When potty training time rolls around, you’re eager for anything that will help the process go as smoothly as possible. A potty training chart along with the right rewards can be the ticket to success. If you’re looking for ideas for how to go about it, keep reading.
In this article, we’ll discuss a few potty training chart ideas, including the design, how to reward your little one, where to hang the chart, and more. Plus, since accidents are inevitable, we’ll also offer a few of our tips for keeping your little one and their bed clean.
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Potty Training Chart Ideas
The colorful potty training chart is a fun part of the learning process for your little one! But remember that it may not go well if you try to toilet train your child before they’re ready.
While some kids start earlier and others later, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, most little ones in the United States start potty training between two and three years old.
Don’t start until your toddler is ready and if you have questions or concerns, speak to your pediatrician. How can you know your child is ready? Read this article to learn about some of the signs.
As long as they’re ready and you are, too, here are a few ideas for using a potty training chart.
Choose A Fun Design
Potty training charts are commonly used, which means you can find plenty of printable options online. This is the easy-peasy, no-thinking-required option. All you have to do is click “print.”
Or, you can make your own with paper, markers, and stickers or by using a dry erase board — this option is perfect for letting your creative juices flow.
Whether you print one or make your own, choose a fun design that’s colorful and interesting to your child. If your little one loves ballerinas, go ballet all the way. If they’re crazy about airplanes, make their chart fly. You get the idea.
If they’re old enough, get your child involved in the process, too.
Hang It At Eye-Level
Once you’ve chosen a chart, hang it in the bathroom where they can see it and easily reach it to put the stickers on (if that’s the reward system you’re using).
Use language that your toddler understands to explain the chart and when they’ll get to put stickers on or get a reward. That brings us to the next point.
To explain the reward system to your child, you’ll have to decide exactly how to go about it. There are multiple options.
Choose What You’ll Reward
A potty training chart is all about providing your little one with some motivation to use the potty and making the toilet training process exciting. But exactly which behaviors you reward is up to you and where your child is in the process of potty training.
You may choose to give your toddler a sticker each time they potty, on accident-free days, or a small sticker for each task: telling you they need to go, pulling down their pants, wiping, flushing, and washing their hands, for example.
As we mentioned, the behavior you reward also depends on how far along they are in the process. For little ones who are just starting, you may give them a sticker simply for sitting on the potty, even if they don’t pee or poop.
Then, you can change the system and explain that they’ll get a sticker each time they use the potty. After a while, the reward can change to a sticker for a set amount of time without an accident.
The chart you choose will depend on how you decide to dole out rewards.
Give Immediate Rewards
Keep in mind that little ones don’t understand time the way adults do. The idea of saving up for a reward later might be hard for them to grasp. Create their potty training chart so that their sticker reward is immediate and not too difficult to get. Success should be easy!
To make these stickers extra special, encourage your little one to show their chart off to friends and family members. They’ll ooh and ahh over your little one’s progress.
If stickers are the immediate reward, you can choose a chart that indicates a bigger reward after a certain number of stickers. While this reward will be bigger than a sticker, it should still be a small prize — nothing too big.
Here are a few ideas:
- A toy from the dollar store
- A book
- A piece of candy
- An activity book or new markers
- A special outing or play date
Use Positive Reinforcement
It’s simple but important: use positive reinforcement during potty training and don’t punish your little one for accidents.
Positivity should be sprinkled throughout the whole process, including encouraging words, high-fives, and hugs when your child has success.
As far as accidents, calmly clean things up and simply move on. Don’t shame them, give them negative attention, or make a big deal about it.
Tell Stories And Read Books
Here’s another tip for potty training charts: Don’t just rely on the chart.
As wonderful as the charts can be, expand your approach by telling stories about potty training charts and reading books about toilet training.
Potty Training Tips For Staying Clean
Since accidents are unavoidable, we’d like to wrap up by offering a few tips for staying clean when they strike.
Bring Extra Clothes Everywhere
Now that you’re in the potty-training stage, don’t forget to bring an extra change of clothes absolutely everywhere you go. That includes underwear and pants at the very least — socks, shoes, and a shirt or dress, too, to be on the safe side.
Buy Plenty Of Underwear
When you’re toilet training your little one, it’s time to transition from diapers to big kid undies. And as for their new underwear, make them cute and make them plentiful.
Pick undies with designs your child will love or let your child help choose their underwear. And buy plenty. Accidents are simply part of the process so your child might go through two or more pairs of underwear a day.
Get Extra Sheets
If you don’t have an extra set of sheets for your child’s bed, now is the time to buy one. This will make nighttime or naptime accidents easy to clean up. Take the dirty sheets off and throw the fresh sheets on. You can wash the soiled sheets later.
For supremely soft and snug-fitting sheets, try our Organic Cotton Sheets. These breathable sheets are designed to fit a standard-sized crib mattress which is also the mattress that you’ll use for the toddler bed if you have a convertible crib.
Superior airflow, organic muslin cotton, cute patterns, GOTS Certified, and all-around elastic for a safe fit. What more could you want out of a fitted sheet?
Use A Waterproof Mattress Pad
It goes without saying that a waterproof mattress pad is a must-have for the potty training period. Just keep in mind that a mattress pad can be waterproof and still be breathable and safe for indoor air quality.
Both our Waterproof Crib Mattress Pad and Twin Waterproof Mattress Pad are 100% waterproof to protect your mattress from leaks and mold and 100% breathable, adding ⅜-inch of air circulation to the surface of any mattress.
They’re also GREENGUARD Gold Certified, which means that the mattress pad has been independently tested and certified for low chemical emissions, exceeding the highest industry emissions safety standards to help improve indoor air quality.
To make clean-up a breeze, these mattress pads can be machine-washed on cold and dried on low heat.
Choose A Washable Mattress
For complete washability, outfit your toddler’s bed with a washable mattress. Yes, you read that right. A mattress that’s 100% washable. Talk about clean sleep and complete clean-up after an accident!
The Newton Crib Mattress and Kids’ Mattress are the only crib and kids’ mattresses that are washable from cover to core! And they’re made without foam, glue, latex, and springs, so your little one will enjoy a cleaner, hypoallergenic sleep.
What are the mattresses made of? Mostly air. They’re made of 90% air and are much more breathable than leading organic mattresses.
If you’re wondering how to go about washing this mattress, it’s simple. Remove the cover (which can be machine-washed on cold) and put the mattress core in your shower or tub. Use mild detergent to give it a rinse then let it air dry. That’s all there is to it.
A Potty Training Chart For Toilet Success
There’s not one magic potty training chart that will ensure success. But once you’ve decided how to reward, you’ll be able to pick out (or create) a chart that is fun and motivating for your child. Combine it with positive reinforcement, lots of love, and strategies such as reading books.
For accidents along the way, follow the tips we mentioned: bring extra clothes, buy plenty of underwear, and keep extra Organic Cotton Sheets on hand. Outfit their bed with a Waterproof Mattress Pad and a washable Kids’ Mattress (or Crib Mattress) for unrivaled cleanliness.
Soon, your little one will be well on their way to toileting on their own!
