9 Genius Potty-Training Tricks From Parents Who Have 'Been There, Done That'

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Whether you're trying to prepare a child for preschool or are just plain tired of changing diapers, reaching the toilet training milestone is huge for any parent. It's important not to fret over the average age for potty-training, especially with boys, who tend to train a little later than girls. Still, we all want to get the job done as quickly and with as little stress and mess as possible. We've all heard the standard advice: wait for the signs of readiness, be patient, and never shame or scold a child for accidents. But the real experts — parents themselves — can offer some advice you might not have considered.

Parent chat groups can be a great source of inspiration and support in cases like this, and often you'll encounter some ideas you hadn't even thought of, particularly where toilet training is concerned. Here are some of the best tips we've seen that go beyond "They'll do it when they're ready." If you're in the process of training or anticipating that happy time, these suggestions could be just what you need.

Redditors recommend a multiple-toilet approach, with one user stating, "We bought three potty chairs for our house, and a travel potty for the car/backpack. All are different. I think it let her have some choice and control in the matter. And it was easy to always keep a potty in the room we were in." Having their child participate in the disposal helped, too: "She was pretty proud to dump her potty in the big toilet, so that was the reward."

Parents on Reddit swear by potty training expert Jamie Glowacki and her "Oh Crap! Potty Training" guide. "We just started last week and it's definitely gone better than I anticipated," one Redditor said. One of the book's key recommendations is letting children go totally "commando" during the day — without pull-ups or underwear — and popping them on the toilet at regular intervals or when they show signs of needing to go. (Using pull-ups at night is fine.) When your child starts going in the potty regularly, you can put them in underpants. 

Making the potty process fun can help reduce the anxiety for you and your child. One parent on Facebook plays a game with their child at bathroom time: They pretend the poop is a "rocket" on its way to the planets, and do a "10, 9, 8 ..." countdown to get the launch started. "Honestly, this has worked the best for us," they said. Other parents find that watching the potty-training episodes of kids' shows, like "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood," "The Wiggles," and "Sesame Street," help to get the point across.

Children are often reluctant to poop in the toilet even after they're trained for urinating. They may be anxious about the sensation or afraid of the pain if they're constipated. On a Facebook parenting group, one mom suggested a clever hack: "I cut holes in his [diapers] and made him sit on the potty," she explained. "After 3 days he was good to go." This gives a child the comfort of wearing the pull-up around their waist while still doing the job.

It can take a while for a child to get used to the sensation of peeing in the proper place. One parent shared advice they got from fellow parents online: "LOAD UP the kiddo on beverages as much as possible, so that they actually will need to pee nearly every time you take them to the potty." They went on to explain that they struggled because they were sitting their child on the toilet when they didn't need to go. "A full bladder increases the chances of success." 

Even when a child feels the need to go, it can be difficult for them to perform once they're on the potty. The motion of breathing out helps to relax the pelvic floor muscles and let the waste come out naturally. Try blowing bubbles or making a pinwheel spin. One mom on Facebook suggests giving your child "something new [or] novel that they may be interested in after she's on the toilet," such as these sensory wands that vibrate and light up. "[B]ut fidget toys may work too."

Children who have the hang of using the potty chair at home may still have trouble in public restrooms. Ones that have toilets with motion sensors can be frightening for a child when they go off unexpectedly. One commenter on Reddit suggested: "[A]utomatic toilets in public tend to flush when they're on them.... So put something in front of the sensor so that they aren't traumatized by a loud flush mid-stream."

After weeks of frustrating trial and error, one of my kids actually told me, "I'll go potty when I'm 4." Realizing they might know their own body best, I backed off and let them set the pace. Sure enough, within days after their 4th birthday, they started using the toilet as if they'd done it forever. If your child sets a specific time frame for giving up diapers, honor it. You can suggest going to the bathroom when you notice the telltale squirm, but don't turn it into a power struggle.

Kids love celebrating special occasions, and being toilet-trained is certainly something to celebrate. When your child is far enough along in their training, arrange a goodbye lunch or an outing to honor their step up to underwear. "We had a little ceremony where we said goodbye to all [my child's] diapers. He does sleep in a pull-up for naps and at nighttime, but we call it his 'sleepy underwear,'" one Redditor said.