Potty Toys: Motivating your Kids to Use the Toilet

 

Guest Post by Adrianne of Kids Cog Works

 

As a mother of three boys, I know a thing or two about enticing them to enter the realm of using the potty. My oldest child was resistant and it came to a head one day, we just had to do it. I honestly wasn’t too sure about what to do. I pondered on what would make the whole experience less scary.

 

The bathroom is an interesting place if you think about it. It’s small, there’s water (bonus…or should I say blessing), and usually a quiet place. All of my boys resisted hanging out for anything other than a bath. So what to do? Make it a common place for them.

 

I began with changing diapers in the bathroom. If there happened to be solids in the diaper we dumped them out into the toilet and they got to flush it down. We washed hands and I resisted forcing encouraging them to sit on the toilet.

 

After a few weeks (maybe months for my other boys), we moved to sitting on the potty. I knew my son wouldn’t sit for very long and would most likely cry in hysterics, so I made a little box called Potty Toys.

 

Inside the Potty Toys box were toys that I got from the dollar store. I tried to pick things that were different than what he normally played with. I found some little cars and a bridge, mini figures, and I threw in some crayons and a coloring book.

 

He resisted at first, but when I opened the box, he got really excited! We sat playing toys (on the potty!) for about five minutes, and then we put them away. I explained that these toys were special; you only play with them when you are sitting on the potty. It took some time and patience on my part to enforce the rule, but it worked out beautifully.

 

Potty Toys have saved me from the headache of trying to convince my child to sit. An added bonus…each boy after this was honored to show his sibling the potty toys and tell them the rules. We may have lost a few toys along the way (down they went) but the memories and skills we gained were priceless.

 

Adrianne has a degree in Elementary Education. She currently tutors struggling readers and middle school math students. She is the author of Kidscogworks.com and the creator of Brain Tower. Adrianne is the wife of an engineer and a mother to three handsome boys.

 

 

12 Comments

  1. Fantastic ideas Adrianne! Love it! Luckily we just caught on to going on the potty, but I sure could have used this advice a month ago. :) I will make sure to pass it on to other moms I know!

  2. Well, looks like I have something in common with you today. I just posted to my blog that I’m getting ready to potty train and a follower saw my post on her blog reader and apparently yours was either under mine or vs versa. So here I am following you now.

    I would love for you to follow me too. Can’t wait to read your full post here.

    http://mommieagain.com

  3. I’ve heard of stickers, candy and special potty books, but I like this idea of potty toys! My oldest was super easy, since he went to a babysitter who started potty training another little boy a year old than him. He just tagged along naturally. My youngest suffers from constipation, and I can tell he’s going to be much more resistant. This is something I will have to try!

  4. This is my first visit to you – but as the mom of 4 boys – all grown – you are a queen amongst mothers of boys!
    My only addition is a small bag of m&ms to the toys. Yes, I mothered back when candy wasn’t evil.
    xo

  5. Great post! I have graduated from potty training my 3 kids (2 girls and 1 boy) and a puppy;) But, I will pass this post on to friends with little ones ready for the task. We did the dump the poop thing early on, but I love how you started changing diapers in the bathroom and making the bathroom more a part of their day. We also had the kids role play with their dolls. My kids loved signing silly potty songs. We kept a little basket of books and did M&Ms once we were at that make/break stage. For my son, he loved to pee on a handful of cheerios;) Target practice! And, don’t let people tell you boys are hardest. I think it depends more on the kids’ personality. My son was actually easier than my daughters;) Also, teaching them to physically use a potty CAN be done in a day…but begin potty trained…can take months…and nighttime dryness can take years.

  6. What great contributions you’ve all made to the potty training world! I love using candy as a reward…definitely not evil! I would agree personalities make all the difference on how potty training goes. I’ve got a really stubborn one now, but potty toys at least keep him sitting there long enough to get something to come out. Thanks everyone.

  7. I wish I had read this before I started with my kids. We tended to read books. And I know its a bit controversial these days but we used a reward chart for each of our children and it worked a treat.

  8. Great ideas! We like having books around the house in baskets, so one is in the bathroom for bath time stories and potty time! The only thing is that it can be a very comfortable place to lollygag (i.e. read!) if allowed! Sometimes I have to encourage my tot to finish! Oh, these pottying days are challenging but oh, so endearing!

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