Question for Those Mom's That Used the "3 Day Potty Training" Method

Updated on March 23, 2010
M.C. asks from Saint Petersburg, FL
17 answers

My son just turned 26 months and after reading several recommendations of this method on this site, I purchased the ebook. I have a couple of days scheduled off of work at the end of the month that will allow me to have four days in a row off with him to try this out. For those of you that used this method, did you follow it to a T and jump right in with the night training as well? I like what she says about day training but I don't know of any toddler that is night trained. Also, I won't restrict his liquids for 2-3 hrs before bed. I am ok with not encouraging liquids before bed but I would not refuse him if he wanted a drink. I am wondering if any of you had success with day training only with this method or if you found yourself surprised and the night training worked out well too. Thanks

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So What Happened?

Thanks for the feedback ladies. I will let you all know how it goes a few weeks from now.

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S.S.

answers from Miami on

He's too young. Wait till he tells YOU when HE'S ready to go on the potty! Why would you teach his brain what to do when it should be automatic?

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D.W.

answers from Jacksonville on

I've never heard of this BUT my daughter is 21 months and about a month ago we potty trained her in 3-4 days. She's fully potty trained in the day but not night, so it's totally possible! Good luck!

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M.H.

answers from Gainesville on

I can't comment specifically on this method, but wanted to let you know that both my boys were potty trained at night at the same time they were day trained. The were 2.5 and 23 months receptively (so, now you know of 2). So, it IS possible. I think many parents are just afraid to eliminate diapers at night, and if the child's got it on, they use it. I did not have to restrict liquids or train them to get up during the night, they simply went potty last thing before going to bed at night, and first thing when getting up in the morning. A lot of times, the child stays dry during the night, but as soon as he wakes up and has to go, he just goes in the diaper. If you can get in a good routine where you are waking your child shortly before he would normally wake on his own, and taking him to the potty to pee before anything else, he will get in the habit of using the potty first thing in the morning, rather than a diaper.

And no, he is NOT too young to try. My youngest was easily potty trained at 23 months. Waiting until age 3 to potty train is a relatively recent phenomenon, and not based on biology. All kids are different though, so don't get discouraged, but he is definitely not too young to give it a try.

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K.G.

answers from San Francisco on

I used this method with my twins at 29 months. I followd it as close as I could but not to a T. We did do the night training too and never had one accident. I didn't refuse liquids, I just didn't offer them. If the asked, I gave them a drink of water.

I bought their panties a size bigger so they were easier to pull down.

The 3 day method took us 5 days.

The first 2/3 days were nothing but accidents. The 4th was better and the 5th was wonderful. It was very tiring and emotional. But, it was successful.

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T.P.

answers from Tampa on

We had great luck with this with my 29 month old daughter. She was pretty much going independently with no accidents by early day 3; however, after about 5 nights of changing sheets and a screaming child, I put a pull up on at night. She was also waking in the morning with a full or fairly full diaper before we started training so I think it would have been amazing if she wasn't wet. I tried the waking her up after an hour to go and then 1 hour before she would normally wake in the morning, which was successful a few times, but ultimately exhausting for me with another baby in the house too. At this point, she is 31 months and wakes up dry many days, but we're still using the pull up at night. Naps have always been ok as long as she goes potty beforehand. At night, she has milk with dinner around 5:30 and goes to bed around 7:30 with maybe some sips of water if she wants. As someone who treated women with incontinence, I can tell you that restricting fluids before bed is recommended to avoid having to go at night. As you said, you don't have to deny him, but limiting to sips is best. You can't expect him to not go at night if you're giving him fluids up until bedtime.
One tip with the nighttime thing is to put a double set of sheets/matress pad on the bed. That way, if he does have an accident, you can just peel off the top set, throw them in the wash and he can get right back into bed without having to wait. I also used the padded plastic pants over her undies at night which helped to contain accidents a little better and limited the amount of wetness on the sheets.
Good luck!

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T.S.

answers from Orlando on

We did the "3 day potty training" with our son at 2 1/2...he was not ready any before this (we tried several different times but it wasn't until 2 1/2 that any method worked). To be honest, I was beginning to wonder if 2 1/2 was the right age for him because the first two days he did nothing but pee on the floor. We set a timer and every 15-20 minutes we were in the bathroom trying and nothing...but as soon as we would get off the toliet he would pee -I was ready to give up. The evening of the second day we were suppose to be going to a small pizza place for dinner with family...we weren't sure what to do. I didn't want to go back to diapers because we were going out but he wasn't making any progress in underwear either...so, we decided to bite the bullet and keep him in underwear. And to our surprise he went pee for the first time in the toliet during dinner...and he was soooo happy and proud (but as a new mom to a boy I was rather surprised when I realized I brought him a change of clothes but I was the one that really needed them...he sat to go potty and most came out through the seat onto me). That was the positive start we needed. Day three we made tons of progress and even decided to run errands (but I brought a boy seat cover with the built in cup this time...it only takes me once to learn :-). He did GREAT and didn't have any accidents that day. So I am definitely for this method - for the most part our son was day time potty trained in three days.

We started night time training a little after he turned three and I can't really say "started", it just happened. When he turned three he didn't really want to put a night time diaper on (we did not use pull-ups ever) so we told him if he could go five nights without having a wet diaper in the morning we would try...and he did so we honored our promise and haven't turned back since. His bedtime is 8:00 so we try not to give him anything to drink after 7:15 but I am with you...if he is thrusty I'm going to give him something, just not a lot - he can have "three sips" of water (which is really a lot more than that since what he considers a sip is different than what a real sip is).

Hope my story helps but every child is different. Good luck and let us know how it goes!!

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S.B.

answers from Tampa on

I did not do this method, but my son was ready & was potty trained for urine at 25 months, feces a few weeks later (found the right positive reinforce,ment or reward :) & a few weeks later he dry at night... He is now 33 months & has an evening accident about once every 3-4 weeks (usually when his allergies are bad- I think the Benadryl makes him sleep through the "urge").

I do NOT restrict fluids at all (I am always thirsty & think it would be cruel) he actually goes to sleep w/ a spill-proof sippy cup!

Kids are ready when they are ready. I FULLY anticipated training at 3 (you know, "because boys are slower...") Don't fall into believing what you hear- every child is unique. If your child isn't ready or successful during your vacation- just try it eves & weekends. Best of luck & don't stress about it! :).

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M.L.

answers from Tampa on

My daughter was potty-trained in 3 days, it does work if they are ready! She was 2 years and 1 month old when we did this. And yes, she was potty trained through the night as well. But I will say, she wasn't peeing in her diaper at night anymore, so that is when I started. I am not sure what this method says to do, but we stayed home for 3 days, put her in only underwear (no shorts/pants) and went for it! I have heard you can also do no underwear at all, just naked on the bottom. My daughter did not want the little potty, she wanted to feel like us, so we put her on the big potty. Her little potty was fun for her to play, but when she actually wanted to go, she used the big potty. The first day, I will say, you kinda question your decision! It's a lot of mess everywhere and putting them on the potty every 10 minutes like clockwork. You have to learn their peeing schedule. I never did pull-ups at night and my daughter did fine, but like I said, she was having dry diapers at night anyways (and she always had a full sippy cup of milk right before bed). The 2nd day was much better, she was peeing on it most of the time. 3rd day she peed everytime. Now, I will tell you, you have to be constantly asking them. You will be very in tune with his schedule, so you should know when they maybe need to go. I felt this was the absolute best method, it DID work in 3 days to those moms who don't believe it, and plan on doing it with my next daughter at 2! My sister also used this method after trying for 6 months with pull-ups, and it worked perfectly for her too! Good luck!

T.B.

answers from Chicago on

I didn't use this technique, but did use some of the Potty Training Bootcamp book online. What I found was that when my son started going reliably on the potty during the day, he started holding it during his naps and at night. He took about 1.5-2 weeks to train, and as soon as his diapers were dry (toward the end of the 2 weeks), I stopped putting him in diapers. (We cloth diaper, never used pull-ups). IMO, there are tons of kids who are considered "potty trained" but are still using Pull-Ups at night. Sometimes for years. I'm not sure why that is. If I were you, I would go for it all and go for night training too, but, I also don't know how they recommend doing it in this book.

T.

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

Night-time dryness... can even take until 7-10 years old, and is normal.
It is about biological ability and the myelin nerve sheath development. NOT about the child being lazy or their attitude.
This is also per our Pediatrician.

My daughter, was 5 when she was able to be dry at night. BUT there are still accidents at night sometimes, still. Normal. A kid has accidents.. day or night. Normal.
Just keep it real.. .and normal expectations. Otherwise it will be frustrating.

All the best,
Susan

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S.W.

answers from Miami on

My son is 22 months and we are in about our 3rd week of this potty training method. I am only concerned with the daytime at this stage, I think the night time will come eventually. However, my son is now very aware at night time when he wants to go. I have been woken up a few times for him to go, and he does, but its different every night.
I am happy to continue with the daytime only. As for the method, its great, after the first few days of constantly asking every 30 mins, it is now between 1-2 hours, depending on how many drinks he has had. Yes we still have some accidents, but only if he is playing with friends or is engrossed in something and he forgets, or if he tells me no and then he goes 2 seconds later. But its all worth it.
My biggest recommendation is ALWAYS have something in the back of the car for him to go potty in. Even if he has gone just as you leave home, sometimes they need to go again 5 mins later. I used to have the potty but one day forgot and know he is happy to go in a
'to go cup" ....hey it works.
Good luck.

B.C.

answers from Dallas on

I'm doing the 3 day right now. My daughter is 27 months old. I'm not going to worry about night training right now. My daughter likes her milk before bed, and that's ok with me. I'm just going to have her sleep in a pull-up. The diapers are GONE!

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T.B.

answers from Miami on

I've never heard of the 3 day potty training method. I will have to read the posts on here to see what others have to say about it. I cannot imagine this working but if "they" say it works, then, okay. If your 3 day method doesn't work, this is how I potty trained all 3 of my children, my two daughters by age 2 and my son by age 2 1/2. Night time training follows shortly thereafter but if you are not willing to restrict liquids at least 2 hours before bedtime then you will be using pull-ups for a longer period of time. All 3 of my children were toddlers when they were day and night trained and I have a friend who potty trained her son day and night at 15 months. It can be done and I've done it by age 2 and 2 1/2. With that said, for day time training, I let my babies run around the house with no bottoms on. No shorts, not pants, no diaper. I put them on the toilet first thing in the morning and put them on the toilet every hour afterward. They got a reward (not a bribe) for doing something on the toilet. No reward just for sitting there. No, they actually have to do something, a drip, a dribble....something gets a reward. I used Gerber gummy snacks. You get something like 6 little snack bags to a box. Not to be confused with one bag, no, they got ONE gummy treat and they only got the gummy treat for potty rewards that way they have an association with the reward/snack for doing something on the toilet. If you choose a different reward, that is fine as long you don't use it for some other kind of task. Your son is 26 months so he knows when he has to pee and poop. Trust me, most babies resist by holding it for as long as they can so watch for the pee-pee dance and the poopy dance. You'll know which dance it is by which body part he grabs while doing the dance. Keep the camera handy, it will bring good chuckles. How long does this method I'm suggesting take? It can take a week. It can take longer depending on the child. If you have a stubborn one, it very well may take longer but once you have the day time down pat, night time follows but you have to be willing to resist giving drinks at least 2 hours before bedtime. Potty before bath and once more just before getting tucked in for the night. My first daughter took a bit longer to night time train, each child is different and adapts differently to new changes, like potty training. Once day time training is complete, be prepared for some regression. It happens. If it does, take the underpants off again and make him run around the house bottomless. Watch out for lazy ness...those times when putting down a toy is just too important to go potty.

Good luck with whichever method you choose. A fun and exciting time for whole family.

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T.S.

answers from Sacramento on

I used this method with my son, but not to a T, necessarily. HE was the one who wanted out of diapers at 24months, so we put no diaper day on the calendar a couple of weeks out and then never looked back.

I DID NOT night train him (I didn't make any changes to his routine of milk before bedtime either). About a month after he was day trained, he was waking up dry every morning, so I just stopped putting a diaper on him.

Hope this helps,
T.

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B.B.

answers from Orlando on

does it really work?

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E.C.

answers from Miami on

If you wait that your child is more than 2.5 years old it will be so so easy that you will not need books, restrict liquids or nothing special and in three days you will be out of diapers day for and night. Doing training before 2.5 years old is unnecesary hard work and dipers at night till 4.....

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O.T.

answers from Tampa on

hi,
we used this method with our son when he was 2.5 y/o. I also bought a book and was a little bit sceptical. But it worked for both night and day! First 2 days was absolute disaster, I thought he'll never get it. But on the day 3 something clicked and we had no problems ever since (he is 4 now). We had few accidents in couple months to follow after the training, but it was no big deal.
I highly recommend it! Good luck!

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