Do you struggle with how to potty train your child or does a child you work with have a toileting goal? I mean let’s be real, toileting is hard. In this post, we will be talking about tips and advice focusing on how to potty train a child. Some wonder where to even start with how to potty train, but I got you!
Potty training can be done easily
I know I have had kids in both my classroom and my own personal kiddo that have implemented these “how to potty train” steps. Let me let you in on a little secret though, visuals are key here.
Visuals are key
Have visuals like a poster showing the steps in addition to modeling yourself will help kids conceptualize what is expected of them. The potty chart will help them see their successes. These are visuals I use at home and school, and they can help you with how to potty train kids.
First things first though… where to start.
Let’s start with some potty training basics first. Kids need to be able to do the following:
- Able to stay dry for two hours
- Pull clothes up and down
- Have a toileting pattern
- Can walk to the bathroom
- Follow one-step directions
Core Vocabulary to introduce
Kids need to become familiar with the bathroom. Knowing the bathroom vocabulary will help too. Words like:
- Toilet,
- Potty,
- toilet paper,
- flush,
- soap,
- sink,
- seat.
Things to add to your shopping cart:
Some items you may need to get started may include:
A stool (Aff link)
Potty Chair (Aff link)
LOTS of underwear
Potty books such as “P is for Potty”, “Potty” or “Potty Superhero” (Aff links)
Prizes for voiding into the toileting
Potty Chart
Cleaning Supplies (because messes will happen) (Aff link)
Timer (Aff link)
Preferred toys
Get ready to spend lots of time with the kid over the course of 2-3 days. Start first thing in the morning. Set the kid on the toilet for 2 minutes (set timer). Let them read a book or play with a preferred toy on the toilet. The goal is for them to enjoy sitting on the toilet not hate it. Do this every hour. Document what happened. If they void in the toilet, exaggerate your excitement and immediately reward them. If during the hour, the child begins to void, immediately take them to the toilet to finish.
Stay Positive and Encourage Often. Use short phrases such as:
- Let’s go potty
- Time to go potty
- Great job going potty
- Let’s Flush Now
gather visual resources:
This is a jam-packed product with toileting resources to help you successfully train kids to go potty. No matter if you are a parent, preschool teacher, or special education teacher, these tools can help you demonstrate the steps. These activities are perfect time savers to print on the go.
If you need a freebie of a toileting chart check, click here!
I know you can do it! I am cheering for you!
P.S. Want to be a master of collecting data for this toileting goal and any other goal? You don’t miss this workbook.
16 Comments
DEFINITELY bookmarking this post for when I have my own kiddos to potty train! So many great tools for moms and teachers for a topic that can be hard to navigate. Great post!
This is such good information for students with toileting goals and peoples’ own personal children. Do you find that you usually have success within a few days, or does it generally take longer before the child is fully trained? I’ll have to keep this in mind for my own kids!
Hey Laura,
Typically, it takes longer than a few days especially if we are talking about kids in a school setting but if that’s all you work on for a few select days in a row it definitely lays the foundation for success!
These resources will certainly come in handy with my son. He’s only a month old, but with how fast time is flying by that moment will be here before I know it. Tracking his food has been super helpful for my wife and I, so I’m sure tracking his training will benefit us as well. You mentioned rewards, what type of rewards do you like to use best?
It will be here before you know. It seems like just yesterday we were in the newborn phase. Enjoy every single phase! As far as rewards go, find items that the kid will LOVE with a low price point. It might be small cars for the dollar store, bath boys, etc
These are such great tips! Every child is different, so having something like this in the toolbox would definitely be beneficial.
Exactly! Differentiation to help meet their individual needs!
I wish I had read this before potty-training my youngest (now 4). It took months!! These steps are easy and clear and would have made a big difference! Definitely keeping this info for the next one!
Awesome, visuals help keep it simple and enjoyable!
This is perfect for helping kids learn! It is also a perfect resource for parents that have had trouble training children in my K class. So happy for this resource.
So glad you found the resource helpful!
I wish I had these tips when I was trying to potty train my little fella. Wonderful tips.
Potty training can be so challenging. I’m so glad you enjoy the post!
Definitely makes a lot of sense! We use visuals all the time to teach new skills in the classroom, so it is very logical that it would be effective for learning a new skill like potty training. Great tips!
I love the visuals and structure you’ve created for what’s usually a messy experience lol! Your resources will be wonderful when I have kids of my own 🙂
I wish I had these visuals when I was potty training my kids! These are all great tips to help parents and teachers!
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