Potty Training The Strong Willed Child #CtnlCareRoutine

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Remember when your kids were 3 and everything out of their mouth was  “No”?  “No, I don’t want to go to bed”, “No I don’t want to eat that”, “No, I don’t want to get in the car”. Well, I have a 3 year old little girl who is as strong-willed as they come. And the word “No” is at the top of her vocabulary list. She is a tiny little thing but boy is she fierce. Last month we decided it would be a good time to start potty training her so we set off to the store to buy all the potty training essentials. You know, a princess potty (because every Diva needs to hear a chime when they tinkle) , Dora Panties (because she will help you find the map), stickers (because I love scraping them off my wood floors), soft toilet paper and wet wipes. We prefer to use Cottonelle Toilet Paper because it is so much softer than the other name brands. I find it soothing, yet strong and gentle. It is one of the better bathroom tissues on the market that that doesn’t disintegrate in your hand. It also does not clog our toilets like other brands have done in the past. My older boys say using Cottonelle is like having a pillow between your cheeks!

We also always buy the Cottonelle flushable moist wipes because, well, who doesn’t like having a clean behind? We use the same type of product on babies so why can’t grown-ups and toddlers use them too? They are the perfect tool for potty training. We keep a container on hand in every bathroom in the house.  I even take them with us when we go on vacation. You can never have enough wet wipes.

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Ready, Set, Go!

After we got everything we needed we checked out and were ready to start Potty Training! I knew it was going to be tough but I was ready to give it everything I had. It was my first time potty training a girl and I wasn’t sure if it would be harder or easier than my boys. We had been reading books about using the potty and watching potty movies so I was hoping for an easy transition.

cottonelle wipes #CtnlCareRoutine #PMedia and #ad

Screeeech!

However, that was not the case. Things got off to a rocky start. My daughter refused to sit on the potty, refused to put on her underwear or even look in the same direction as the bathroom. All I got from her was “No Potty”  on top of screaming and tears.  So, I tried to come up with some creative ways to make her feel more comfortable. I placed her “friends” on the potty to start. However, I don’t think they were too amused.

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I tried showing her that pull-ups are not necessary as they are just glorified diapers. Even Mrs. Bear decided to take hers off.

cottonelle collage #CtnlCareRoutine #PMedia and #ad

Choices

My daughter is very independent and does much better when given a choice. If I do not give her a choice she will undo whatever it was that I did and re-do it herself.  That is very exhausting. So It wasn’t until I started giving her choices during potty training that she became more at ease.  This is where The Cottonelle Clean Care routine came in handy. Since we keep a Cottonelle System in every bathroom I was able to ask my daughter “Would you like to use the potty upstairs or downstairs?”  She liked being able to decide for herself.  I would also put a fun toy in a basket like bubbles in different shaped bottles. I would say  “Do you want to blow the tall bubbles or the short bubbles after you go potty? Giving her the power to choose eliminated any struggles we were dealing with. I also let her pull the wipes out of the dispenser on her own. She learned quickly how to wipe herself. The same went for the toilet paper. I would tell her she can tear 3 squares off for pee pee and 5 off for a poop. It’s nice to know that she isn’t wasting the roll.

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We also let her choose between using the potty that sits on the ground or the potty seat that is attached to the regular toilet.

cottonelle seat #CtnlCareRoutine #PMedia and #ad

 Set The Potty Timer

Strong Willed Children are notorious for pushing the limits. That is why it is a good idea to use a timer during potty training. As a parent sometimes we also have to be the enemy. However,  to help avoid fights and lessen the drama try using the timer on your phone. Set it for 25 or 30 minutes to remind your child to use the potty.  Then the timer would be saying “It’s time to go potty!” instead of you always having to be the bad guy.  Blaming an inanimate object works really well and my daughter was very receptive to it.

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 Consistancy

Last but not least, be consistent. I always require my daughter to use the potty before we get in the car or before we start something new. I also ask her to go to the potty at soon as she wakes up in the morning as well as before she puts her pajamas on at night. She is also reminded after at least an hour of continuous play. I hope to have it so engrained in her brain that I will not have to remind her on a regular basis.

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23 thoughts on “Potty Training The Strong Willed Child #CtnlCareRoutine”

  1. Thank you for all the wonderful advise! My 3 year old is very strong willed also, so I have been having some of the same issues you did. I am going to make a cottonelle kit for each bathroom also

    Reply
  2. Oooo I really like the timer idea! We are JUST starting to train my son and he’s definitely one of these strong willed children you talk about lol

    Reply
  3. This is great. We just got the NextStep built in potty seat and I love it. My two year old likes sitting on it but has yet to actually go. I think we’ll be waiting to take the plunge into full blown potty training until after vacation time because I know it will be difficult to get him to go then. I like your tips on setting the alarm, and I love your pictures and captions! Cute!

    Reply
  4. Thank you for the tips! We’re not potty training yet, but it’s coming up soon. We all actually already use Cottonelle wipes. Toilet paper just doesn’t clean enough, yuck.

    Reply
  5. Hahaha, you really are funny. And fun at potty training. I call my little monster a stubborn donkey and she says donkeys don’t use the potty :)

    Reply
  6. Wish I had had this to read when my oldest was potty-training. He was so hard and since he was my first I was clueless. He’s 14 now so obviously it all worked out but this is great info for those going thru it.

    Reply
  7. I was just thinking that I am almost done with diapers forever. I even put my 2-year-old on the potty today just to see if he would stay there and he did, for about 2 seconds. :) All of my older boys were around 3 when they potty trained so I know we’ve got a ways to go. Good luck! And your daughter is adorable. (This post totally got the “Business” song in my head. lol! )

    Reply
  8. Potty training was a nightmare for us. I have a 9 and 7 year old, both boys. The first was easy the second was not – and I feel like they still haven’t let go of the “no” stage yet. We love the Cottonelle wet wipes – great product!!

    Reply

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