I Do Not Give Potty Training Advice

My son yelled from outside the bathroom, “Whose poop is this?” Whose poop? Why was this an issue needing clarification? We even have a dog! Shouldn’t she get the blame by default? One aspect of parenting where I do not offer my thoughts is when asked about potty training advice. I just do not give out potty training advice, and I am okay with being a mom that struggled with potty training my children. I can however encourage you. Potty training is a tough time in the toddler and preschool years. There is an obsession with potty training earlier and earlier. If your kid is a potty training whiz (no pun intended), embrace it! If not, keep reading.

We have potty issues in this house.

Potty training should be a simple process. It messed with my mom-confidence.

Potty training toilet seat in regular sized toilet with text overlay that read on the blog why I do not give potty training advice.

A little humor and a lot of grace as I stumble through potty training my children. It is not my best parenting skill!

Why I Don’t Give Potty Training Advice

Potty training has been difficult. I sometimes think that my husband and I are not qualified to teach our children how to use the potty. (I promise we know how to use it, just not how to teach it very well!)

I figured that potty training was going to be my parenting Achilles heel when I spent some time working in a two year old room at a daycare center before I was a mom.

We have tried everything. I assumed, when I began my parenting journey, that I had three years until I had to concern myself with teaching a child how to use the potty. Then I hung out with a few moms who started talking about potty training their children when the kids were two years old. That was when I got competitive. Yep, if their sons were trying to use the toilet then it must be my fault that my child did not know how to, well, go in the potty.

Doesn’t this sound like a path to disaster? As soon as I set up a goal for my child that is based on another child, a tragedy is about to occur. Potty training advice is a tricky topic.

The truth was, my child would develop at their own pace. It was not a competition. There was no award being given out for which mom potty trained her child first. (And, FYI, there are no awards for moms. The reward we get is building a relationship with our children.)

So it was all silly for me to get wrapped up in the struggle. I created it myself. It added stress to my life and put stress on my child that was not appropriate.

Gathering helpful tips and tools about potty training is helpful. This Elmo potty training chart free printable is one way to equip your child for potty training success. I am happy to laugh through the troubles of potty training and share what I learned along the way. (P.S.- They all learned how to go. LOL!)

If your child struggles with bedwetting, you can read this article that talks about how to deal with bedwetting.

This post is featured in A Complete Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms: Parenting Tips. To view all of the great articles included, here.

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