3 Day Potty Training Method: Tips & Advice

Here is my final 3 Day Potty Training post! I want to share my experiences that your child might be ready to potty train at 22 months, according to the 3 Day Potty Training Method. I know that boys, for some reason, get a bad reputation that they aren’t ready as fast as girls and that they can’t be trained until they’re 3 or 4, but I wasn’t willing to settle for that reason and he did wonderfully when he was 2 years 3 months old. He did not show any interest in potty training, but I’ve proved that that didn’t matter for us.

After the 3 Day Method Update

• I shared detailed posts on day #1, #2 and #3 if you would like to start there
• From day #4 on…he had no accidents. Just like the 3 day potty training method says – he learned his cues and would tell us “go pee on potty” and we’d happily take him
• On day #8 or so, he had a decent sized accident, he never told me, and I never discovered until he asked to go to the potty before nap time! Oops! This was a healthy reminder to me not to take for granted that he’s “100% potty trained” and it’s okay to give him reminders about the potty, especially when he’s busy!
• We had/have a poop issue. He saved his poop for his nap time “sleepy bum” [diaper] as we call them. Once last week and then again 2 days ago. He didn’t nap either days, and as soon as I went in to get him…I could smell why he didn’t nap. I did tell him he needs to tell mommy when he has to pee or poop and that he needs to put his poop in the potty
• He did have 2 small poops, 2 days in a row after that first incident, but I can see him getting a bit constipated or again saving his poop for his nap diapers
• He did ask for “no sleepy bum” once, so I obliged. He didn’t nap that day, or have an accident. I think that in his head he thinks that if he doesn’t have a diaper on…he doesn’t have to sleep! Sorry kid!
• I’m working really hard on increasing his fibre among other things in his diet to get him more regular, it would be easiest for potty training and also better for his health. I’m trying to cut out some dairy, giving him more fruits (especially pears), and offering him a bit of natural fruit juice with probiotics every morning…hopefully it helps!
• I have also found that a little Restoralax goes a long way, once in awhile (as long as approved by your child’s doctor)
• Once his treat jar of M&M’s/Smarties were gone, I filled it with fruit gummies and told him these new potty treats are only for POOPS on the potty, seems to be working well and he still goes pee in the potty no problem, even without treats
• He made his first trip to town (1/2 hour away) last Monday for groceries accident free, but had yet to pee in a public toilet
• When we all went to the city, he did pee twice on the potty before we left, but still managed to have a huge accident in the car seat – he didn’t tell us about it either. I guess I’ll have to kind of restrict his fluids for awhile when I know we’re going out
• He did pee in the public potty twice on our outing though, so I’m happy that milestone was reached!

Summary of 3 Day Potty Training

• You must remember to be positive and patient. This potty training method does not involve discipline or punitive measures whatsoever.
• In all honesty, this is NOT for the lazy parent. It takes 3 days of pretty intense focus and dedication to your child. But as I say with sleep training – short term pain, long term gain.
• The author states all children are ready at 22 months, verbal or not — I found this to not be true with my mostly non-verbal and stubborn 2nd child at 23 months old
• As the title suggests, dedicate 3 days to stay at home and be at your child’s side
• Say goodbye to the internet and “you” time for those 3 days, stick by your child at.all.times. Repeat – at all times!
• Supplies: potty chair (using big toilet is fine too), lots and LOTS of underwear, lots of fluids for your child to drink, lots of rewards/treats
• Keep potty chair in bathroom – to associate going to the bathroom…in the bathroom!
• Have your child only wear a shirt and their underwear for the training days (do not let them be naked, they need to recognize the feeling of their underwear being wet)
• On the first day of potty training, this is a huge step: PACK AWAY ALL THE DIAPERS (if using cloth) OR THROW THEM ALL AWAY (if using disposables) AND GET YOUR CHILD TO HELP/DO ALL THE WORK!! This is SO key! It really helped my son make that association and he said “bye bye diapers” and then I could remind him of that if he asked for a diaper during potty training
• I also moved the change table out of his room that morning, another diaper-related association that I wanted gone
• For you: get rid of all your “emergency” diapers in the car, diaper bag, etc to avoid temptation of YOU reverting back to using diapers
• Do NOT use any type of  “pull up” cloth or disposable, no more diapers (I only used a Pull Up for nap time & bedtime and it didn’t confuse him)
• Now take your child to the bathroom, show them the potty and explain to them that their “pee pee and poop” now goes into the potty
• Tell your child to “keep your underwear dry!” and give them frequent a million reminders/quizzes throughout the day and give LOTS of praise when their underwear is dry
• Frequently say to your child “tell mommy when you have to go pee” as opposed to asking them “do you have to go pee?” we want THEM to tell US when they have to go
• Do not take them to the potty on a timed schedule or even to “try”
• Offer plenty of fluids, we want them to have to pee lots! (learn from my mistake I made with our first 2 boys—be careful in offering too much apple juice, it’s a laxative!)
• Remember to FOCUS on your child…you want to spot the second they are having an accident, when they do scoop them up, carry them to the potty and say “your underwear isn’t dry anymore” and set them on the potty to see if they will be able to finish
• Keep reminding them to keep their underwear dry, ask them “is your underwear dry?“, it may take 20+ times but they will eventually get it
• Don’t remind them of potty rewards like “if you pee on the potty – you get a treat!” don’t try to coerce them to pee, it’s negative and we want to stay positive
• When they do pee in the potty – PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE! Remind them that their underwear is still dry, they’re such a big boy/girl whatever works for you. Call daddy, call grandma, share the good news and get them really excited
• Throughout the day(s) keep asking them if their underwear is dry and to have them tell you when they need to pee. Seriously – I said both these things every 5-10 minutes for 3 days straight! But it really stuck and he loved checking to see that his underwear was dry
• Some kids don’t get it until the end of the 3rd day – but they will (some exceptions take more than 3 days)
• As weird as it sounds, accidents help them learn, it finally “clicked” with Braden when he had his 3 small accidents in a row, and then finally released it all and had a big pee in the potty and he was SO proud of himself, and of course I was too!
• Try as hard as you can to stay positive, when they do have accidents, even when Braden still does say “Braden, remember to tell mommy you have to pee in the potty, okay? Pee goes in the potty.“

Personal Experience

• Don’t use any devices (like an iPad) to “keep” them on the potty, that defeats the purpose of the child learning their cues
• I found he “got it” when he peed in his little potty – he could literally see his results, whereas when he went in the big potty it’s like he didn’t know he’d done anything, he REALLY liked to empty his pee/poop in the big potty and flush it away
• Reading him “The Potty Book” months and months ahead of time, with his learning skills, really helped him to get the idea of the potty down. Luckily he really loved “The Potty Movie” too
• The fancy charts I made for him…not worth it. Maybe it’s a “boy” thing, but he didn’t give one lick about the stickers on the chart!
• You can read about my pre-potty training thoughts here

My Personal Potty Training Q&A

• How do we handle our first road trip (3ish hours away)? Restrict fluids and bring our small potty with us so he can go whenever, wherever are my thoughts… I did restrict fluids and asked him before every town we hit, which is about every 45 minutes. He did very very well and we brought our small potty with us in case he had to go on the side of the road – which has happened.
• He doesn’t always nap in the car and I do NOT want to get in the habit of using diapers in the car…even if I think he might nap. I never had to use diapers in the car seat. He just “got it”. He has had 2 car seat accidents in his life, you just wash it and move on! Or use a product like this
• We are going on a big 8 hour road trip to BC in June…same as above, but hoping he WILL nap. He did nap and we just didn’t have any troubles. LOTS of potty breaks. LOTS of potty breaks! Sometimes every hour, but it was worth not having to haul diapers on the trip.
• I’m considering training him through his nap time…not 100% convinced yet! But going to at least give it a try, especially with the pooping in the nap diaper thing. He just told me one day “no sleepy bum” a few months after he was trained. He would consistently wake up dry from his naps so it was an easy transition. He did have 1 or 2 accidents but he coped well! 
• When will he train overnight? He just magically did this himself too. About 6 months after he was potty trained he would consistently wake up dry. I bit the bullet and put him to bed in his underwear and he has only ever woken up once absolutely soaked, but we forgot to take him to the bathroom that night, so we consider that a parenting fail! Oops! Make sure you have a mattress protector, just in case!

I am no expert, nor am I associated or affiliated with the 3 Day Potty Training Method. If you would like more info, please visit the website, but I am happy to answer any questions I can too! There are a lot of special circumstances that I have not covered.

You can also read about 3 day potty training day #1, 3 day potty training day #2, and 3 day potty training day #3.

Update: Since writing this I have potty trained another little boy. You can read on that experience here:

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Sarah Schultz

I'm a nurse who married a farmer and I'm a boy mom of 3 to Braden, Ethan and Jonathan. I love blogging about family life, farming, recipes and embracing my role as farm wife and mom. I'm knee-deep in tractors, trains and trucks and I'm often seen with my camera in my hands catching life's moments.

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