3 Essentials for Potty Training a Stubborn Toddler

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I’m sure you thought this was going to be another “sure fire” way to potty train your toddler in 15 hours post. Guess what, I am not that smart. In fact take that 15 hours and make it 51 weeks and then you could call me an expert on potty training a stubborn toddler. We are 11 months out of the weekend that I would call Little Man officially potty trained. I (almost) have recovered fully from the trauma. Luckily we have some time before we have to start on Baby B!

Just in case you missed my currently posts over the year we potty trained… We started Little Man just shy of two and a half years old. He told us how the older boys went potty and was super excited about his Elmo potty for about 3 whole days. For the next 51 weeks we fought about the potty. You name the trick, we tried it. Cheerios, bribes, sticker charts, taking away diapers, making him drink extra water, etc. At the end of the day all it took was his best friend to use the potty…one time.

Well played Little Man. I’m far from an expert on potty training a stubborn toddler but I found a few things helpful for any moms looking to get started.

3 Essentials For Potty Training a Stubborn Toddler

Essentials For Potty Training Number 1 – Clorox Wipes

No joke, I think we went through multiple packs of Costco sized Clorox Wipes. Whether it was an accident because we took his diaper away or just not making it to the potty in time. After he was mostly potty trained wipes were still necessary. They’re much cheaper to buy in bulk than baby wipes and they typically last a lot longer.

Your bathroom will never smell cleaner, regardless of what the rest of the bathroom looks like. If you have a boy, just get used to buying them now. You’ll still need them, even when they’re fully potty trained. Trust me on this one.

Essentials For Potty Training Number 2 – Wine

Stock up, just do it. There were so many nights where I walked out of Little Man’s room completely frustrated. I constantly felt like we were failing after yet another day without a potty success. Wine won’t fix the problem, but it sure does help calm you down.

Don’t typically keep wine at home? Potty training is always the PERFECT opportunity to get out of the house and meet up with that friend you’ve been wanting to catch up with. What better way to catch up than over a glass of wine or three? Just kidding…sort of.

Essentials For Potty Training Number 3 – Patience

If I read one more article on “how to potty train your kid in 15 hours” I was going to start leaving comments telling people they’re liars.

One of my good friends told me many, many times “He will not go to kindergarten in diapers.” No matter how many times I argued with her, at the end of the day she was right. Little Man was stubborn, very stubborn. For the last six months of potty training he told us he wouldn’t use the potty because his best friend didn’t. The week his best friend used the potty, we used our last diaper.

He had his reasons, he was honest with us. We just thought we knew what would make it happen sooner.

I’m far from an expert on potty training a stubborn toddler, but I can say that I have survived. My best piece of advice is to hang in there. Don’t listen to the moms who tell you they did it in 15 hours. Toddlers are stubborn. They’ll do it when they’re ready. For now, go have a glass of wine.

What is the best potty training advice you received? 

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Comments (10)

    1. Hahaha! I completely understand. I thought it would be easy. He is very good at proving me wrong!

  1. Hahaha! Who is the wine for? No just kidding. Yes, we must take a step back and allow for mistakes and set backs. If you start when the child is ready then things will progress smoothly.

  2. Oh the dreaded potty training stage! I think we are getting close with my little one, but I think she’s going to be a stubborn one.

  3. hahah, I am in the same situation right now, Got my little Man a little seating potty – he hates it, got him a potty seat to be used on the toilet, he hates that too. I haven’t been able to make him sit for 2 minutes straight without him bringing the house down! Still heavily dependant on diaper, he is going to be 2 in July and I have no idea how I am going to toilet train him!
    Tina Basu recently posted…Uniqueness in you – Step 21 to Leading a Meaningful Life | #AtoZChallengeMy Profile

  4. So, cheers that glass of wine because I totally understand! My little girl was good to go on the potty. She picks up on things fairly quickly and was like, “Dude, I got this.” Then, she had one pee pee accident. ONE. Nope, done with the potty. Oh, she’ll want her pretty underpants, but she wears them OVER her diaper. There is no amount of cajoling that will sway her otherwise. My bachelor’s in Psychology tells me not push it and let her get over the trauma of the one accident. She’ll be ready once she’s ready and in the mean time, I will drink more wine.
    Brittany Ferrell recently posted…How to Keep Your Child Safe: The Turn After 2 CampaignMy Profile

  5. Hahhaha, #2. YES. We’ve got no kids of our own yet, but you can bet when we do, I will be dealing with potty training in the same way you are – LOTS OF WINE!

  6. This is great! For easy way, let the child show he/she is ready bc then they will train super fast and with minimal struggles. Once ours showed us she was ready, she was outta diapers and in undies in a week.
    In the meantime, just enjoy diaper stage and them being babies. One really appreciates diapers when you realize how much of your time will be spent around, ‘you wanna go potty? Do u have to go potty? You gotta go again? Oh, it’s just a falsa alarm. Again?oh we’re stuck in traffic and u have to go potty? Ok let’s pull over. Ok, let’s go back to the bathroom…’ lol

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