Want amazing potty training tips? Sorry, you won’t find them here!

When you have 3 kids, by the 3rd kid, people assume you pretty much have this parenting thing nailed! Things should be more relaxed…I should be a pro at just about everything kid related. Feeding, sleeping….potty training……We’re a professional kid raising household right? WRONG! Potty training….potty training…wherefore art though potty training….  It’s actually become 2 bad words in our house. I have even begged Joshua to try to potty train Adam at this stage. At first he was really not about that life…but eventually he relented and went with: okay I’ll potty train him! He hasn’t made good on it though…..

Listen, we thought we’d have potty training waxed ourselves….why? Let’s go through the evolution, as I do….

First child:

Addison was quite strong-willed as a baby and she was pretty damn intelligent. Too intelligent. Friends nicknamed her ‘Genius Addy‘. By the time this kid was 7m old, I felt that she could move out and go to college. She didn’t seem like she even needed us. She spoke early, crawled early, walked early….she was doing 150 piece puzzles at age 3. Side note: Genuis baby does NOT equal genius child….. #JustSaying She may have peaked too early and decided to take a break from the genius thing once she started primary school! 

We started potty training Addison around 18m, because she seemed ready. One day she lost her shit and didn’t want to get back on the potty, so we left her until she was about 21 months old. By the time she was 2 she was in panties during the day and 2 months after she turned 2 she was off her night-time nappy. People praised her (and me by default), because it was amazing…she was the kid everybody wanted to potty train their kids.

Second child:

Joshua was a really passive baby…calm, sweet. Also chubby…he was so freakin chubby….now there is no trace of chubby 🙁

Everybody says, boys are slower….they crawl and walk later…they’re ‘lazy’. Urgh…grates my carrot, but I went with it and just never expected anything from Joshua. He shocked us though, because he started walking at 8 months. He was this tiny mobile kid. It was so weird to see a child so small walking! Joshua didn’t talk though. Ever. He was so mute, but with the amount of talking Addison did for both of them, I welcomed the silence. I assumed due to not talking, he wouldn’t be able to potty train and we assumed he’d be in diapers until 3…because…boys are lazy! Right?

A month after he turned 2, something happened….he was potty trained during the day and night within 2 weeks. Boys are slow and lazy…my ass! He only spoke later though, close to 3, but today he has such an amazing vocabulary, so I always say he was just taking all the words in, before he decided to speak.

Third child:

So along comes Adam. Sweet baby…sleeps 13hrs a night. I had made it in life…. He crawled at a good time, walked at 9 months…things were going well. He was on track with upholding the good name of our family…right? Things were looking good! He seemed very aware of the urine and poop situation, so before he turned 2 we started potty training. He’d wee in the garden. He’d wear underpants. I think he maybe pooped once on the toilet, but by 2 and 2 months, I realised he had no plans to maintain the standards that his siblings had set. This kid was on his own timeline, despite him tricking us into thinking he was headed for a nappy free life.

He started school in Jaunary and it got even worse. This kid….wants NOTHING to do with an underpants now. If we put an underpants on him, he will wait until you leave the room, find a nappy, put it on and redress himself. He will be THREE in August…. He is 2 years and 9 months old. Basically grown up poop in mini human format….in a nappy. It’s disgusting.

I have some tips for you.

I know..firstly I lied (because I have tips) and secondly, how can I have tips when I’ve failed so miserably at potty training this child? Well, I guess these tips are for the frustrated mom, who wonders if their child will celebrate his/her 21st in nappies. I assure you…they won’t! Maybe their 10th….but not their 21st.

Patience and a stress free potty training zone

As you can see, each child is really different. In my experience, forcing a child to potty train will only cause more anxiety and rebellion. So never make it a stressful or forceful situation! You will get stressed, kid will get stressed…that’s never a good combination.

Try, try, try again

If you think your child is curious, keep coaxing. Ask if they want to go to the loo every time it crosses your mind. They may just turn a corner when you least expect it.

Make it fun if you can

We received this super cool frog urinal from 4AKid and I can tell you that this frog is the answer to our potty training dreams when it comes to urinating. Adam was very excited when we received this and every time he does wee, he drags us by the hand to the frog. It’s really easy to use and clean, in that we can lift the ‘urine collecting tray’ (the light green part) off the wall, empty it into the toilet, rinse and put it back. It just clicks back into the dark green ‘holder’.

Also there’s a little orange windmill for him to aim for, that turns if he hits the target, to just add that additional element of fun.  If you’re a boy mama, definitely check this one out over here. If you’re a girl mama, there are also some other potty training aids on the website, so definitely go check the site out!

Praise goes a long way

A high-five, a star on a reward system…50 bucks (I mean once he reaches 10 and he’s still in nappies…I may need to up the reward system)…whatever works. I remember Joshua loved high fives…which kid doesn’t? We’d literally tell the whole house to high-five him like he’d just scored the winning touch down for Bafana Bafana. Yes….touchdown….whatever. My blog, I can make up my own sports nonsense.

As we approach Adam’s 3rd birthday…..I really hope that we will be a potty training success story soon, but if not…..mama will just need to be patient. As long as dad keeps changing those vile poop nappies, I can be patient. There is no rush, as rushed as I sound….we’re waiting until Adam decides he is ready. After all…he is the #BossBaby of our home. If the boss wants to stay in diapers…the boss will stay in diapers 😉

Hit me up with your best tips, especially if your kid was also a difficult one to potty train!

Thank you 4AKid for sending over the frog urinal! As always, when a product is sent to me, I choose if I want to review it or include it in a post. All opinions are my own.