We toilet trained Noah just before he turned 2, and it definitely wasn't easy. He'll still occasionally have accidents, but he has done really well and is able to completely go to the potty himself now, although he will try to make you help him pull his trousers up or down if they're tricky. So I thought I'd share my top tips and essentials to potty training, as let's face it, it's something every parent has to battle through.
1. Take your child's lead, don't go for whatever age you think they 'should' be out of nappies. If your child can tell you when they've soiled their nappy, you're at a good place. Noah was even stopping dead and looking down when he was having a wee, so we knew he was aware and therefore began he process just before his second birthday.
2. Stay at home. Venturing outside is a whole other ball game when you're potty training, and for a good couple of weeks we only ventured to simple places where I knew there was toilets & how to get to them fast. I've never brought a portable potty, as I don't fancy letting him go in the middle of Asda on one. I just ensure that Noah goes when we arrive and before we leave somewhere no matter what. He's also learned 'hold fire' pretty damn quickly haha.
3. Disposable change mats will protect your car seat. As you can see above, we use pampers which are usually a pack of 12 for around £3/£4. A complete bargain to save you constantly needing to wash your car seat constantly. It also helps if Noah did have an accident driving somewhere, I can change the mat and he isn't sat in a wet car seat driving home. I simply pop one under his bottom and off we go.
4. Spares, spares, spares. I literally have underpants coming out of my ears. I always make sure I have a change of bottoms for him, and socks as its unbelievable how much that boy can wee sometimes. Not even just for accidents, but for times when he hasn't pulled his trousers down enough and caught them too.
5. Sanitsing spray, I use this Vital Baby Aquaint spray which is perfect, for both me and Noah. Especially for those times when he has had to go in a bush in the park, there aren't any sinks around so we just give his hands a couple of sprays and he is good to go. It's alcohol free and completely safe for children.
6. Treats! Remember to give a lot of positive encouragement, it's completely foreign to them and they can lose interest pretty quickly. We used these little Kiddilicious healthy snacks for Noah. He ravishes them, but I know they're not rotting his teeth at the same time so we both win. Plus the little packs are compact enough to just shove in your bag on the go.
Do you have any tips from your little ones potty training?
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