Potty Training for the Mom who is sick of changing diapers

What an inventive title this is.  I mean, what Mom isn't sick of changing diapers?  But honestly, I am a huge fan of potty training children early.  For several reasons.  One, I don't like changing poopy wiggly bums.  Two, its better for the environment (whether you use disposable or cloth).  And three, I feel like a younger child catches on to things more easily and with less resistance.  Whether or not that is actually true is up for debate, but from my own personal experiences, and the experiences of my family and close friends, we've found it to be true.

My first son was 23 months old when I potty trained him.  I was motivated by the fact that I was pregnant with our second child and I thought the idea of changing two kids would be awful.  So, I followed a recommendation from a friend and downloaded the e-book from www.3daypottytraining.com.  I liked the fact that it was an easy to read book with clear guidelines and plenty of FAQ's to help me get started.  I was deathly afraid of potty training and I didn't particularly enjoy it, but I did enjoy the fact that IT WORKED! 

The basic fundamentals are that you take your child out of diapers, put them into underwear, and then reward them if they pee or poo on the potty.  You fill them up with plenty of liquids and high fibre foods to make sure they pee a lot and poo a lot.  The only thing I did differently from the program was to use pull ups at night.  We tried without, but he was continually wetting the bed and would be exhausted and miserable through the day.  He wasn't in pull ups for too long though, it was probably about one week until he started staying dry at night.

I trained my second son as well at just 21 months.  He is still in cloth trainers at night because he does have the occasional accident, but I can deal with that!

Whether you choose to try the 3 day method, or a different way of potty training, I think that the most important thing a mother should do is stay positive.  Make sure that potty training is fun (for them lol) and be sure to keep a smile plastered on your face, even when you are so frustrated you could cry.  Another thing to keep in mind is that consistency is VERY important.  Once you have committed to potty training, get rid of the diapers.  Don't put them in diapers because you are going out, don't put them in diapers because you're tired and don't want to deal with an accident... all this will do is confuse the child.  Another thing I do not recommend is daytime trainers.  Some people love them, and I think they would be OK if your child is too young to understand what they are....but the worst thing would be for them to realize they can pee or poo in them without the mess... again, the lack of consistency will confuse them and prolong the potty training.  Another thing I think is important is to teach your child to ask you to take them to the toilet.  If you are constantly taking the child to the toilet without having them ask to use the toilet, you will begin to have power struggles or, perhaps even worse, the child will rely on you to tell them when they need to go.  So what happens if you forget to take them?  They will have an accident because they haven't learned to ask you to take them.

Anyhow, these are just a few recommendations.  I am not in any way, shape, or form, an expert.  This is simply some tips I've learned after training my boys.  Please feel free to ask me any questions you would like, or to share some advice of your own.  Please remember to keep your thoughts and advice respectful and relevant.  Thanks for reading!