Potty training has got to be the least fun activity that a parent and 3 year old can work on together. With my older son, potty training was extremely stressful and lasted much longer than 3 days. With my younger son, Seth, the experience was much easier than I anticipated and actually enjoyable for both of us. I didn’t begin potty training Seth until he was almost 3, so he knew all about the potty at that point and was giving me many signals that he was ready to take the plunge for himself. Some of these signals can be not wetting overnight in his diaper and letting your know when she/he has a wet diaper.

The process was very informal, I didn’t specifically set aside a weekend a set of days, I just bought a new pack of underwear for him in the store that he of course picked out himself and decided to go home and try them on. I let him wear the underwear for a few hours and he repeatedly had accidents that first day and then each time, I told him to let me know when he needed to go to the bathroom. By the second day he was very into the fun and went to the bathroom numerous times, but each time he didn’t actually “use” the potty he just sat there and smiled.  That night, I put Pull-Ups on him and reminded him that he needed to let me know when he had to use the bathroom.

By day three, Seth understood why he was wearing underpants and also when to let me know that he had to use the bathroom. He started to pee into the potty and used the bathroom frequently on that third day. I was so surprised by his progress on that day, that I decided to reward him with a special snack. We face-timed family and friends to let them know he was very pleased with himself.

Here are my tips for 3 day potty training success:

#1 Only start potty training when your child is showing interest in using the restroom, otherwise he/she isn’t ready, and the training will be super frustrating for you both

#2 Be patient, the pee may not hit to pot for a few hours or 2 days in my case, but it doesn’t mean the potty training isn’t working

#3 Celebrate success, you can reward your child with new underpants that she/he picks out or a special snack, I did both because he and I both deserved it

Hope these tips help you and your child enjoy your potty training experience. Comment below, I’d love to hear about your experience.