---

Toilet Training Tips!

Potty book

With Grace, we found the Tony Ross book 'I want my Potty' was a brilliant help! We made Grace a gold cardboard crown, and when she needed the loo we'd get the book, site her on the potty with the crown on, and read the story. It meant she was sitting down for a couple of minutes...so had time to wee or poo and as she had the crown on..felt like a princess! Grace also became an expert at shouting "I want my potty" to let us know she needed to go!
Emma - Mum to Jacob (7) and Grace (3)

Ping-pong practise

I've got 3 boys... and I had to train them to actually wee in the toilet, instead of around the toilet seat or on the floor! I drew a smiley face on a ping pong ball and made a game up where they could score points for aiming their wee at the smiley face and getting it to go under the water! Ping Pong balls are great as they don't flush away, and sit on the top of the water...

Corrina - Mum to Dylan (13), Connor (10) and Gabriel (5)

Potato poo!

One of my friends was teaching her daughter about potty training by role-play with a baby doll.She could show pretend wee with water....but a pretend poo was more difficult..in the end she used a potato in the doll potty as an example!

Lucy - Mum to Rosie (4)

Handy bag

We simply took the potty every where we went - it was in a bag and when we arrived at where we were going, I would get it out and make sure Samson could see it all the time. I'd ask him every regularly if he needed to go. I always had a trowel in my bag too - in case we were out and about with no where to dispose of a poo...at least this way I could just dig a hole and bury it!

Nancy - Mum to Samson (3)

Being consistent is the key!

I found the best way to potty train my Daughter who was 2 and a half was to set aside a week, when my Husband and I were both off work, so we could devote this time entirely to the her - we started on Saturday morning, and took her to the potty every 15 mins. By the time the afternoon came on that day, she was starting to get the idea, and actually used the potty a few times. Over the next few days, we extended the time between each visit and rewarded her with little prizes each time she was successful. She made remarkably quick progress I think becuase were consistent in our approach - so my top tip is, once you feel your child is ready, to be consistent in your approach/method. They will learn eventually!

Neesha - Mum to Layla (3) & Sofiya (2)

Its a Girl Thing!

I found a potty training doll a really useful starting point with my daughter. We've got friends in the States and went to visit them on holiday. They raved about their 'Potty Pee Wee' - it had been fantastic at helping their daughter learn...so I got one on eBay for my children when we got home. It was a good way of introducing the subject in a non-threatening 'play-based' way and we had lots of fun discussing the doll and going to the loo. When then brought the real potty into it Lily wanted to copy what her pee-weely (her name for it!) could do - and it was very easy. However, her twin brother Dominic wasn't interested at ALL in the doll and so I found it was great for a girl, but rubbish for a boy!

Clare - Mum to Lily and Dominic (3)

Stickers! Stickers!

With Peyton I found making a reward chart system worked fantastically well! He loves stickers and so I got some Spiderman ones and Finding Nemo ones - things that he really liked. He soon cottoned on to the fact that if he used the potty or sat on the loo he got a sticker on the chart. It only took a few days and he was trained. We also made a huge fuss of him and praised him loads whenever he did something right.

Sarah - Mum to Peyton (3)

Ship Ahoy!

When I was teaching my eldest son to wee in the toilet, my mum suggested tearing toilet tissue into small pieces and dropping them into the toilet to use as aiming practise. Charlie loved trying to sink his "boats", he couldn't wait to do it again and again! One of my Mum's better suggestions!

Sarah - Mum to Yasmin (9), Charlie (7) and Daniel (2)