baby Alive doll!* 

A few things I DIDN’T do the way the book suggests:

1. The book suggests 10 practice trials after each accident. I did around 5-8 trials depending on which child I was working with. One of my daughters really enjoyed the practice trials, but another one of my daughters would get very sad when she had an accident and the trials were upsetting for her. For my more sensitive daughter I would do the practice with her, and we would practice running really fast together – this helped her attitude a ton! The idea is NOT to shame them, but to reinforce that accidents are not desired and to teach them how to prevent the accident next time.
2. The book has you teach your child how to be completely independent, including emptying their potty into the toilet and flushing it. I learned the hard way, with my oldest daughter, that she was not ready to empty the potty into the toilet. Many times the toilet paper gets stuck in the potty, and it is hard for them to completely empty the potty into the toilet. You can imagine the messes this can make!
3. The book suggests having children over 2.5 years old wear panties at night. All of my girls wore pull up diapers at night until their pull ups were consistently dry in the morning. This usually happened several months after potty training. We made sure to make a clear distinction between pull ups and diapers by explaining to them that diapers are for babies therefore they wouldn’t wear diapers anymore. We called the pull up diapers “night night panties” so that there would be no confusion.

A few more notes:

1. The first week after potty training I had my girls wear pull ups in the car to prevent accidents in their car seats. I told them that the pull ups were “bye bye panties” that they wear when we go bye bye. My girls still did a great job using our travel potty and not having accidents in the pull ups, but the pull ups gave me more reassurance and less need to rush when they said they needed to potty and I was on the highway and couldn’t pull over right that second.
2. I also minimized travel/errands the week after potty training. I know this isn’t possible for everyone, and some of your kiddos are in childcare and that is okay! They will still get the hang of it, and by the end of the first week it is likely that accidents will be a thing of the past. One way I minimized errands was to do Walmart’s grocery pickup instead of going on an hour shopping trip with a newly potty trained child. I know from experience that it is NOT fun to have to make a mad dash to the grocery store restroom with a shopping cart full of groceries. If you haven’t tried Walmart’s grocery pickup you seriously need to! I use it ALL the time, even when I don’t have a newly potty trained child with me. It’s so easy! You order your fresh groceries online and schedule a convenient pickup time at your Walmart of choice, then when you pick up your order you wait in your car the WHOLE time while they load the groceries in the back of your car for you. As a mom with 3 kids under 7 this is a HUGE win for me. We never even have to enter the store! #hallelujah *To get $10 OFF your first Walmart Grocery Pickup purchase click here! 
3. This method of potty training is not fun for you as the parent/caregiver, but it is so worth it! It makes for a long day, where you spend 99% of the day talking about going potty, and you will inevitably help your little one clean up an accident or two. But my children have all loved the experience. They loved the one on one time with me, they loved teaching their doll how to go potty, they loved feeling BIG, they loved the praise they received, and they LOVED the salty snacks, treats, and yummy drinks. So just suck it up and know that this one hard day will be SO worth it. I’m supporting you in spirit. I’ve done it, and I know how hard it is – I see you, and I believe in you friend! You got this! May the odds be ever in your favor 🙂 

If you have any questions, not that I’m an expert but I have used this method successfully 3 times, just comment below.