5 Potty Training Must Haves {Tips & Tricks}

Three weeks ago my son was getting ready for the day and decided to take his night-time pull up off. Instead of reaching for a new pull up to put on for the day, he wanted to hang out naked. What can I tell you? My kids like to be naked.

Well... all of a sudden, 5 minutes later he comes running to me telling me he has to go potty. So we go to the bathroom and he pees on the potty. Whoa... that's awesome!

Since our potty training regression a year ago the only effort I've made in the potty training department is to make sure my son knew he had to be potty trained before he could go to preschool (a requirement of the school we were looking at sending him to). I left everything else up to him.

After the first successful pee we had a few more. Followed by an accident outside in the grass. This continued throughout the day and into the next three days. There was an accident here or there but nothing major. And usually the accidents occurred when he was in his underwear. So we left the underwear off unless we were going out and just followed his cues.

In no time he was running to the potty alone, pulling down his pants, and going. And after 2 weeks he decided it was time to go potty standing up. So now he goes like a big boy on his own, with only a little help from mom or dad.

If I knew potty training was this easy I wouldn't have attempted to do it when he was 2! Here are my must haves for potty training success:

5 Potty Training Must Haves

Small Portable Potty

A small potty is a must for any potty training household. Not only is it convenient to move throughout the house as needed, you can even throw it in the back of your car for much needed potty breaks on the go. Going camping? Or taking a road trip? Avoid icky public restrooms by bringing along your Joovy Loo!

We keep ours in the bathroom and take it with us when we're going places we know wont have restrooms (or if the restrooms or dirty or hard to find) like the beach and park. I've found that my daughter is now starting to show an interest in using the potty so we'll be keeping this around for a while until she feels comfortable on the big potty.

My son also loves his Mommy's Helper potty seat that we got from Amazon.com. It stays on the side of our toilet and he pulls it out whenever he's going to be in the restroom for a while...

Potty Cover
For those times when you're forced to use public restrooms, make sure you have your Potty Cover with you! They're individually packaged for on-the-go ease and fit nicely in a diaper bag or purse. Plus, with children who like to touch EVERYTHING, these will keep your kids clean and sanitary.

Covers the whole potty, not just the top...

I've found these to be helpful when we're at a park or another location where seat covers aren't easily accessible. And they're great for wet bottoms because they won't fall apart or rip on you (ever get out of the pool or ocean and try to use the restroom? Not fun!). 

Compostable Disinfectant Wipes

My little one is still figuring out aim. With that there are a lot of potty clean ups at home and on the go. We had quite a fun time at Disneyland recently and he managed to get the wall covered in urine. Too bad they don't make these in to-go wipes too!

Since these GreenWorks compostable cleaning wipes can be easily stored in the bathroom cabinet or close to the toilet, and they're 99% plant derived, I feel safe using these around my kids. They do a great job cleaning out the little potty too!

Super Undies

Instead of sticking with Pull Ups for night time use we've made the switch to cloth trainers for night time and our choice has been Super Undies. They look and feel just like regular underwear but have a bit of absorbency for small accidents. You can also use the doubler included to maximize the absorbency if you have a heavy night wetter.

Luckily it only took our son 4 nights to realize he had to "hold it in" until he got ot the toilet and now wakes up and goes to the restroom instead of relieving himself in his (or our) bed. But he still likes his Super Undies so we use them just in case.

And last but not least...

Rewards! 

We are currently using gummy worms or M&Ms as a pee-pee on the potty reward and DumDums as a poo-poo on the potty reward. And you know what? My kid loves his rewards. He is constantly telling friends and family that he goes pee-pee on the potty so he can get his worm.

And since we've promised him a LEGO dinosaur when he goes a whole week without accidents, we'll be heading out to purchase said $50 toy on Saturday. Yup, that's right folks, when you promise a reward you'd better be ready to pay up. Because your kid WONT let you forget.

Has your child began potty training/learning? Have any tips you'd like to share?

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com and other companies. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.