How to Potty Train Your Spirited Toddler in Four(ish) Days: Strategies and Tips from Potty Boot Camp

Back in April Papito’s preschool told us that he needs to be potty-trained by September, when he moves to the “big kids” class upstairs. So I leisurely started putting him on the potty now and then, decorated a jar of M&Ms as a “potty prize,” and bought him a couple of books about using the potty. I figured once he got used to sitting on the potty, the rest would work itself out, right? Yeah, not so much.

By the end of June, it hit me: summer was slipping by, and there was no end to diapers in sight. I started to realize that there’s a reason they call it “training”—you have to work at it. Especially with a very stubborn little boy like mine, who had zero interest in the potty and absolutely no reservations about sitting in a dirty diaper all day if it meant uninterrupted playtime.

A friend (and veteran mommy of three) told me about her modified version of the Three-Day Potty Training Method, and I was intrigued. The basic principle involves quitting diapers cold turkey, holing up at home, and concentrating on nothing but the potty for three days straight. You throw away all the diapers, don’t leave the house, and sit your baby on the potty every 15 minutes, gradually expanding to every 20 minutes, then every 30 minutes, and so on, carefully monitoring for potential accidents in between. As a first-time parent and working mommy, the appeal of being “done” with potty training after a “boot camp” weekend was very, very appealing. So we took the plunge. Here’s how we did and what we learned:

Potty Training Boot Camp Strategy

I had three solid days the weekend of July 4 because of the holiday, so we started that Friday. As soon as Papito woke up in the morning, we made a big fuss over him and announced, with giddy excitement, that it was “Potty Day” and he was now a “big boy” who didn’t have to wear diapers anymore. Then my husband ceremoniously presented him with a large pack of superhero underwear. He ate it up. That boy ripped off his diaper in the blink of an eye—he could not get into his first pair of “big boy” underwear fast enough. Then we called Popo and Pita (the grandparents) to make the big announcement, and they gushed over him too. He was positively glowing with pride.

We set a timer, and I told him that every time it rang, we would be visiting the potty. We started at 15-minute intervals. About halfway through the morning, we went to Target and let him pick out more underwear, a “prize” for every time he sat on the potty, and a training toilet (which he never ended up using, but hey, it was symbolic). That afternoon, we shifted to 20-minute intervals. We did 20-minute intervals the second day and 30-minute intervals the third day. By the fourth day we were at 30- to 40-minute intervals, or just whenever he said he had to go.

The last two days were accident free. Getting there was tough but worth it!

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Tips from the Trenches

  1. Make sure your child is ready. Before we started boot camp, Papito would often report to me when his diaper was wet and go off by himself while pooping. Other signs of readiness include dry diapers upon waking, discomfort in dirty diapers, and general interest in the potty.
  2. Practice makes perfect. We plied Papito with juice and salty snacks the first day to give him opportunities to “practice.”
  3. Stock up on supplies. Comfort while sitting on the potty is key. I did not want to use a training potty (for various reasons, but mainly, carrying poop and pee around the house grosses me out), so we instead opted for a step stool and a potty seat. If you have a boy, be sure to get one with a built-in deflector. The step stool is high enough for Papito to both climb up onto the potty and rest his feet comfortably while sitting. The first two days, I had a couple of extra pairs of underwear and a change of clothes in the bathroom at all times. I also stocked up on Clorox wipes, hard wood floor sanitizer, rug cleaner, and paper towels. I had two cleaning “stockpiles”—one in the master bedroom and one in the playroom—where we planned to spend most of our time during boot camp.
  4. Have a method to keep him on potty. I didn’t anticipate having such a hard time keeping Papito on the potty. And they do need to learn to wait, especially for poop. So I put a pile of books and magazines next to the potty, and also allowed him to watch unlimited videos on my Kindle (normally a no-no) as an incentive. Oh boy, we watched a lot of Frozen that first day. A lot.
  5. Be prepared to bend the rules. Look, I am not ashamed to admit it, but I am a sugar nazi. Papito rarely even drinks juice at home. I am also obsessed with limiting television. I’m that crazy mom who asked for a daily account of screen time minutes from our daycare. True story. But during boot camp, both of those things went out the window. I let him have as much juice (see #2), TV (see #4), and sugary fruit rope (see #7) as he wanted. Let me tell you, it was totally worth it.
  6. Do the time. You really have to commit staying at home at least two days, with plenty of time to practice after the initial period. This was a tough one for us because we are used to being on the go—playing outside, running errands, going on play dates, enjoying outings, etc. We made the mistake of going to Target on the first day and a play date on the second day, and my poor little guy had a very embarrassing accident in both places. Ultimately, I layered lots of towels on the couch and master bed, and we alternated between potty, watching TV, and playing games in the playroom. There was a lot of lounging around, eating, and (for me) reading. There are worse things, right?! I should have just resigned to the lounging regimen at the outset!
  7. Bribes work. The first day we let Papito pick out his reward for sitting/peeing/pooping on the potty. He chose “Simply Balanced” twisted fruit ropes. I still cringe at the sugar content (see #5), but he was so excited about having a special treat. This really motivated him.
  8. Be flexible. Don’t beat yourself up if things don’t go according to plan. The first day Papito did not pee on the potty once and had at least seven or eight accidents, many of which happened right after extended periods of sitting on the potty. Stick with it! In addition, after the third day, it was clear to me that the concept hadn’t fully clicked with Papito because he was peeing in the potty but still wasn’t tell me when he had to go. So I took a day off of work to add a fourth day and left Papito at preschool for a few hours so that he could “practice” at school. By the end of the fourth day he hadn’t had an accident in two days, was insisting on standing while peeing (show-off!), and had also managed to poop on the potty.
  9. Pick your battles. I still put Papito in a pull-up during naptime and overnight. Why? I am exhausted at the end of a long day or long week, and I want to be able to sleep when he sleeps (as opposed to middle-of-the-night wakings/sheet washing). It probably would have been more efficient to do everything at once, but it was more than I could handle at one time. I think it’s OK to admit that.

Boot Camp Mantras

  1. “Point down.” This one is obviously for boys, and it’s pretty self-explanatory. Trust me, they will get what you’re saying.
  2. “Pee/poop goes in the potty.” When Papito had an accident, we worked hard to resist saying “it’s OK,” because, well, it’s not. It’s an accident, yes, but it’s not “OK.” This phrase worked well to underscore the concept.
  3. “After you finish on the potty, wash your hands.” Papito was often so anxious to be done with the potty so that he could go play, he would hop off, flush, and start to sprint out of the bathroom. This helped me prime him before getting off the potty not to forget that last step.
  4. “Let me know when (as opposed to if) you need to go to the potty.” On the third day, when we started to move away from taking Papito to the potty at timed intervals, we transitioned to saying this phrase over. And over. And over. Simple (and yes, annoying), but effective.

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All in all, I would call boot camp a success! We have had only an occasional accident and a very happy boy who is trying to do all sorts of things by himself now that he is a “big boy” with new-found self confidence. Any suggestions on how to tackle nighttime potty training next would be much appreciated!

Marisa
As a civil rights litigator, Marisa is passionate about education and immigrants rights. She is obsessed with all things San Antonio, where she grew up, and lives close to downtown with her husband Andres, an immigration attorney, her tenacious 2-year old son, a gentle rescue dog named Quixo and a “big boned” tuxedo cat named Sancho Panza. Marisa looks forward to sharing the highs and the lows of what she affectionately calls the “controlled chaos” that is her life as a fulltime working attorney, mom and wife in the Alamo City.