1. Wait until they are ready. All children develop at different rates. If your oldest child was potty trained by two years, that doesn’t mean your second child will. If your neighbor’s child knows how to go to the bathroom, that doesn’t mean yours should. Your child needs to be ready, or it will be a long battle and a frustrating struggle. So, wait for your child to show signs of readiness, such as going long periods of time without a soiled diaper. Recognize your need to go to the bathroom, or even just a fascination with the toilet.

2. Don’t fight with them. If you’re fighting about it, stop and try again in a week or two. As soon as potty training turns into a fight, it’s time to call it quits. If it’s a power struggle, your son will win. Your child is learning about himself and becoming an individual, and often his individuality is expressed through resilience. Don’t let that be to go to the bathroom.

3. Help them understand what is happening. Books, movies, etc. often helps. This is a learning process, so you can get the best amount of support and help. If your child has a clear understanding of what the potty is, when he uses it, and how he uses it, she won’t be as intimidating and potty training will be much easier.

4. Be consistent. You can do a “naked noon” where each day for a couple of hours they wear just their underwear and use the potty. If you find you can’t be consistent every day, consider a potty training weekend, where you spend the entire weekend potty training.

5. Remind them every two hours. Your child will ignore his body’s signals to play, eat, or sleep. So help them out by giving them a reminder and taking them to the bathroom every two hours to use the toilet. This will help them recognize the signs and get used to going to the bathroom.

6. Make it easy to use the bathroom. Dress them so they don’t struggle to get their clothes off in time to get to the bathroom. Get a stool, potty chair, or potty ring to make each step of the potty training process easier.

7. Rewards and positive reinforcement. These work well for many children. Praise, sticker charts, treats, or success toys all work. This is not a snippet, but rather a way to help your child stay excited and celebrate the excitement of her success.

8. Make it fun. Potty training is often scary so do little things to make it more fun like potty training, getting fun soap for hand washing, teaching him ditties and songs to use when potty training. Help them choose funny underwear, etc.

9. Help them recognize the sensations of going to the bathroom. Sometimes the lack of success with potty training is because they don’t understand how their body works. So, give them a big drink, then tell them what to expect, then in a half hour or so take them home. Soon, he’ll equate the sensations with the need to use the potty, and he’ll do better.

10. Stay inside. Do not attempt to potty train while away from home, on vacation, etc. Stay inside for a few days to make it familiar and easy for your child to go to the bathroom when he needs to go. As they get better control, you can venture further.