how to potty train

Warning: I am not an expert on parenting/toilet training and do not claim to be.  This is just a story of what worked for us when Lyla was little.

We potty trained Lyla when she was about 20 months old.  After gathering a lot of advice from friends and the internet, we had a plan of action.  The very first thing we did was take her shopping at Target to let her pick out some big girl underwear.  We made a big deal out of it and kept exclaiming things like, "Wow, are you a big girl already?" and "This is a big deal that you're such a big girl!".  She joined in on the excitement even though she didn't quite understand why.  She did love her Tinkerbell undies! 

The next stage of the plan was to dedicate an entire day to staying home to allow for a few accidents.  I started on the first day of my weekend in case I needed two days for this.  In the morning, I took off her diaper and put on the Tinkerbell undies under her jeans.  Then, I asked her to tell me when she needed to sit on the potty.  She nodded in agreement and we started going about our day. 

A little while later she had her first accident.  Lyla peed her pants and just looked down a little confused that her pants were all wet.  I gently scolded her for not giving me warning.  I let her sit in the wetness for a little while (5 minutes max) just so she would be a little uncomfortable.  I rinsed her off and put another pair of undies and pants on. 

The second accident was more promising.  Lyla tried to let me know that she had to pee, but it was a bit late.  She didn't quite make it to the toilet.  This time she was upset with herself.  She clearly wanted to make it onto the potty.  I just changed her into another pair of undies and pants.  This was her last accident of the day.  After this, she always let me know before she had to go!

So, I like to say that we were able to potty train Lyla in one day.  Of course there were the odd accidents here and there (always when we were visiting at someone's house!).  Before you think that I am some kind of supermom for accomplishing this task in one mere day, just know that the real reason it came so easily is that she was ready.  She had been showing interest in sitting on the potty when I took her into the bathroom with me.  We could tell she was interested, so we gave it a go.  And it worked! 

Now I have a 20 month old boy who might be a whole different story.  He has pooped on the potty a few times because we happened to catch him just before he had to go and sat him down on the potty.  But, he really isn't showing interest.  I think the key is to not push it on them too much...they might resist or get scared if they're not ready.  The important thing to remember is that you never rarely see an adult who isn't potty trained!  We will all get there, moms!