My experience with potty training might seem similar to yours, or could be completely different!

If you’re planning on doing it soon (or are currently), please have a read and see what worked for us!

My son is three years old. When Covid hit Canada and we all went into lockdown, he stopped going to daycare while I was five months pregnant. At that time, he was telling us every time he had to pee on the potty. This kid didn’t even need an incentive, he just loved to run to the bathroom and yell, “Pee-pee potty!!”

Then the potty training came to a halt. It happened one random morning where he absolutely refused to pee on the toilet. He peed in his diaper and would scream if we even mentioned the toilet.

As frustrating as it was, we could not force him back into underwear. I didn’t want him to associate going to the potty with screaming and tantrums. I tried to understand what he was going through.

He was out of his daycare routine, stopped seeing any family members besides us, and I was having complications with my pregnancy where I was constantly in and out of the hospital.

Everything was different, weird, and out of place. My husband took over everything while I was put on bed rest.

Since March, we always tried to offer him underwear, but our son always refused. We still made sure he peed before and after each sleep to avoid exploding diapers, but even that was often a hassle.

Last week. I randomly mentioned underwear and how cool they were. Knowing that we couldn’t force him to wear them, my husband and I often liked to mention underwear to see when he was ready.

Excitedly, Joey replied, “Yeah cool underwear time!” And just like that, right before he started up daycare again, our little guy was mostly potty trained!

We have accidents here and there, but it’s important to remember that this will most likely happen (and that it’s okay)!

While studying to become an ECE, we learned about waiting for the right time, offering encouragement, and of course: never shame the child when they have an accident.

I’m sure with all the stress parents are going through, telling a child, “You can’t have accidents like this again” or saying something similar and negative might just slip out during potty training.

Potty training takes work, so be prepared! But – you can also make it fun, ie., offer the child fun incentives every time they go!

We have Smarties, Skittles, and Joey’s favourite fruit gummies ready for every trip to his toilet.

Try whatever suits your child! Anything will work: stickers, colouring books, new crayons, stamps, playdough, etc. Celebrate each trip and always offer positive reinforcement.

As stressed as we are as parents, we need to remember that Covid is affecting our children even more so. Routines have completely changed, so things like potty training might just need some extra time and love.

Good luck parents, you’ve got this!

TKM

We bought a potty very similar to these (below) on Amazon – they come apart (easily washable), work as  step stools in the bathroom, one makes a cute flushing noise like the grown up potty, and both seats come out to easily fit any toilet in your house when your kids are ready to move on to the big potty!

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