Method for How to Potty Train Your Toddler in Three Days

I am a mom of 9 and so needless to say, I have potty trained many toddlers! In fact, as I write this post, I have just finished potty training my current toddler. So, while all of it is fresh on my mind, I thought it would be the perfect time to share my best tips on how to potty train in three days!

Although a three-day potty training method may sound totally crazy, having lots of experience in this area and I can assure you that it is possible! It is not a guarantee though. A lot of it depends on your specific child and whether or not they are ready.

how to know if your child is ready to potty train?

The following tips are some signs that your child might be ready, but again, not a guarantee of that. You really just have to know your child and make the best assessment that you can. You know you child best and these are just some signs that you can look for.

Signs of potty-training readiness:

• INTEREST: If your toddler is suddenly showing interest in using the potty.
• DRYNESS: Your toddler is waking up dry or staying dry for longer periods of time.
• PHYSICALLY ABLE: If your toddler is able to pull their pants up by themselves.
• CAN COMMUNICATE NEEDS: Your toddler is letting you know they need a diaper change.
• HIDING: If they are hiding when they need to potty.

For most of my kids, all of this is usually only true around age 3. I know that is not the usual recommended age, but I personally have seen kids much younger than that struggle with potty training in some way. Either they can’t communicate their needs well enough, or they just don’t quite have the motor skills that are required of them to go potty alone. I know this because I struggled to potty train my first 2 when they were just 2 years old. Starting at this young age just meant that I was dragging the whole process out for much longer and making life harder on them and myself.

As I had more kids, I decided to try something different and instead of potty training taking over a year, it only takes me 3 days now. So much less stress on everyone. I’m here to help you know how to potty train in three days!

how to prepare for the POTTY-TRAINING process?

• PREPARE YOUR TODDLER: In the weeks leading up to potty-training, gather some potty-training books and read them with your child. Talk to them about what’s about to happen. Tell them they are getting to be very big and need to learn to use the toilet like a big kid. I highly recommend letting them watch “Elmo’s Potty Time” movie on Amazon Prime or purchasing the DVD. It’s cheesy but it has worked magic in helping prepare my kids. If your child is scared of the toilet, this is especially important to talk them through it. They need reassurance. A good tip to ease that fear is to start sitting your child on the potty before baths every day as a daily habit, with zero expectations. You can start this at a very early age.
• PURCHASE A SPECIAL POTTY SEAT: You can choose to buy a child-size potty chair, or you can purchase special toilet seat that come with a toddler sized seat that folds down for them. We have chosen to go this route for the last several kids, because it trains them to use the regular toilet straight away. It saves a step. If you use a child’s potty chair, you’ll eventually still need to transition them to the toilet. You can decide what you think will be best for your child and circumstance. This is the one we use: POTTY CHAIR FOR TOILET. If you go this route, just make sure to also have a stool for them to use.
• BUY UNDERWEAR: Once you’ve decided they are ready, you’re going to need to prepare by purchasing training underwear or training pants. Training underwear are usually a little thicker than typical underwear. I don’t use or recommend using pull-ups for the training process. When they have accidents, it will feel different in underwear and be more uncomfortable for them. You want that. Get a lot! I like to have at least 8-12 pair. There are going to be accidents, so you’ll need plenty to get you through those.
• GET A TIMER: You’ll need to have a timer on hand. You will be setting a timer for every 15-20 minutes for them to go potty at regular intervals. You can either purchase a timer or just set an oven timer.
• PURCHASE REWARDS AHEAD OF TIME: Whatever rewards you plan to give at any given time need to be readily available. Such as stickers for a sticker chart, candy for filling up a chart, etc. We always offered a toy reward for when they first poop in the potty. Toddlers need instant reinforcement of good behavior or else they have trouble correlating what they did right to the reward itself. You need the rewards ready for when they make big progress, so to reinforce what they did right. That’s what makes them want to repeat the process, Soon the habits will form, and they won’t continue expecting rewards, I promise!
• PURCHASE LOTS OF SPECIAL DRINKS: You’ll want to get special juices or drinks that they don’t normally get to have. To potty-train, they are going to need to go potty! So, make sure you have plenty of water and juice for them! Healthy is always a better choice, but keep in mind it’s temporary and for a specific purpose. So sugary drinks for a short period of time might be ok.

tips for success:

• CLEAR YOUR SCHEDULE: Potty-training is not for the faint of heart. It takes true dedication. This is partly how I get it done in 3 consecutive days. I focus on nothing else but potty training for 3 whole days. Buy paper plates and easy to make meals for that week. Don’t invite guests over. Do not have any work to do at all. You basically are going to need to watch your kid like a hawk for 3 days, so prepare accordingly.
• PREPARE FOR ACCIDENTS: Not only by having plenty of underwear but mentally. Don’t have unrealistic expectations of your child. Instead have empathy for them that they are learning a new habit that is very hard for them mentally. When they have an accident, don’t get angry, but clean it up quickly like it’s no big deal and move on. Focus more on the wins, not the losses. You want to make the experience good and exciting for them!
• CELEBRATE BIG: Every time they go potty, cheer loudly, high-five them and get excited! Put stickers on a sticker chart and get everyone involved in helping cheer them on, especially if they have older siblings. Do a potty dance with their favorite song! One of my children loved the gummy bear song, so we would play it every single time they went potty, and we would all do the potty dance! Find what gets your kid excited and do that thing!

how to potty train in three days:

PREPARE THEIR POTTY CHART: Once you have fully prepared and cleared your schedule, the night before, I recommend creating a poster on the wall with a potty chart. You can always print a photo of your child and place it above the chart. This will get them excited to start putting stickers on their special chart! This week, I used some giant paper that we had in our schoolroom.

MAGIC OF 15 MINUTES: Start by sitting them on the toilet and encouraging them to try to potty. You can try reading to them, but don’t make them sit too long and become uncomfortable. If they go potty, celebrate and go put a sticker on their chart! If they don’t go and you feel they are getting uncomfortable, just tell them you’ll set the timer and try again in 15 minutes. Watch them closely! If you start to see signs that they may need to go or are trying to hide, tell them it’s time to go potty! Remind them when a timer goes off that the timer is telling you it’s time to go potty! I have never had a toddler resist this. Timers work great!

I recommend setting it for every 15 minutes until you start to see some kind of pattern in your child’s habits. You may feel that 20 minutes works best or 10 minutes. You can start to adjust it slightly, but in the first three days, I don’t recommend waiting an hour. they need to be going very frequently to make this a habit in three days’ time.

REMIND THEM TO DRINK: Make sure you are offering them juice and drinks often. They may not be used to drinking very often but it’s important for the potty-training process.

That’s it! Repeat this process for 3 days straight. After 3 days, you will still need to remind them to go, but it will be less intense. They will have formed the habit enough after 3 days to count them good! That’s how to potty train in three days!

getting your toddler to poop in the potty:

For some toddlers this may take longer than three days. That’s ok, just keep repeating the process until they do. Once they go that first time, you likely won’t have too much trouble after that.

There will likely be accidents, but don’t stress over them. Clean up and move on. quickly without fuss. Just keep at this all day for 3 days straight. You will start to notice that when they need to go, they will start letting you know. It’s important to tell them to let you know when they need to go. Also know that it’s also very normal for them hold in poop. They may stop altogether during these first few days. Every child may respond to this differently, but if your child starts to get constipated, make sure to offer juice and keep encouraging them to use the potty, but if you find that they’ve snuck off somehow to make it happen, don’t punish them.

Remember that this whole potty-training thing is all very new to them and scary. This is why we always offer a bigger reward for pooping in the potty. It’s the hardest for them to get through. If you offer an incentive, it helps give them some motivation to try.

They will go eventually!

what to do about nightime Potty Training?

I have done nighttime potty-training different ways and what I have learned is that it is a whole different beast and there is not a one size fits all. I have done just underwear with some, and it worked great, others it just didn’t work until they were older.

If you have a child that has any disrupted sleep patterns, I recommend just putting a pull-up on at night. I’ve had 2 that had night terrors and for whatever reason, I just could not get them to train at night until they were older.

You’ll have to decide for yourself what you want to try. Just remember to be patient with your little ones in this.

tips for continued success:

1.) Continue to remind your child to go potty often. There’s no need to continue using a timer, unless you can see that your child is continuing to struggle with accidents. In that case, there are “potty watches” on Amazon that have a timer that you can set to help remind your child to go. Some children, especially those that lean towards being hyper focused or have ADD, may need more assistance in this area.

2.) First thing in the morning, remind your child to go potty or take them yourself. Training their brains to empty their bladder first thing in the morning may also help in the nighttime potty training.

3.) Make sure to also have them empty their bladder right before bedtime every single night. Even if you think they may not need to, it’s important to help get them into this habit.

Below are some Farm Themed Potty Charts that I created for my littles and am sharing them for free with you to use for yours as well!

Enter you email address below for Your Free Potty Charts!

I’d love to hear from you! If you found this post helpful, please leave me a comment below! If you have a friend that you think could use help with potty training their toddler, please share this post with them!