Potty Training a 1 Year Old

Dear friends, I apologize for my lack of content lately. My pandemic anxiety rendered me useless for anything except daily household maintenance and delivery grocery shopping. Once I realized I would not be able to get flour or yeast, it was all I could think about!. And that’s okay.  

Let me emphasize that again. It’s perfectly okay if you are not functioning quite up to par right now (or during the past few months). 

I thought I would be super productive. I was not.

I thought I would devise amazing and exciting activities to entertain and educate our toddler and preschooler. I did not.

I thought I would get in the best shape and health of my life. I did not.

Sugar made a comeback in a big way.

I make light of it, but we are very fortunate that I was already staying home with the kids and we were accustomed to living on one income – an income which remained stable during this whole mess.

Many families are struggling. 

So it’s not only okay to not be on your best mom game, it’s also okay to be feeling anxiety, fear, anger, stress, exhaustion, etc. 

And it’s okay if you happen to feel happy or do something amazing in spite of the chaos. 

Keys for Potty Training

We certainly tried to be amazing. We attempted to potty train our then 19-month-old daughter when Florida finally “shut down” in March. We failed miserably.  

Perhaps that’s a bit harsh. I should give us a little credit. We successfully trained her in the potty procedure; however, we jumped ship after about two days when she wasn’t realizing when she needed to go. 

Don’t be like us. Stick with it. 

It was really poor timing on our part. I am a generally anxious person, and I was not able to maintain the house, order groceries (or lack thereof), research mask-making, obsessively scroll through the news, and keep kids alive, all while one of them peed on the floor every 20 minutes or so. I found myself in a pandemic stupor, and potty training was the first unnecessary task to be eliminated.  

Fast forward four months. I had finally adjusted to pandemic life. Groceries were readily available again. Mask-making had been mastered. We had a good daily routine going. Our daughter was 23 months old and clearly interested in using the potty. It was time. 

I wanted to share our experience with her training because every kid is different, and patience is key. If I had had the capacity for patience when she was 19 months, she probably would have gotten it.  

Every Kid is Different

Our son was 28 months when we trained him. He learned how to use the potty in about 6 hours. He understood when he needed to go, but it still took about two weeks for him to stop having pee accidents and another month for us to train him for poop. It was a frustrating experience but worth it in the end.

Our daughter was a totally different story. She had the potty sequence down at 19 months, so that part was easy! Now at 23 months, we briefly revisited the sequence, upped the praise and rewards, and then pumped her full of her favorite juices to increase her opportunities to go. To our dismay, she was still not feeling the urge to go. I was quite discouraged, but my ever-optimistic husband encouraged me to stick with it.  

Potty Training Patience

Finally on day 5 she appeared to be getting it! She went to the potty several times without prompting! This was the carrot that I needed to keep going!

On day 6, she had two accidents. It was almost as if she needed reminded what the urge to go felt like. 

On day 7, she used the potty independently all day! Even for poop! This was a huge relief not only because she finally got it, but also because poop trained naturally. I had heard tell of this highly desirable phenomenon but unfortunately did not experience it with our son. The hard work paid off!!!  

Back to the two lessons of this story: Every kid is different, and patience is key.

Both kids found success but in very different ways. Try to remember when you reach a difficult moment in training, every kid is different. Some kids may need extra training in the potty procedure. Some may need to sit on the potty every 20 minutes for more days than seems feasible. Some may need additional training for poop. And, if you are really lucky, your kid might just get all of it that first day and be done!

But if she doesn’t, be patient. Stick with the plan. Celebrate the successes. She will get there.

Looking for specifics on how to potty train? Enroll in my online potty training course or read my more detailed potty training post!