5 Ways to Make Potty Training Fun

This post is sponsored by Pooparoos Supriseroos, but all opinions are my own.

I remember naively looking forward to potty training with my daughter (who is now four). I happily envisioned an eager toddler excited to be a big kid and go pee pee on the potty, full of congratulatory high fives and elated farewells to diapers. Sure, there would be an occasional accident, but it couldn't be that hard, right? Ha. Hahaha. Potty training reality for us (as with most things for us as new parents) turned out to be much different than imagined, especially in terms of my daughter's enthusiasm about the experience. She had no interest in using the potty, and even as a two year old, clearly viewed it as a chore and waste of her time. We tried all sorts of different methods, but in the end, only one thing resulted in success - making it fun. Perhaps this seems common sense, but it was harder than we thought to find ways to creatively incorporate fun into the process. And while all kids are different, now that we're beginning to toilet train our two year old son, we have a much clearer picture of specific ways to encourage him to use the potty and to see it as an enjoyable experience. Today I'd thought I'd share some of the things that worked for our first born that are now working for our toddler as well.

1. Read toilet training books. When we were training our daughter, we read several books everyday that focus - in fun ways - on getting little ones to understand and get excited about moving on from diapers. We're now doing the same for our son, and he absolutely loves it. With him, we've also been reading them to him while he sits on the potty, which provides extra motivation for him to try to go just like the kids in the books.

2. Have potty movie time. I remember reading somewhere that providing screen time while your toddler is toilet training can actually create a stumbling block, but for us, it's been a big part of our success. With our daughter, the first time she actually went on the toilet (after trying many other things), was while she was sitting on her toddler toilet watching a movie. We did have her get up and take breaks every few minutes, but ultimately, she was sitting long enough that she finally had to go, and, well, just went. For her, she was able to look at this time as something special (getting to watch a movie) rather than a chore (having to sit on the potty until she had to go), and that made it fun. It also enabled her to experience what it actually felt like to go on a toilet instead of in a diaper, which is the first step of the toilet training process (and something kids are sometimes initially scared about).

3. Keep a sticker chart. I wish we'd done this from the beginning with our daughter (we didn't do it until we'd already been trying for a couple of weeks), because it made a massive difference in how she viewed toilet training. As soon as she realized that she got a sticker on her chart every time she went #1 in the potty, and both a sticker and a small treat every time she went #2, she looked at it has a game as which she wanted to excel rather than a chore. We started a chart immediately with our son, and he thinks earning his stickers is the most fun thing in the world.

4. Play with silly pooping toys. Yep, you read that right! I can't tell you how much I wish we'd had Pooparoos Supriseroos for our daughter, because they've genuinely been one of the best ways to get our son excited about using the toilet. (And even though our daughter has been potty trained for over two years now, she loves them too because they're hilarious and adorable.) These cute little toilet toys each contain a precious surprise Pooparoos figure that comes with different "foods" and a serving tray. The kids feed them, then squeeze them to help them go on the potty. It's kind of genius, really. There are eight of them all together which makes them so fun for the kids to collect, and each one is random, so opening the package is a surprise (which is my daughter's favorite part). My son loves to make his pal go on the potty, and then he pretends (and sometimes even succeeds!) to go on his potty as well. They're such funny, lighthearted toys whether your little one is potty training or not. (Head to your local Walmart to grab some of your own, or click here to add to cart.)

5. Get siblings involved. My son wants to do everything his big sister does, and she loves helping out with him. It was actually initially her idea to make a game out of going on the potty, and it ended up being kind of brilliant. She'll explain "potty race time!" and they'll both run to the bathroom. It makes our toddler giggle (and motivates him to go because his sister is going), and makes our daughter feel likes she's doing something important (which she is!).


So there you have it - the ways we make potty training fun for our little ones (and more enjoyable for us, as well). If you have any tips or ideas I left out that work for you, I'd love to hear them. Solidarity, friends. We're in this together!

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