Potty Training Boot Camp: How We Potty Trained Our Boy/Girl Twins in 3 Weeks
“One and done” has always been my motto when it comes to raising boy/girl twins—and potty training is no exception! They went into diapers at the same time and I wanted them out of diapers at the same time. As soon as Joules and Ames turned 2 in October 2019, I was ready to hit the ground running. So, I briefly tried twice shortly after their birthday (at 24 months and at 25 months). BUT, I had to abort both missions after just a couple of days due to colds taking down the house and then the holidays kept us busy. At 29 months old, though, when we were forced into a quarantine lifestyle and nowhere to go, I figured there was no better time to re-attempt and knock it out! And the third time was a charm. ;) I have to admit, it was exponentially easier than I expected and I think 29 months was the perfect age for my twins to learn this new skill. At the time of me writing this (April 2020), it’s been about a month since we began and they are overall doing GREAT—some seldom accidents here or there, but overall very good!
When is the best age to potty train?
You have 2 separate beasts of potty training: daytime and nighttime—and they don’t always happen simultaneously. The best time for daytime potty training is typically said to be somewhere between 22-30 months. But that being said, every kid is different and will be ready in their own time. So, don’t sweat it if your kid is closer to 3 years old. As for nighttime potty training, that can happen anywhere from several weeks to a couple of years after being trained during the day. Some kids don’t even stay dry through the night until they’re 4 or 5 years old.
Which is better: potty training twins one at a time or both at once?
My personal opinion again: “One and done.” Just knock it all out at the same time—even if that means pushing off one child (who might be ready to learn) for a TINY bit until their sibling is also ready. That’s what we did. Joules was ready a little bit before Ames. But I wanted to get them both done together so we waited until the time was right for everyone. One hard month is better than two hard months. Right? That’s my belief at least! Plus, I felt like when Ames and Joules saw each other learning to use the potty, it made them want to copy each other (which was a good thing!). Traditionally, boys are harder and take longer to potty train than girls. However, I was SHOCKED to discover that Ames was far easier than Joules. While they both caught on very quickly, Ames was just more willing to use the potty in general. And for the record, I taught Ames to sit down to pee just like Joules. We will tackle learning to pee standing up at a later time. For those that want to teach their son to stand up to pee, though, I did read that placing a Cheerio in the toilet and telling him to aim at it is effective!
What supplies did we buy to prepare for potty training?
Shockingly, I did NOT go out and buy a bunch of books for myself—I actually didn’t even read an entire book about it (I know one of the most popular ones that parents gravitate towards, though, is Oh Crap! Potty Training by Jamie Glowacki). My approach was more of a hodgepodge of reading from various sources (including reading brief cliff notes of the Oh Crap! Potty Training book, tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics, other mommy blogs, and my own knowledge as a pediatric NP).
Click here for Summer Infant My Size Potty
I purchased the twins’ training potties at 23 months — so they had several months to acclimate to them and get used to seeing them in the bathroom first (I think this was KEY). I let them sit on the potties with their clothes on, put their dolls on them, etc. I did quite a bit of searching on the internet to find a training potty that would most resemble a real toilet. I ended up purchasing Summer Infant’s My Size Potties — they’re the perfect size, well-made, and they come in white or pink. They also have a little storage container on the top for wipes or toilet paper, a splash guard for boys, and a flush that actually MAKES A FLUSHING SOUND! It’s insanely adorable and it fascinates the twins! Here’s a video of my twins seeing their training potties for the first time.
In addition, several months before we started, we purchased several potty training kids’ books to help the twins better understand the process. I’m not kidding when I say my kids treated these potty books like they were absolute treasures! We purchased a few, but the 3 books that got Ames and Joules the most interested were:
1) Sesame Street’s “P is for Potty!” board book
We also took the twins to the store (before quarantine) to pick out their very first package of Pull-Ups! Making this trip to the store (or online) a BIG deal can help the kids get excited and more engaged in the process. While we were there, we also picked up stickers to create a potty training sticker chart!
So, what readiness cues will alert me that my kids are ready to potty train?
We pretty much saw every single cue possible. Some of the typical signs that you might start to notice when it might be time to start potty training include:
pulling at their diaper or acting like they’re bothered by a wet/dirty diaper
telling you that they peed/pooped in their diaper
remaining dry for longer periods of time during the day (at least 2 hours)
predictable/regular times for bowel movements
can pull their pants/diapers off on their own or with minimal help
likes to copy others or shows interest in your own bathroom habits
can follow simple instructions
How long did it really take us to train?
I would say ~3 weeks. By the end of 3 weeks, both twins had mastered the skill. Of course, there were (and sometimes still are) accidents—but they are seldom! People all have different circumstances, so do NOT feel bad if it takes you longer. The average length of time needed to potty train is actually 3 MONTHS!
Step-by-step bullet points about our twin potty training experience:
Purchased training potties and kids’ potty books early—several months in advance — to allow for acclimation to the idea, sit on the potties with clothes on, and learn.
Started listening to toddler potty songs on Spotify a few months in advance. Seriously, the twins learned the lyrics before they were even trained! Here are Ames and Joules favorite songs: The Potty Song by Miss Kitty and The Poo Poo Song by The Trees. These songs can make a kid light UP. Don’t believe me? Go play it for your kids!!
Let the kids pick out their own Pull-Ups at the store to get them involved.
Made a sticker chart to track and reward their progress. They LOVED this as visual motivation!
Used A LOT of positive reinforcement.
Hung the sticker reward chart on wall nearby
Kept telling them they were doing a great job, even if nothing came out.
For each pee or poop that DID happen, we celebrated:
they got to pick out a sticker and put it on the chart
then we had a 2-minute dance party (allowed each kid to pick out their own celebration song to play on the speakers)
then gave them a treat (either a couple of M&Ms, a few bites of popcorn, a handful of raisins, or crackers, etc).
Continued this process for the first 2 weeks. After that, going potty was very routine so I phased out the big celebrations. They never even tried to ask for them once they were gone!
Week 1:
Sat them both on the toilet every 15-30 minutes (I literally set alarms!), starting first thing in the morning as soon as they woke up and continued until bedtime. This intense schedule continued for the first 3 days, then we pushed it to every 30-60 minutes. In the first 24 hours, BOTH twins had peed and pooped on the potty! At night and naps (aka quiet time in their room because they never really napped that week), we still placed them in Pull-ups. Unsupervised nap time in their room didn’t work well for us, though, because they kept taking their Pull-Ups off. However, at night they were so tired from skipping their nap that they went straight to sleep and did not pull off their Pull-Ups. Otherwise, during the day, I allowed them to be fully naked. Kept reiterating how they were such big kids and that they didn’t need diapers anymore!
Week 2:
Sat them both on the toilet every 30-60 minutes, starting first thing in the morning as soon as they woke up and continued until bedtime. Both were regularly peeing on the potty great, but one twin did try to avoid pooping in the potty out of fear. I had to continue to encourage through pep talks and doll simulation to make it finally happen (which ended up being about every other day). The other twin pooped every single day on the potty with zero issues. For naps, I started putting a cartoon on the TV and let them nap in Pull-ups on the couch so I could supervise (didn’t want them pulling off Pull-Ups any more). Both twins remained dry from the get-go whenever they did nap. Gradually started to add back some clothes. Put them in T-shirts and Pull-Ups during the day.
Week 3:
Sat them on the potty first thing in the morning as soon as they woke up and right before bed. Otherwise, I essentially let the kids use the potties at their own discretion throughout the day, but kept asking every hour or so if they needed to go (I didn’t force them if they said no). They were fairly independent by this point and would either go to the potty on their own or come and tell me they needed to pee/poop. Both kids were doing ALL of their business on the potty without difficulty (no more poop withholding). Continued to add back more clothes - they were wearing T-shirts and Pull-Ups with elastic waistband shorts (or just a simple dress for Joules) that were very easy to pull up or down during the day.
After each successful potty attempt, I would let them flush their potty. I would wipe them and then give them a wipe to practice cleaning themselves, too. Then, I’d empty their potties into the big toilet and let them flush that toilet, too. Because we were using the potty SO frequently, I sometimes used Wet Wipes to clean their hands (instead of washing in the sink) after each bathroom break. There’s nothing wrong with just using the sink, though. As long as their hands are cleaned somehow, that’s what matters! ;)
During training, I was always looking out for cues they needed to go— they would either tell me, grab at the front or back of their Pull-Ups, or just look uncomfortable. And whenever this happened, I would respond QUICKLY in order to avoid accidents.
When there were accidents on the floor or in their Pull-Ups, I did NOT punish them. Instead, I tried to be very understanding and said things like, “It’s okay. Accidents happen sometimes. We will clean this up and next time we will go in the potty!”
That’s it! Honestly, when people ask me about what our twin potty training experience was like, I say "SUPER smooth.” But, I don’t necessarily think it was some magical formula. While there are SO many factors that affect potty training, I think the most important factor in our case was that we waited until the perfect age for our twins—when they were both 100% ready.
Hopefully this post helps some parents a tiny bit! Just remember this: each child’s potty training journey will be different, but we all eventually get to the same place—out of diapers. ;) Good luck!!
