The 10 Things I Hate About Potty Training

10 Things I Hate About Potty Training

We started trying to potty train our eldest daughter ages ago — I think it was early in the summer as I thought summer would be a convenient time to potty train. She was nearly 2.5 years old then so I thought she might be ready. She knew when she was doing a poo and she’s a clever girl so I expected it to be quite easy. It’s over half a year later now and we’re not there yet.

Potty training is not fun…

Things I Hate About Potty Training

1. The pressure to do it at a certain age

Nobody else is pressuring me but when you read about those kids who potty train themselves by just refusing to wear nappies when they’re 18 months old, you wonder why your child is not ready yet. All kids are different though! My older sister was one of those who pretty much potty trained herself at an early age while I was 3 years old when I stopped wearing nappies. I was born when my sister was 5 years old so my mum and dad didn’t have to look after a baby while potty training her so I’m sure that had an impact. My younger sister was born when I was a year and a half and I’m sure that is part of the reason why I was potty trained later.

2. The seasonal pressure

Potty training is an activity better suited to spring and summer when you can run around with bare legs and easily hop onto a potty. We’re trying to do it in the winter and it’s so cold to have bare legs but lots of layers make it difficult too.

3. All the washing

Potty training comes with accidents for most children and you need lots of spare pants, socks and trousers/leggings and you have to do lots of extra laundry. Again, this is not such a problem in the summer but very annoying in the winter when you’re already struggling to get everything dry.

4. The constant focus

When you’re potty training, the focus of your life becomes your child’s toilet habits. You constantly have to ask if they need a wee or a poo to remind them to use the potty. This is fine when you have a week off to potty train but if it takes longer, it becomes quite tiring.

5. Worrying about the floor

I have a few waterproof mattress protectors that I put down on the floor under the potty and on the bed so my daughter has somewhere to sit that’s protected from accidents. We play a lot on the beds and the sofa and it’s a constant worry that she might wee where there’s no towel or waterproof protector. I can’t cover the whole house up!

6. The confusion

One of our problems is that when my daughter is wearing pants or training pants, she seems to think it’s okay to pee in them. When she’s not wearing anything on the bottom, she happily goes on the potty. Unfortunately, being naked all the time is not always convenient so we need to get past this somehow but are struggling a bit.

7. The necessary gear

As a mum, I’m used to having to carry lots of stuff with me all the time but potty training means adding to all the bags as you need a portable travel potty and lots of extra clothes when you go out somewhere.

8. Having to use lots of bribes

Bribes like Kinder Eggs or small toys work really well when you are trying to encourage your child to go on the potty but it can become expensive when potty training is taking longer than you expect. Then add the cost of all the extra wine you need to drink at the end of unsuccessful potty training days…

9. Visiting public toilets with children

We’ve not had to do this yet but, sooner or later, we’re going to have to use a public toilet when out and about and they’re usually not very nice. I’m dreading it.

10. Cleaning it up

Cleaning out the potty is not fun. It would be better if I could use a training seat on the toilet but we don’t have a downstairs toilet so we have to use a potty there for our daughter. So, the potty needs to be cleaned after each use. I suggest a potty that pours easily and stocking up on anti-bacterial cleaning wipes! I read somewhere that you can put some baby oil in the potty to help things slide out too. I’ve not tried that yet.

I sure miss the convenience of nappies but they have to go!

These are the things I hate about potty training! What do you hate about potty training? Plus, do you have any great tips?