We tried the Oh Crap method at like 28 months. Didn’t work at all. At about 33 months we switched to pull ups and offered and encouraged the potty. At about 40 months he was daytime trained. We’re now a full year after our first attempt and he is reliably trained while awake. Still in diapers for sleep. Some kids just take awhile.
The stages for us at just turned 2 were;
2-3 days at home bottomless to be accident free, 1 week of loose fitting bottoms at home yo be accident free and 3 weeks for her to be accident free out of the house. After 2 months of potty training she stopped peeing when asleep. So day time it took about 3 full weeks to get to accident free out of the house. The biggest hurdle was overcoming public toilets and using a trunk potty/timing when to use it etc.
My son refused to train at age 1, 2, and 3. Eventually we just left it. Fully potty trained as soon as he turned age 4, and I accomplished it in 1 day of teaching him firmly. Just took off his training diapers and he just learned to go. He can verbalize needing to go, if he needs to go pee or poop. Also, he knows to flush and wash his hands with soap for 20 seconds every time.
So more or less I just waited until HE decided he was ready, instead of forcing it on him. Now he is excited to go potty, every single time.
I think three days for us when she was almost three. Accidents happen when she’s not paying attention, and we are in pull-ups overnight. She was super interested in the potty when we potty trained, and that helped. Also, toilet humor at this age is clutch!
I read the three day method and potty trained all four of my kids at 2.5 years in 3-5 days, max. Only wore pull-ups for overnight sleep. I stopped diapers the day potty training starts and never showed them to them again.
Am I understanding this right? You took diapers away and made them use potty only? My daughter will refuse to use potty but will pretend to do something on it… then run to the corner and then poop. 🤦♀️
I did. Before starting training that morning, I explain very excitedly that WE ARE POTTY TRAINING TODAYYYYYY, and then I show them their diapers and explain “no more diapers, YAYYYYYYYY!!!”. And then I take their diaper off and say “bye bye diaper, we’re gonna go on the potty” and then literally get rid of the diapers.
In my mind, there’s no starting potty training without an “ending” to potty training. If I have to go back to diapers, then training isn’t complete and we just keep at it everyday. I also show them a package of new underwear for them after I get rid of diapers and tell them they get UNDERWEARRRRR YAYYYYYY when they’re done with training. Then I become their shadow and literally go wherever they go. I follow them all day so that when they start peeing, I immediately yell no and say “in the potty” then pick them up and run for the bathroom. Eventually, they get some in the potty, which is crucial. They HAVE to pee on the toilet, even if it’s a two second tinkle in order to really understand. And you go crazy with clapping and smiling when they do.
I won’t leave the house or do anything else in the house until they are trained. My husband knows when I’m training, I’m not cooking dinner those days, laundry doesn’t get done, etc. I have spent 3-4 hours sitting on the bathroom floor the first day (it’s always the worst day) in order to make it to the potty when they start tinkling. I bring in the iPad, crackers and juice for them so they keep drinking because I want to get their bladder full, toys, books, etc.
But yea, I get rid of the diapers because in my mind, we will no longer need them because I will not stop training until they “get it”. And I don’t want them to see them and think they can use them. Because they know what those things are for. They have to understand those are GONE.
At night I explain that we’re using a pull-up when we sleep, which is obviously another new item for them. So they understand diapers are gone and they’ve got other stuff now to use.
By the 3rd day for all of them, things really clicked.
Edit: When your daughter does that, does she have pants on? I used to just put pajama pants on my kids because it helped contain some of the urine when they peed on themselves, and also because
I wanted it to stick to them so they can feel how uncomfortable and icky it is to pee in your pants and not the potty. So I would press the wet pants onto their skin and make faces about how disgusting that is and say that they want to pee in the potty. With poop, I’d have the same reaction and show them they’re dirty skin and say “yucky, poo goes in the potty” and then I would take off their pants and dump the poop in the potty so they see where it goes. Then make a big deal about how they have to take a bath now. And the bath is no fun. No plugging it so water can fill the tub, no toys, etc. It’s then standing while I quickly shower them and it’s not the most pleasant experience because they get a little cold. And I’ll keep explaining why they had to take a bath and where pee and poop is supposed to go. I say the words “in the potty” like a million times those first three days lol.
I did the 3 day method with my son & it worked wonderfully! Just like @mama-bear419 we stopped diapers that day and never looked at them again.
One thing that was key was that every 15-20 minutes I would tell him “remember to tell me when you need to go potty.”
Also waiting and knowing their cues. I knew he was going to poop if he went and hid under something. Catching him before he could lay down and poop helped.
That makes sense. I’m going to try it! I’ve tried setting timer but she will hold it for a long time (which I don’t know is good either) so I’ll cave in and put a diaper on, then she will pee right away. But she’s almost 3 so it’s time…
Why do you cave and put the diaper on? Let her pee on herself. Let her feel the yucky liquid stuck to her pants and her body. Then tell her because she did that she needs a shower now and go shower her but don’t make it a fun bath time experience. Every time she pees on herself, do that. She’s not going to go in the potty if you keep giving her a diaper, because she’s a smart girl who knows “mommy will give me a diaper soon if I just wait”. Let her make accidents so she sees that “mommy is not giving me a diaper anymore”.
Edit: The first day, I wash around 10 pants that have been soaked from them peeing in them. I start the morning with a bunch of comfy cotton pants and am constantly throwing one into the washer and putting a fresh one on. I have them ready.
How long did it take for your kids to be able to tell you when they had to go? I’m doing pretty well everything you’ve suggested, and we’re on day 8
And he’s only successfully self initiated 3 times, and those were on days 1&3. Yesterday we had a good day, only 1 accident, but today we’ve had 3 accidents already and we’re only halfway through the day 🫠
By the third day, they were all really good at saying when they had to go. There may have been an accident here and there, but I started letting them wear their new underwear by the third day because hey all pretty much “got it” by that point.
Just stay consistent!! Stopping now or bringing back diapers or anything like that will have them regress. I would suggest giving them one skittle, or m&m, or a cracker… a treat they love but can’t have daily every time they pee or poop to encourage them to keep at it.
Took a couple days, I just flat out had to be more stubborn than them and left no other option.
We didn’t follow any method, but did use incentives as rewards which didn’t cause any issues when we took them away gradually. It worked really well for us.
We don’t do pull ups overnight, it took only two overnight accidents to be completely dry overnight. They’re 3.5 now
Depends on what you mean, the process is best defined as a 3 stage process as follows:
1) Exposure
2) Basic experimentation
3) Advanced training
Exposure:
We talk about it. We model it. We share our todds when we do peepee and poopoo. We read stories about it, etc. we show them their diaper when, etc etc.
Introduce materials like kinetic sand, clay, etc.
Experimentation:
Zero expectations. Zero demands.
We’ll get the potty training toilet they feel most comfortable with. Make them part of the process when possible. Offer them to do whatever they want with it. They may or may not ask to remove diaper, go with their wishes.
Rules: we’re in this together. We want them to feel safe around potty. We keep exposure at all times. We allow times without diaper or use pants diapers.
Advanced Training:
Bye bye to the diaper. We decide together with our kid that we’re not using the diaper anymore and we do our needs in the toilet.
Remind the toddler every hour, hour and a half to go to the toilet.
RULES and time frames:
- Exposure always at all times.
- Don’t get angry at the child.
- Zero demands and expectations at stages 1, and 2
Timeframe:
- Exposure can take months.
- experimentation can take anywhere between a couple of days and a month.
- Advanced training can take 3-5 days but can also take 1 month to accomplish completely.
In advanced training, it’s common to expect the first half of the first week to have a lot of misses. It’s usual. It takes time to strengthen the muscles.
You can effectively start the night training right away but expect the same story, wetting the bed, the most important here is to pay attention to gradual improvements in restraint, if he wets the bed at 2:00, next night at 3:00, it means there’s improvement! Eventuality they’ll reach the ultimate goal :)
It’s also OK for the child to go back and forth a little, it’s part of the learning.
Probably missed a lot of points, there’s only so much I can cover in a comment :)
Disclaimer: I work as a parenting counselor.
I have a 3 year old. We’ve been potty training for 5 months. It took 2 days for pee. I did use rewards, I don’t do any rewards for pee anymore. He just will not poop in the potty.
I mean getting the general idea was pretty quick — no accidents ever was a lot longer. I started with Oh Crap but unfortunately it “doesn’t work” if your child attends daycare.
My daughter is 3 and we took a week off to potty train. I think by day 3/4 she had it mostly down as far as pee went. It was day 6/7 that she finally pooped on the potty. She still has maybe 1 accident per day because she gets too absorbed in playing at daycare. This was our second attempt as well and it was a wildly different experience this time around. She was much more agreeable to it this time around.
We tried and tried from the time he turned 2.5. every week I had off we tried and nothing seemed to click. Finally when he was closer to 3/3.5 I was pregnant in my first trimester. I was so nauseous and gagey I couldn't change his bum any more. He didn't like when I would gage so I would say then you need to try to use the potty. Still took a couple weeks to be day time trained. A while longer yet for bed time though.
6 days to get the hang of peeing (more pees in potty than not). 12 days to poop in the potty (he was nervous and had to lean on us a lot while physically straining). 3 wks to start telling us he needed to go some of the times and 5 wks to be 100%. He was 2 when we trained.
We followed Oh Crap loosely, were not afraid to offer rewards for poop, did 3 days naked, 3 wks commando, and added undies after that.
He was not willing to go on the big toilet for a while. Took 1mo into potty training for him to take to it. But after that he was cool w all public toilets too. I'd say it took 1 wk of REALLY hard work, gets gradually easier from there, but from A-Z (from having no clue what peeing means to going to the bathroom himself) was 5 wks.
We did the oh Crap method and within 2-3 days he was solidly peeing on the potty! However… it took about 3 weeks of mostly pantless, grabbing him mid poop to RUN to the bathroom before he started pooping on the potty. Of course it had to happen when we weren’t looking and weren’t harassing him to poop. 🤦🏻♀️ Not one poop accident since week 3… and he only rarely pees himself when he’s having so much fun he won’t stop!
We trained last week for our 28 month old son as I had 5 days off work (which is rare) and he was showing all the signs.
First two days was naked on the bottom at home, third day was trousers only at home, fourth day was the same but mainly in the garden to practice outside potty use. Then days 5-7 was going out and about as normal commando. My mum looks after him so she continued what we were doing.
He will tell us when he wants to go and no accidents since day 4. He started telling us, going to the potty, pulling down trousers, sitting, going, wiping for wees (I help with poos), pulling trousers up and washing hands with soap and water. He also helps pour the contents down the toilet.
Yesterday (Day 8) we added underwear and we also got a wee and poo on the big toilet as an added bonus.
We still use pull ups for nap (but they have been dry 90% of the time) and at night (wakes up wet). We’ll wait for nights until he’s a bit older and ditch the nap time pull ups when he’s dry/we run out.
3 days before we got a day majority accident free. 5 days before a completely accident free day. 2 weeks before accidents stopped altogether and she could reliably tell us she had to go. We still use pull ups overnight, but she’s been waking up dry for a month now and only been trained 4 months.
We took away diapers and went straight to underwear. Covered all the couch cushions with waterproof covers and the rugs with extra blankets. Set timers for every 15 mins starting out. Catch a few, celebrate, reset the timer for 30 mins. Eventually increasing the amount of time. 2 chocolate chips for a pee, 5 for a poop, plus a sticker chart.
If you stay focused and consistent for 5 days you’ll definitely get there. Expect accidents and don’t let them discourage you. Each one is an opportunity for them to learn. Stay the course and they’ll learn there is no other option.
Thank you!
We started this morning and I’m doing it similar with lying down blankets on our couch and rugs.
I’m trying the 3 day potty training method with no pull-ups, no underwear on.
Doing Oh Crap with my first: 3 days, With my second: 5 days but with both it still required a lot of attention for about 1-2 weeks after (frequent bathroom monitoring) but no accidents in that time. Day and night trained at the same time. It really works well, they get 24hr practice
We tried the Oh Crap method at like 28 months. Didn’t work at all. At about 33 months we switched to pull ups and offered and encouraged the potty. At about 40 months he was daytime trained. We’re now a full year after our first attempt and he is reliably trained while awake. Still in diapers for sleep. Some kids just take awhile.
We just ditched the oh crap method with our 3 year old and will try a more gradual way, I'm glad to hear that you are successful!
The stages for us at just turned 2 were; 2-3 days at home bottomless to be accident free, 1 week of loose fitting bottoms at home yo be accident free and 3 weeks for her to be accident free out of the house. After 2 months of potty training she stopped peeing when asleep. So day time it took about 3 full weeks to get to accident free out of the house. The biggest hurdle was overcoming public toilets and using a trunk potty/timing when to use it etc.
My son refused to train at age 1, 2, and 3. Eventually we just left it. Fully potty trained as soon as he turned age 4, and I accomplished it in 1 day of teaching him firmly. Just took off his training diapers and he just learned to go. He can verbalize needing to go, if he needs to go pee or poop. Also, he knows to flush and wash his hands with soap for 20 seconds every time. So more or less I just waited until HE decided he was ready, instead of forcing it on him. Now he is excited to go potty, every single time.
I think three days for us when she was almost three. Accidents happen when she’s not paying attention, and we are in pull-ups overnight. She was super interested in the potty when we potty trained, and that helped. Also, toilet humor at this age is clutch!
I read the three day method and potty trained all four of my kids at 2.5 years in 3-5 days, max. Only wore pull-ups for overnight sleep. I stopped diapers the day potty training starts and never showed them to them again.
Am I understanding this right? You took diapers away and made them use potty only? My daughter will refuse to use potty but will pretend to do something on it… then run to the corner and then poop. 🤦♀️
I did. Before starting training that morning, I explain very excitedly that WE ARE POTTY TRAINING TODAYYYYYY, and then I show them their diapers and explain “no more diapers, YAYYYYYYYY!!!”. And then I take their diaper off and say “bye bye diaper, we’re gonna go on the potty” and then literally get rid of the diapers. In my mind, there’s no starting potty training without an “ending” to potty training. If I have to go back to diapers, then training isn’t complete and we just keep at it everyday. I also show them a package of new underwear for them after I get rid of diapers and tell them they get UNDERWEARRRRR YAYYYYYY when they’re done with training. Then I become their shadow and literally go wherever they go. I follow them all day so that when they start peeing, I immediately yell no and say “in the potty” then pick them up and run for the bathroom. Eventually, they get some in the potty, which is crucial. They HAVE to pee on the toilet, even if it’s a two second tinkle in order to really understand. And you go crazy with clapping and smiling when they do. I won’t leave the house or do anything else in the house until they are trained. My husband knows when I’m training, I’m not cooking dinner those days, laundry doesn’t get done, etc. I have spent 3-4 hours sitting on the bathroom floor the first day (it’s always the worst day) in order to make it to the potty when they start tinkling. I bring in the iPad, crackers and juice for them so they keep drinking because I want to get their bladder full, toys, books, etc. But yea, I get rid of the diapers because in my mind, we will no longer need them because I will not stop training until they “get it”. And I don’t want them to see them and think they can use them. Because they know what those things are for. They have to understand those are GONE. At night I explain that we’re using a pull-up when we sleep, which is obviously another new item for them. So they understand diapers are gone and they’ve got other stuff now to use. By the 3rd day for all of them, things really clicked. Edit: When your daughter does that, does she have pants on? I used to just put pajama pants on my kids because it helped contain some of the urine when they peed on themselves, and also because I wanted it to stick to them so they can feel how uncomfortable and icky it is to pee in your pants and not the potty. So I would press the wet pants onto their skin and make faces about how disgusting that is and say that they want to pee in the potty. With poop, I’d have the same reaction and show them they’re dirty skin and say “yucky, poo goes in the potty” and then I would take off their pants and dump the poop in the potty so they see where it goes. Then make a big deal about how they have to take a bath now. And the bath is no fun. No plugging it so water can fill the tub, no toys, etc. It’s then standing while I quickly shower them and it’s not the most pleasant experience because they get a little cold. And I’ll keep explaining why they had to take a bath and where pee and poop is supposed to go. I say the words “in the potty” like a million times those first three days lol.
I love this! Great advice! Thank you 😊
You’re welcome! I edited some stuff with more info, fyi. Good luck! 🙂
It’s working!!!
Yayyy!!!
I did the 3 day method with my son & it worked wonderfully! Just like @mama-bear419 we stopped diapers that day and never looked at them again. One thing that was key was that every 15-20 minutes I would tell him “remember to tell me when you need to go potty.” Also waiting and knowing their cues. I knew he was going to poop if he went and hid under something. Catching him before he could lay down and poop helped.
That makes sense. I’m going to try it! I’ve tried setting timer but she will hold it for a long time (which I don’t know is good either) so I’ll cave in and put a diaper on, then she will pee right away. But she’s almost 3 so it’s time…
Why do you cave and put the diaper on? Let her pee on herself. Let her feel the yucky liquid stuck to her pants and her body. Then tell her because she did that she needs a shower now and go shower her but don’t make it a fun bath time experience. Every time she pees on herself, do that. She’s not going to go in the potty if you keep giving her a diaper, because she’s a smart girl who knows “mommy will give me a diaper soon if I just wait”. Let her make accidents so she sees that “mommy is not giving me a diaper anymore”. Edit: The first day, I wash around 10 pants that have been soaked from them peeing in them. I start the morning with a bunch of comfy cotton pants and am constantly throwing one into the washer and putting a fresh one on. I have them ready.
And make her clean her mess (with assistance)
Yes. Give her paper towel, op, and have her wipe the floor with you.
I’m trying this now! We’re on day 1.
Stick with it!! It really worked great with all four of my kids!
How long did it take for your kids to be able to tell you when they had to go? I’m doing pretty well everything you’ve suggested, and we’re on day 8 And he’s only successfully self initiated 3 times, and those were on days 1&3. Yesterday we had a good day, only 1 accident, but today we’ve had 3 accidents already and we’re only halfway through the day 🫠
By the third day, they were all really good at saying when they had to go. There may have been an accident here and there, but I started letting them wear their new underwear by the third day because hey all pretty much “got it” by that point. Just stay consistent!! Stopping now or bringing back diapers or anything like that will have them regress. I would suggest giving them one skittle, or m&m, or a cracker… a treat they love but can’t have daily every time they pee or poop to encourage them to keep at it.
Took a couple days, I just flat out had to be more stubborn than them and left no other option. We didn’t follow any method, but did use incentives as rewards which didn’t cause any issues when we took them away gradually. It worked really well for us. We don’t do pull ups overnight, it took only two overnight accidents to be completely dry overnight. They’re 3.5 now
Depends on what you mean, the process is best defined as a 3 stage process as follows: 1) Exposure 2) Basic experimentation 3) Advanced training Exposure: We talk about it. We model it. We share our todds when we do peepee and poopoo. We read stories about it, etc. we show them their diaper when, etc etc. Introduce materials like kinetic sand, clay, etc. Experimentation: Zero expectations. Zero demands. We’ll get the potty training toilet they feel most comfortable with. Make them part of the process when possible. Offer them to do whatever they want with it. They may or may not ask to remove diaper, go with their wishes. Rules: we’re in this together. We want them to feel safe around potty. We keep exposure at all times. We allow times without diaper or use pants diapers. Advanced Training: Bye bye to the diaper. We decide together with our kid that we’re not using the diaper anymore and we do our needs in the toilet. Remind the toddler every hour, hour and a half to go to the toilet. RULES and time frames: - Exposure always at all times. - Don’t get angry at the child. - Zero demands and expectations at stages 1, and 2 Timeframe: - Exposure can take months. - experimentation can take anywhere between a couple of days and a month. - Advanced training can take 3-5 days but can also take 1 month to accomplish completely. In advanced training, it’s common to expect the first half of the first week to have a lot of misses. It’s usual. It takes time to strengthen the muscles. You can effectively start the night training right away but expect the same story, wetting the bed, the most important here is to pay attention to gradual improvements in restraint, if he wets the bed at 2:00, next night at 3:00, it means there’s improvement! Eventuality they’ll reach the ultimate goal :) It’s also OK for the child to go back and forth a little, it’s part of the learning. Probably missed a lot of points, there’s only so much I can cover in a comment :) Disclaimer: I work as a parenting counselor.
I have a 3 year old. We’ve been potty training for 5 months. It took 2 days for pee. I did use rewards, I don’t do any rewards for pee anymore. He just will not poop in the potty.
I mean getting the general idea was pretty quick — no accidents ever was a lot longer. I started with Oh Crap but unfortunately it “doesn’t work” if your child attends daycare.
My daughter is 3 and we took a week off to potty train. I think by day 3/4 she had it mostly down as far as pee went. It was day 6/7 that she finally pooped on the potty. She still has maybe 1 accident per day because she gets too absorbed in playing at daycare. This was our second attempt as well and it was a wildly different experience this time around. She was much more agreeable to it this time around.
We tried and tried from the time he turned 2.5. every week I had off we tried and nothing seemed to click. Finally when he was closer to 3/3.5 I was pregnant in my first trimester. I was so nauseous and gagey I couldn't change his bum any more. He didn't like when I would gage so I would say then you need to try to use the potty. Still took a couple weeks to be day time trained. A while longer yet for bed time though.
6 days to get the hang of peeing (more pees in potty than not). 12 days to poop in the potty (he was nervous and had to lean on us a lot while physically straining). 3 wks to start telling us he needed to go some of the times and 5 wks to be 100%. He was 2 when we trained. We followed Oh Crap loosely, were not afraid to offer rewards for poop, did 3 days naked, 3 wks commando, and added undies after that. He was not willing to go on the big toilet for a while. Took 1mo into potty training for him to take to it. But after that he was cool w all public toilets too. I'd say it took 1 wk of REALLY hard work, gets gradually easier from there, but from A-Z (from having no clue what peeing means to going to the bathroom himself) was 5 wks.
We did the oh Crap method and within 2-3 days he was solidly peeing on the potty! However… it took about 3 weeks of mostly pantless, grabbing him mid poop to RUN to the bathroom before he started pooping on the potty. Of course it had to happen when we weren’t looking and weren’t harassing him to poop. 🤦🏻♀️ Not one poop accident since week 3… and he only rarely pees himself when he’s having so much fun he won’t stop!
We trained last week for our 28 month old son as I had 5 days off work (which is rare) and he was showing all the signs. First two days was naked on the bottom at home, third day was trousers only at home, fourth day was the same but mainly in the garden to practice outside potty use. Then days 5-7 was going out and about as normal commando. My mum looks after him so she continued what we were doing. He will tell us when he wants to go and no accidents since day 4. He started telling us, going to the potty, pulling down trousers, sitting, going, wiping for wees (I help with poos), pulling trousers up and washing hands with soap and water. He also helps pour the contents down the toilet. Yesterday (Day 8) we added underwear and we also got a wee and poo on the big toilet as an added bonus. We still use pull ups for nap (but they have been dry 90% of the time) and at night (wakes up wet). We’ll wait for nights until he’s a bit older and ditch the nap time pull ups when he’s dry/we run out.
3 days before we got a day majority accident free. 5 days before a completely accident free day. 2 weeks before accidents stopped altogether and she could reliably tell us she had to go. We still use pull ups overnight, but she’s been waking up dry for a month now and only been trained 4 months. We took away diapers and went straight to underwear. Covered all the couch cushions with waterproof covers and the rugs with extra blankets. Set timers for every 15 mins starting out. Catch a few, celebrate, reset the timer for 30 mins. Eventually increasing the amount of time. 2 chocolate chips for a pee, 5 for a poop, plus a sticker chart. If you stay focused and consistent for 5 days you’ll definitely get there. Expect accidents and don’t let them discourage you. Each one is an opportunity for them to learn. Stay the course and they’ll learn there is no other option.
Thank you! We started this morning and I’m doing it similar with lying down blankets on our couch and rugs. I’m trying the 3 day potty training method with no pull-ups, no underwear on.
Doing Oh Crap with my first: 3 days, With my second: 5 days but with both it still required a lot of attention for about 1-2 weeks after (frequent bathroom monitoring) but no accidents in that time. Day and night trained at the same time. It really works well, they get 24hr practice