I'll admit it, potty training scares me a little bit! Since Little Miss Sunshine is the first child in our family, the experience is new for all of us. I feel inept at how to teach my little one how to use the potty-- it seems so trivial but it's a lot harder than it looks!
We've had a few failed attempts at potty training so far, but I think she is ready....or at least she's almost there. She hides when she dirties her diaper-- so she definitely knows when she needs to go!
So while I may not feel confident in my abilities to help our little princess transition from diapers to the potty, one thing that I can do is get prepared. We've purchased the cute little panties printed with her favorite cartoon characters, we have two potties (one for home and one for the car), and a removable toilet seat for our upstairs bathroom.
I also put together a portable potty training caddy that we can keep at home and also take with us in the car. I might even make two of these and keep one at home and one in the car so I don't have to worry about forgetting something!
The caddy I used is brightly colored and fun. It has a handle on the top, two wide side-sections, and two mesh pockets on each side. It has lots of space to hold all of the potty training essentials.
I filled the caddy with cleaning supplies for accidents, a couple of reward/incentive items, and Pull-Ups® Cool & Learn® Training Pants for Girls.
I found these at Wal-mart in the baby department near the diapers-- Wal-mart has such a wide selection of baby products and I love that! There are great prices for these products starting as low as $8.97.
Some moms have told me that they never used training pants because the child doesn't feel the sensation of having wet pants since they just soak up the moisture. That's why Pull-Ups® Cool & Learn® Training Pants are the perfect solution-- they have a cooling sensation that helps you potty train. So the child knows when they have wet their pants, but the parents don't have a big mess to clean up!
Kids love the fun cartoon characters printed on them. Little Miss Sunshine was excited when she saw Princess Sofia!
They have all around protection and easy-open sides that can be re-fastened.
They're also clearly marked with a front and back so there's no confusion!
I put about six of these in the potty training caddy and will fill it back up as needed.
The next item I included was a package of flushable wipes. Once diapers are out of the picture, flushable wipes may be the way to go.
I've heard a lot of advice about having some sort of reward system to help with potty training. I created a Potty Training Chart Fit for a Princess to print out. When Little Miss Sunshine saw it, she was excited to see hearts on it! I wanted it to be fun, so I'm glad she liked it! (You can click on the image below and print it)
There's a heart for each day of the week. She will get a sticker for each day that she completes successfully. She LOVES owls, so owl stickers seemed like the perfect fit for her.
I'm not 100% sure how I feel about using food as a reward, but seriously-- we tell the child she can have ice cream if she's good in church and she suddenly knows how to behave. Apparently it works. So, I have a plastic jar of small chewy fruit candy and she can have one each time she successfully goes potty.
And now on to the cleaning supplies. There will inevitably be messes--one way or another, they'll happen. I bought some paper hand towels that are thick and work great for soaking up liquid in case of an accident. Why is it that whenever I take the little one's diaper off for her bath that she inevitably will pee on the floor? Things like this happen-- even with training pants.
Lastly, I included a canister of anti-bacterial cleaning wipes-- for obvious reasons!
Thee portable potty training caddy is light-weight enough that even Little Miss Sunshine can carry it around. She can feel like she's being helpful by carrying this to the car.
Every child is different, especially when it comes to potty training. You can learn more about your child's potty training style based on their personality. There are cute little characters which correspond with each style. You can find more information at the Pull-Ups at Walmart website, if you scroll to the bottom.
Our little one happens to be most like the Squirrel Potty Training Character. She is on the go and couldn't care less about slowing down! She is a busy little girl and can be very impatient. Here is a fun activity to help with potty training for children with this potty training style.
Right now, you can get $2 off 1 package of Pull-Ups (or GoodNites) at Walmart 8/28 - 10/8.
Find out which type potty training character your child is at this link. What tips do you have for potty training? Share in the comments!
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