Parenting Blog · Real Talk
What worked, what didn’t, and everything in between — an honest look at one toddler’s journey to big-kid underwear.
“Every kid is different” is advice you’ll hear a thousand times — and it turns out it’s completely true. Here’s our full, unfiltered potty training story, from the too-early first attempts to the final cookie-bribed victory at three years old.
Starting Too Soon — The Almost-Two Attempt
Like many parents, we got excited when we started seeing the signs. She seemed curious about the bathroom, was aware when her diaper was wet, and had the kind of confidence that made us think, she’s got this. So just after she turned two, we went for it — naked method, little potty, the whole thing.
She just wasn’t ready. Looking back, she was showing all the right signs, but there’s a difference between noticing what’s happening in her body and actually being able to control it. The understanding wasn’t quite there yet, and no amount of encouragement was going to fast-track that developmental step.
Honest Lesson
Signs of awareness don’t always equal readiness. Trust the process — and trust your kid. Starting too early can actually make the whole journey longer and more frustrating for everyone.
The early days — so little, so curious, not quite ready yet.
The On-and-Off Middle Chapter
After that first attempt didn’t stick, we took a break — but not a long enough one. For the next several months, we kept trying here and there: a weekend push, a new product, a fresh incentive. Looking back, this was probably the hardest stretch of the whole experience.
The problem with the in-between phase is that it’s exhausting without being productive. She’d make a little progress, then regress. We’d get hopeful, then frustrated. What we should have done is stepped back completely for a few months and come back with full commitment when she was genuinely ready.
Advice for Other Parents
If training isn’t clicking after a real effort, stop entirely for 6–8 weeks. A proper break followed by a focused push is more effective than sporadic attempts that go nowhere.
What We Tried — The Full Product Rundown
Oh, the things we bought. Here’s an honest breakdown of what actually helped and what we could have skipped:
She loved it at first — felt like hers. Great starting point. Worth it
Huge hit initially! The novelty eventually wore off. Temporary
The game-changer. She could get on herself — independence matters! Game changer
She loved it, great for normalizing the concept. Loved it
Fun for a while. Good motivator when she was almost ready. Helpful phase
Training Underwear
Skip these! Too thick, felt too much like a diaper. Would skip
Click here to shop all of the products we used.
The biggest surprise? Training underwear. We thought the padded kind would ease the transition, but they were so thick they just felt like a diaper to her. The moment we switched to regular cotton underwear, something clicked almost immediately.
The Naked Method — and the Princess Problem
We used the naked method, which is exactly what it sounds like: three days with no pants, so there’s nothing to rely on and every urge has to be handled. It genuinely works — when your child is ready.
Our little complication? She loved being naked. Like, suspiciously loved it. Getting her to put pants back on after the three-day window was its own battle. And on the days we did manage to get something on her, she had strong opinions: only a dress, please. No pants. She’s a princess, apparently, and princesses don’t do pants.
Real Mom Moment
We spent a not-small amount of time during this era just trying to convince a two-year-old that pants are non-negotiable. She disagreed. Firmly. Pick your battles — the potty is the hill to die on, not the outfit.
🎉Christmas Break — When It Finally Clicked
After a summer of slow, tentative progress, we were hoping she’d be trained before preschool started in November. She wasn’t quite there, so she started in pull-ups. But Christmas break became the turning point we’d been working toward for almost a year.
We went all in again — naked method, full focus, no half-measures. This time was different. She was almost three, her body could do what her brain was asking, and everything finally made sense to her. The peeing on the potty became consistent within days.
The Bluey seat era — she was so proud of herself. 💙
💩The Poop Problem (Yes, We’re Going There)
Just when you think you’re done — there’s pooping. Peeing on the potty clicked beautifully, but pooping was a whole separate negotiation. For about a month, she’d pee perfectly on the potty and then very intentionally wait for a pull-up to handle the rest.
The solution? Bribery. Specifically, cookies. One cookie per successful poop on the potty. We’re not proud. We’re also not sorry. Within a few weeks of consistent cookie incentivizing, she was fully on board. By her third birthday, we were completely done with diapers and pull-ups.
🍪 Poop Training Tip
Don’t be afraid to use a special reward just for pooping — it often requires its own separate motivation push. Separate the two milestones and celebrate both.
Fully Trained by Age 3 🎉
It took almost a year of attempts, a lot of naked days, a stair-step toilet seat, regular cotton underwear, and more than a few cookies — but she got there on her own timeline.
The Real Takeaways
Start when they’re genuinely ready, not just when they’re showing signs. Signs are a starting point for observation, not a green light.
If it’s not working, take a real break. Not a few days — a few months. Come back fresh and committed rather than grinding away with half-hearted attempts.
Skip the training underwear. Go straight to regular cotton underwear. The thickness of training pants really can blunt the feedback loop that helps kids connect the dots.
Treat peeing and pooping as two separate milestones. They often come at different times and need different approaches. That’s completely normal.
The stair-step toilet seat was worth every penny. Giving her the ability to get on the toilet independently removed a barrier we didn’t even know was there.
And most importantly — your child will get there. The months of effort, the messes, the frustration and the false starts all fade pretty quickly once they’ve got it. You’ll get there too. 💛
Written with love (and a lot of laundry experience) · Real Parenting, Real Talk
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Carolyn Whitman 
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