Potty Training

Try these potty training hacks when you're desperate.
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10 Potty Training Hacks To Try If You're Desperate

Just remember, your kid won’t start college in diapers.

by Ashley Jones
Updated: 
Originally Published: 

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You’ve read every book and blog post, watched every video tutorial, and called your own mom 12 times in a row, but nothing has worked. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so dig deep and try these unconventional potty training hacks.

1. Sing A (Super Annoying) Potty Song

One way to make toilet time more fun for your toddler is to play music or sing together. You can even make a potty playlist filled with potty training songs to stick in your head.filadendron/E+/Getty Images

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2. Decorate The Toilet

Give your kiddo some washable bath crayons or a dry erase marker and let them decorate your toilet. Perhaps their own fun and creative decor will convince them that the big potty is not a scary place.

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3. Bribe Them

Their favorite candy, a shopping spree when they pee, or your iPhone — bribery works. You could use a sticker chart to track progress and give a reward at the end, but the instant gratification of a few M&Ms after a successful potty session cannot be overstated.

4. Show When You Go

Let your kid join you in the bathroom. You can even give yourself a treat to model what will happen for them when they use the toilet like you do. (Because potty training parents absolutely deserve a handful of Skittles, too.)Image taken by Mayte Torres/Moment/Getty Images

5. Aim At Cereal

Toss a few pieces of dry cereal in the potty to create a bullseye for kiddos to aim at when they pee. For every piece of cereal they hit in the bowl, give them a piece out of the box to snack on. (After they wash their hands, of course.)Shutterstock

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6. Potty With Friends

Grab a few of your child’s favorite stuffed animals to have potty party. You can also throw a couple of chocolate chips into the potty to show them that even their toys go poop in the potty.

7. Make It A Game

Competitive kids love a challenge, so see who can successfully use the toilet more — you or your kiddo. For every time either of you goes to the bathroom on the potty, you get a point. Whoever has the most points at the end of the day wins a prize.Tatyana Tomsickova Photography/Moment/Getty Images

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8. Put A Potty In Every Room

The more potties available throughout your home, the greater the chance that your child will actually make it to the toilet when they feel the urge to go. Plus, you’ll probably have less accident clean up this way.

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9. Try Twilight Toileting

For nighttime training, take a page out of Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard’s book and put your sleepy child on the toilet before you hit the hay. They’ll have already been asleep for a couple of hours, so it could help prevent accidents.

10. Just Forget It

Honestly, if you’re having a ton of trouble, your kid might not be ready to potty train. As Romper previously reported, it’s OK to stop trying for a bit and may even help your kid be more successful when you start back up again later.Manu Vega/Moment/Getty Images

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