3-Day potty training, or intensive potty training can be done with the following method, once you have determined if your child is ready for potty training. This whole experience must be looked at as a positive learning experience - a happy day on which you will expose your child to a new skill.

 

Day 1

 

Plan to be at home all day. Look forward to a day of being focussed on your child with little other distraction. What a rare treat to set aside a day like this! Choose an area where accidents on the floor will not be a problem - either outside, or in a non-carpetted room. Even the kitchen is fine. Take all nappies, underwear and pants off of your child. Let them play bare-bottomed all day. If you think it might help, offer them salty snacks and lots to drink. The idea is to get them to need to wee as much as possible so that you can train them in what to do each time they wee. (Don't be in hurry. They will only need to wee every hour or 2 or 3 so relax and enjoy your time playing with them.)

 

Start first thing in the morning by taking their nappy off as soon as they awake and putting them on the toilet. If they sleep in the day, and just before they go down at night, put the nappy back on last thing before they go to bed, after a try on the toilet as well.

 

You can ask them every hour or so through the day if they need to sit on the toilet, but don't push them too hard. You don't want them to buck against it because they feel forced. Rather just expect accidents. As they begin to wee (or poo), rush their sweet little bare-bottom straight to the toilet, and hopefully some of it will land where it is supposed to. Jump up and down and celebrate, and give them a sweet if you want to. But you can only do the sweet reward if you have disciplined your child enough so that they won't throw a tantrum for another sweet when they haven't earned it. They must be able to understand that the sweet is a reward only for when they manage to get something into the toilet. A celebratory dance is sufficient reward if sweets might cause a problem.

 

And that's day 1! You don't expect them to behave any differently themselves, or to appear to have learnt anything - but they're starting to understand that releasing their bladder is associated with being rushed to the toilet. And mom and dad seem to think this connection is very clever. You have spoken to your child throughout the day and cemented any new vocabulary - e.g. toilet, wee, poo etc.

 

Day 2

 

You're still at home. Your child is still completely bare-bottomed, so they don't think they might have a nappy on. It will hopefully occur to them that if they are successful at going to the toilet, mom and dad will think they are geniuses. Today you can offer every hour if your child would like to go and sit on the toilet and see if they can wee on demand before their bladder is overfull. They should be able to understand the vocabulary, "Do you want to go and sit on the toilet?" or whatever words you use. As in all things that we want our young toddlers to grasp quickly, keep the vocabulary and sentences constant so it is just a potty training lesson and not also a language lesson.

 

Keep the overboard praise or sweet reward coming with each success. Your child should get some entire wee's or poo's into the toilet today, but will probably have accidents for about half of them.

 

Day 3

 

You might even venture a short outing today - but no nappy or underwear! Just a loose pair of shorts or trousers. Obviously ask your child to hop on the toilet before you leave, and then again ask every hour if they would like to go to the toilet. Preferably don't go too far from a toilet, and don't attempt this if you will show your frustration if they have an accident while you are out. Your child is still in training and only successes are celebrated at this stage. Accidents are completely unintentional and should not be berated. Don't be surprised if you have a little boy and they are not keen to jump on the toilet until 2 or 3 hours are passed. They have far bigger bladders than little girls.

 

Going forward

 

That's it - no more nappies. Your child should preferably stay bare bottomed at home or with loose pants on (no underwear) when you go out for the next 2-3 months. This is to avoid them forgetting that they are not wearing a nappy.

 

If you found on day 2 or 3 that your child has made no progress whatsoever, put the nappies back on and try again in 2-3 months time. There is no point in fighting an uphill battle for months and months when they are not ready. If they are ready, this 3-day potty training method should be successful in three days.

 

Night Time

 

Keep your child in nappies when they sleep unless their nappy is almost dry if you were to check just before they wake up. (I say "just before" because many children might be quite capable of not weeing through the night, but then will wee as they wake up rather than get up to go to the toilet.) Children have a maturing in their brain anytime between about 18 months and 6 years old where their bodies will start to keep the wee concentrated at night so they don't wee as often as during the day. If this has not yet kicked in for your child you will drive yourself mad by trying to teach them not to wee in their beds.

 

Read Baby Centre's article on 3-Day Potty Training