How to Potty Train in THREE DAYS!

Aside from getting your little one to sleep through the night, potty training is one of the most exasperating, and stress inducing tasks a parent can take on. Many a blog post has been written about how to potty train your child, and I have heard so many myths, including boys are harder to train than girls.  As a BCBA who has worked in the field for several years, I can tell you potty training is not difficult if it is done correctly.  The potty training method I used with my clients, and that I use with my own children, is scientifically proven to be effective. It is important to note that this method was originally developed to help the mentally handicapped in an institutional setting, however don't let that deter you from using this method.  Like I have said, I have used this method with my own, typically developing child and it was very simple and effective.  Just be aware that this method does require some preparation and commitment on your part, so make sure you are prepared; the majority of potty training failures are due to parent mistakes and lack of preparedness.  If you want to be successful in your potty training, you have to be consistent and follow through, no matter the messes.

The first thing you need to do to prepare for potty training is mark out 3-4 CONSECUTIVE days that you and your little one can be at home all day to do this method.  The reason fro this is you need to make sure you are able to set up as many A-B-C pairings as possible, and that you are able to consistently match the appropriate behavior (i.e., going in the toilet) with an appropriate consequence (i.e., reinforcement).  To be successful in this method, you need to create as many pairings as possible.

The second thing you need to do is buy a TON of children's underwear, because when you start this method you need to take your kiddo out of diapers PERMANENTLY, with the only exception being diapers at night, because night time wetting isn't about training, it's about age,  Studies have shown that children who switch between diapers and underwear (yes pull-ups count too) take longer to potty train, then their peers that are only in underwear.  The reason for this, is the A-B-C contingency isn't consistently being reinforced.  Sometimes, it's okay for him to pee in his pants, sometimes it's not-you see how that can get confusing for our little ones.  Once all of that is done you can begin your potty training adventure!

Materials Needed:

1) Timer (your microwave timer is fine, just something you can hear)
2) Reinforcers- These should be something your child really likes but they also need to be small and simple to remove. I used chopped up Reese's Pieces for my daughter and these worked great.  You also need to make sure your child doesn't have access to the reinforcer before hand, they need to be in a state of deprivation.
3) Chart-Something simple for you to write down when your child sat on the toilet, when he got off, and if he was successful or not.
4) Potty seat
5) Books, toys, movies, things small and portable you can have in the bathroom
6) Chair for you
7) LOTS of water
8) Salty foods

Steps:

1) Wake your child up and immediately put him on the toilet. DO NOT give him an opportunity to go in his diaper. When you put him on the toilet begin feeding him salty foods to make him thirsty and then giving him lots of water (this will make him pee more and increase your opportunities to pair the desired behavior with a reinforcer).

2) Write down what time you put him on the toilet. Continue to feed him salty food and water UNTIL he pees in the toilet, this is now your baseline time.  This is the longest you will let him sit on the toilet without peeing. Write down the time when he went pee and also that he peed. NOTE: It may take several hours to get your baseline, that is okay, that is why you have all the toys and fun stuff in the bathroom. (That's why we call it a "potty party").

3) Immediately after he finishes peeing, give him tons of praise, and his reinforcer, and take him off the toilet (he should be in his underwear now).  Set the timer for 5 minutes and let him go and play.  During this time be right next to him.  This is done for two reasons: first, you need to continue to feed him salty foods and water (to make him pee again), and second, you need to make sure he doesn't have an accident.

       3A) If he does not have an accident when the time goes off, tell him something to the effect of     "good job not having an accident". Then put him back on the toilet, you will continue to feed him salty food and water until he either goes pee (then repeat steps 2-3) or until you hit baseline time.  If baseline time is hit then take him off the toilet and set the timer for another five minutes.  If he pees on the toilet let him off.  If he has three consecutive times at 5 minutes WITHOUT an accident, you can increase his next time off by 5 minutes (i.e., he now has 10 minutes off).  With each three consecutive breaks without an accident you will increase the time off by 5 minutes until he is at the typical length of time between urination for his age.

       3B) If during any of the times off he has an accident, DO NOT SCOLD HIM. Help him change out of his underwear and into a clean pair.  Then have him help you clean up the mess.  It is important that he help you to clean up, this shows him that having an accident result in a non-preferred activity i.e., cleaning up pee, while going pee in the toilet results in a preferred activity i.e., access to the reinforcer.  Once the mess is cleaned up restart the time for another 5 minutes and continue to feed him salty foods and water until the timer goes off, then go through steps 2-3 and 3a or 3b.  Remember he needs three CONSECUTIVE successes in the toilet to increase his time off, so any accidents mean you start over in your success.  That means if he's had two consecutive success and then has an accident you CAN NOT increase the time upon his next success because you don't have three consecutive success.  If you notice you have increased the time and he is not having any success, go back to the last successful time to create those pairings again.

4) Once he has reached the typical amount of time between urinations (usually 2-3 hours depending on age) and is consistent with his success you can start working on him telling you he needs to go potty.  This usually happens on the second day or so, when the time goes off you will ask him if he needs to go potty.  if he says "yes" take him, if he goes give him lots of praise and a large portion of the reinforcer, for example a large piece of Reece's.  If he doesn't go, tell him it's okay and let him off, no punishment, no big deal.  If he says that he doesn't need to go don't force him.  Keep an eye on him and if you see him doing the "pee dance" ask again.  If he has an accident help him change and clean up like you did in step 3B and reset the timer.  Doing this will help him to recognize the sensation of needing to go pee, without a diaper.  If he INDEPENDENTLY comes to you and tells you he needs to go pee (you didn't ask him) and he actually goes, give him LOTS of praise and a HUGE piece of the reinforcer, for my daughter I gave her half of a Reece's Pieces (pretty big for an 18 month old).

NOTE: This training is focused on training for urination, this is because it is a lot easier to bring about urination (by salty food and water) than bowel movements.  You will have to read your child's visual ques for BM's.  This may be straining, hiding, squatting, etc and ask him if he needs to go poo. Then put him on the toilet and reinforce when he is successful.  It usually doesn't take that long to potty train a child for BM's because the concept usually generalizes from urination training.

Since you will NOT be putting him in diapers or pull ups during the day I suggest getting a small backpack for him to wear that holds all of his accident accessories.  I purchased one for the first time I took my daughter out after our third day of potty training.  I put a few extra pairs of underwear, pants, socks, and shoes  in it, along with some paper towels.  I had her carry it and I told her she was a big girl and these were her accident supplies but that we didn't want to use them, and she needed to tell me if she needed to go potty.  I also showed her that her Reese's were in the bag as well so she new she would get a prize if she went in the toilet. This worked great!

After you have been going about town for a couple weeks, depending on the child, you can begin to fade the reinforcer. Instead of giving him a treat every time he goes pee in the toilet, fade to a treat every other time.  Still give vocal praise, but have it be more subdued, not a full parade but a happy "good job, you're amazing".  If he asks for his treat tell him "next time".  Once you know he can still be successful with a treat every other instance, then fade to every two times, then every three times, etc until he is at a more typical reinforcement schedule, of subdued vocal praise.

I also suggest you get a pee mat for your car seat (image below).  The slide very easily onto the seat and can hold unto a liter of fluid, which makes it so you don't have to tear your entire car seat apart just so you can wash the cover.  Instead you just pull of the pad and throw it in the washer, super easy! This was by far my favorite potty training accessory I purchased during this entire thing. Babies R Us has a really cute one with pockets for storage that I like a lot.

I hope this post was easy and helpful for all of you venturing into this amazing milestone.  If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below and I will respond as soon as I can. I will also be creating a potty readiness post and linking it here for you all to know when your little one is ready to "be a big kid."


*NOTE: Before beginning any potty training routine, you should consult with your pediatrician to make sure there are no dietary or physical issues which may impede the potty training process i.e., constipation, lack of bladder control due to sphincter development issues, etc.  If any concerns arise during potty training you should consult your pediatrician immediately to make sure your little one is healthy and thriving under this new condition. I can not provide medical information and advice as I am not a medical practitioner.