Phasing Out Rewards While Potty Training

So potty training is going great, but now your question is how to phase out rewards? Are you wondering if you’ll have to hand out a stamp or m&m for the rest of their LIFE?! The answer is no!!! (Thank goodness!)

After about two weeks of successful potty training and the routine of a reward after each pee/poop, it’ll be time to change the incentive you’ve been using and set longer-term goals instead of rewarding each individual success. (I often find that using an experience instead of a tangible reward can go further!)

Example of new longer-term reward: “If you have a really good potty day, then we can have a family movie night after dinner.” This doesn’t necessarily mean a day completely free of accidents. Just an overall successful day with little hiccups.

You can begin with each successful potty day, then transition to successful potty week, and then successful potty month.

Each time you increase the goal, also be sure to increase the reward.

After about 2 months (or less), you can phase out the rewards altogether. Doing things this way should phase out the rewards, and using the potty will have become so routine to them that they won’t even need to think twice about it.

Rewards are a BIG part of potty training! Kiddos who are between 2-4 are often very motivated by a tangible reward that they can look forward to as a positive incentive! When we reward our children for their success we are able to celebrate this exciting milestone with them in a tangible and real way!

There's no doubt about it - potty training can be an intimidating and overwhelming experience for both you and your child. Accidents can be a large contributor to the stress associated with potty training, but accidents are actually a very important part of the learning process!Whoever coined the term, “progress, not perfection” was an absolute genius, and this is a motto I love to live by in potty training! There are very few things any of us can do perfectly, if any at all. When learning a new skill such as potty training, child require practice, repetition, patience, and support. If they sense that you don’t believe in their capabilities, chances are they won’t either, making it much more difficult to successfully conquer this milestone!I encourage you to hang in there, stick with it, and try to make potty training fun for both you and your child! You've got this!!

Here are some ideas to make potty training fun and positive:

• Make the trip to the bathroom into a silly game.
• Decorate your child’s potty together!
• Read potty-themed books and then draw a picture with your child of them using their potty.

Have a “potty party” and invite your child’s grandparents and/or loved ones to celebrate this new milestone. It’s easy to forget how HUGE and life-changing his milestone is for our little ones. We are so used to using the toilet but all our children know is to mindlessly go pee and poop in their diaper/Pull-Up!

Now that they are purposefully remembering to get to the potty in time to successfully go pee and poop in the toilet, they have every reason to be proud of themselves and to be celebrated by their loved ones!Potty training doesn’t have to be hard or stressful! Try to think positive and positive things will happen! Check out my online course, "10-Day Potty Training Challenge" for a step-by-step guide to this exciting, yet daunting journey!

Share a potty success story in the comments below!

‍