How to make toilet training fun and exciting for the kids?

You may find many good tips for making toilet training easier and one of the most highlighted tips is to make things fun.

I came up with some awesome ideas to follow this tip while toilet training my daughter and I’m sure that you will also find them so useful and easy.

Making toilet training fun is the most important part of the process. Don’t miss out on playfulness and understand that children don’t want to learn; they want to have fun only.

Making the process playful will shorten the training window.

There are several ways that can make toilet training fun and achieve results faster.

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1- Drive way to the Pot:

Set up a driveway to the pot to make it a bit more interesting. 

I used a waterproof sheet with some pretty designs on it; Placed the pot on one end and used some blocks on both sides of the sheet to give it a look of a driveway to the potty chair.

She shouted, “wow!”; showed her excitement and it was easier to get her to the target on time.

2- Smiley Charts 

We hung a small, portable whiteboard on the wall and every time she made it to the pot, we drew a smiley face on it, and with every accident, a sad/crying face was drawn to show her that what just happened was something to be happy or sad.

She loved the idea and wanted to draw more and more smiley faces.

3- Praises

I typically follow the practice of praising her for every good thing she does and she loves it. Praising always worked for us. 

We also called her grandma and aunts to tell them that she was doing really well and she was excitingly telling everyone that she has left the diapers and is a big girl now.

Praising never spoils a child. At least, I don’t think so. This has to be done in the right way so they couldn’t be people’s pleasures.

4- Reward Jars

I used a glass jar and filled it up with different types of rewards, that includes stickers, bubbles. Some chocolates, books, etc.

Initially, she started crying and wanted all the things right away but I had to convince her that these are rewards she’ll only get one with every successful toilet trip.

It was hard but we did it. She eventually agreed. 

I offered her the reward jar with every success and asked her to pick one. 

(Don’t worry, the reward jar started to fade away in a few days and she forgot about it.)

5- Made-up stories

I told my daughter some made-up stories to tell her about what she is supposed to do.

Her favorite story character is Simba from the lion king. I told her that Simba stopped using diapers and created a made-up story to explain things to her.

I used to tell her these stories mostly when she was sitting on the pot so she could spend some more time there.

6- Potty songs

Singing some potty songs is a fun idea to create interest in the children during the process.

Honestly speaking, I didn’t sing one because I just forgot and other ways were doing very well.

But still many parents find it so helpful and children just love it.

You can make up your own song or find one on YouTube.

Or you can easily find some on amazon. 

7- Toilet training videos / cartoons

In a simple search on youtube for kids “toilet training” or “potty training,” you will find tons of good ones that’ll show the process to your child and the fact is that children learn a lot from these things.

My daughter had around one hour of screen time during the day and I showed her these videos and she loved them. I didn’t only show her but I watched along with her and talked to her about it.

Actually, I started this thing weeks before we started toilet training so she could understand and have fun at the same time

We can definitely use their screen-time in our favor.

8- Pretend Play

We used dolls to show her what she has to do when she feels the need to go to the toilet. 

One doll was mama and the other one was a baby. Mama was working on the computer and the baby was playing with her toys, then the baby needed to go to the toilet, and immediately came to the mother and asked her to take her to the bathroom and so on. (You know what’s next)

In the next pretend and play, we used another doll that would be the daddy. Mama is sleeping or doing anything. In my case, Mother was offering her prayer and the baby immediately ran to her daddy and told him that she had to go to the toilet and daddy helped her.

Pretend play is a great source of learning for kids, it’s not useless. If used in the right way; it’s a great learning resource.

9- Cheering up

I cheered her up when she sat on the pot so she could have some encouragement to stay on the pot and try to do the deed.

I cheered her up saying, “You can do it, mama is with you.” and honestly she enjoyed it a lot. And next time when I forgot to cheer her up, she reminded me and it was a signal that she was really enjoying it.

10- Potty seat should be her favorite or let her decorate it with stickers

It’s a very important point. If you want your child to accompany you during the whole process, her potty seat should be her favorite.

Whether you are buying from a store or online, you should ask your child for her consent. This way she will stay encouraged and things will be fun for her.

11- Offer her scented soap as a reward

Scented and colorful soaps are children’s love. You can offer them as rewards. I didn’t do it but read it somewhere and I think this is a very good idea.

Every time the child does the deed in the pot, offer washing hands with scented soaps as a reward.

Why didn’t I do this? Because my daughter is already a fan of washing hands and doesn’t leave the washroom for this reason. She could stay there for ages! It’s that simple.

So, these tips worked for me, I hope you will also find them helpful.