Potty Training Tricks

I've learned a few little tips and tricks to help my daughter on her potty training journey that I think are helpful. Because she is a little on the older side of training (almost 3) she can communicate very well and is a great manipulator – these are both reasons I think I procrastinated on training and told myself that she wasn't ready, but when she started asking for a diaper I decided it was time to get the ball rolling.

• "Keep going, keep going. Make bubbles! Push all the pee pee out!" Say anything you can to encourage them to totally empty their bladder, otherwise you will spend your entire day in the bathroom.
• It doesn't always have to be a fire drill. After situations like this: "Mommy I have to go pee pee!!" Pull over car immediately and rush to the nearest potty. "Mommy I don't have to go pee pee." UGH. I have learned to take my time finding a bathroom.
• Setting a timer to remind yourself when to take away liquids really helps. I learned this the hard way after giving my daughter milk right before bed. Oops.
• Your child will use the potty as a procrastination tool to avoid bedtime. My advice is to let them use the potty right before bed and then if you really think they may need to go later, wake them up before you go to bed. Do not let them trick you into going back to the potty numerous times.
• Pampers® Easy Ups trainers are awesome for night time training (changing sheets every.single.night is not fun) or if you need to get out of the house but aren’t totally confident that your child will be accident free.

So far these tricks have helped a lot in our potty training successes. What kind of tips and tricks do you have up your sleeves when it comes to potty training your child? Did you run into similar hurdles while running the potty training marathon (a sprint if you're one of the lucky ones)?