Life

Gotham/GC Images/Getty Images
These 10 Celeb Moms Know What's Up With Potty Training

Updated: 
Originally Published: 

Celebs, they're just like us. And when it comes to potty training, all parents, celebrities or not, have their own thoughts and feelings on the process. From ditching the diaper early to carrying around a portable potty, when celebrity moms give their honest opinions about potty training, it makes them even more relatable. Whether sharing their secrets to potty training success or the accidents along the way, the celebrity moms featured below are letting it all hang out, and I am here for it. Here's to honest motherhood in 2020!

One thing is for sure, when it's all said and done and you've got a successful potty-goer on your hands, every parent is guaranteed to have some story about the experience that will make them laugh. And considering the sometimes frustrating task that is potty training, thank goodness, right? If you're going through the process with your toddler right now, good luck. Know that your favorite celeb mom has been through the same crazy experience, but also know that celebrity or not, every parent out there can relate. Luckily, there are plenty of practical hacks out there that can help you navigate this journey and even stay mostly sane. You've got this!

1

Chrissy Teigen

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Last year, Chrissy Teigen was traveling all over the country while her husband, Jon Legend, was on tour promoting his Christmas album. The timing coincided with her daughter Luna's potty training, so she did what any mom would and brought a portable potty seat with her. You do what you gotta do, right?

2

Reese Witherspoon

Gregg DeGuire/WireImage/Getty Images

When Reese Witherspoon was potty training Tennessee, her youngest child, she expressed every parent's frustration to Entertainment Tonight, saying, "Today we're winning—yesterday we weren't." Sounds about right. As with many trials of parenthood, patience is key. According to the actress' Instagram page, perhaps the book, Everyone Poops, might have helped in the process?

3

Serena Williams

Paul Popper/Popperfoto/Popperfoto/Getty Images

Tennis superstar Serena Williams is celebrating those little moments that come with every stage of parenthood with her daughter, Olympia. She told Popsugar, "Today I tried — I'm trying — to potty train her as my next challenge. She's working on it, and she just pulled her own pants up, and I was like, 'Oh my god this is so great.' She wasn't doing that even a week ago."

4

Busy Philipps

ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images

Mother-of-two Busy Phillips remembers the trials of potty training, despite the fact that her children are now older, and also because of how different the experience was with each child. She told Momtrends, "My older daughter was so easy — she wore Pull Ups, and I don’t even think we finished a full package. She was so ready to do it, and early — she was about two and half. I felt very smug about things, and then my second came along!" As a mother of two myself, I can relate.

5

Jessa Duggar

Ida Mae Astute/Walt Disney Television/Getty Images

Jessa Duggar, who rose to fame thanks to her family's TLC reality shows 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On, is now a mother herself and currently potty training her 3-year-old son, Spurgeon. Filled with questions, much like every parent going through the process, Duggar shared on her Instagram page: "We’re setting the 10-15 min timer and trying every time it goes off. We have Nerds for prizes — 1 for trying, 2 for pee, 4 for poo. (love that they’re tiny, so not a sugar overload). Started this morning, but so far, we’ve had 3 accidents and nothing in the potty. Maybe I’m not having him sit and try long enough?" Incidentally, she was met with criticism over her decision to share a photo of her toddler after he had an accident, despite the fact that she was looking for advice on what to do differently.

6

Jaime King

VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images

Model and actress Jaime King knows that nervous feeling before you start potty training your child, and acknowledges the turning point for children (and their parents). She tells The Fab Mom, "I’m just like any other busy working mom. I was totally nervous to start potty training. It’s such a big moment for toddlers — it marks the time when your little one becomes a big kid and it’s a huge change in their life, so parents who are feeling overwhelmed are definitely not alone!

7

Alicia Silverstone

ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images

Alicia Silverstone (she'll always be Cher from Clueless to me) has made some controversial decisions when it comes to parenting, but I like her matter-of-fact approach to potty training. Telling People, "Just like your baby tells you it needs to eat or it's tired, they tell you when they need to go to the bathroom. If you pay attention, they actually have a pause button and will give you enough time to get to a place that makes it comfortable for them to go. It's amazing. It's the most natural, primal thing."

8

Kristin Cavallari

Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

It's not all glamour for celebrity moms (they're just like us, remember?) Reality TV star and entrepreneur Kristin Cavallari told US Weekly, “We’re in the middle of potty training our son Jaxon right now. This morning… he’s naked and he goes, ‘my tummy hurts, my tummy hurts,’ So I put him on the potty, and he’s wanting me to hold him. I’m like hugging him on his little potty while he’s pooping. It’s really glamorous.”

9

Rebecca Romijn

Taylor Hill/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Let's face it, every parents has bribed their child at some point along the way. Rebecca Romijn admits to using the tactic when she was potty training her twin daughters with husband Jerry O'Connell, and I appreciate her honesty. As Parents reported, while on The Talk, she joked, "I'm doing something that I shouldn't be doing, which is bribing them with M&M's. But it's do or die at this point! I'm like, 'If you go pee pee on the potty, you get an M&M,' and they keep going, 'On a plate?' So every time they go I get the biggest plate I can find and put one M&M in the middle of it." Whatever works, am I right?

10

Hilary Duff

E! Entertainment/NBCUniversal/Getty Images

While celebrity moms might seem like they have it all, well, maybe sometimes they do? Hilary Duff told Babble, “My son potty trained really easily. I was so lucky. I didn’t push it. I just waited until he started to show an interest in it and kind of told him that his older cooler cousins are all potty trained. And it worked! He’s been a really easy kid so far. He can have his moments, for sure, but I want him to have a strong personality. It’ll serve him right some day.” Okay, Hilary, because I love Younger, I'll forgive your exceptional potty training skills. Just don't tell me your new husband makes a 5 course meal every night, too.

This article was originally published on