We’ve potty trained seven kids. Here’s everything we learned, in one place.
Seven kids. Seven very different timelines. One was ready at barely two, and one said no until he was nearly four. Along the way we made mistakes, learned what actually helps, and found that the biggest shift wasn’t a trick. It was giving up the calendar and staying close to our child.
Start with the free sample, then read the stories below that sound most like your house.
Not medical advice. One family’s experience, shared with grace.
Our six principles
- Watch your child, not the calendar. Readiness is a signal your child gives you, not a birthday.
- Choose presence over pressure. Pressure turns the potty into a battle. Presence turns it into something you do together.
- Prepare your home and your calendar. A little planning and a go-bag make the car, church and Grandpa’s house practice instead of panic.
- Team up. Potty training is a family project.
- Celebrate the try. Celebrate the effort, not only the result.
- Give grace for the mess. How you respond to the mess teaches your child more than the mess does.
Start here
- You’re Not Behind: When Is a Child Ready for Potty Training? Is your child ready? The signs we watched for, and what pediatric sources say.
- Potty Training Doesn’t Have to Be a Battle: What Seven Kids Taught Us The shift that took the pressure off our home.
When things get real
- The Potty Training Moments Nobody Warns You About The messy, funny moments every parent knows.
- The Road Trip Accident: What We Learned About Grace What happened on the freeway, and the lesson we took from it.
- When Your Toddler Is Scared of the Flush What to do when the loud flush is the scariest part.
- Why Our Youngest Changed His Underwear Every Time He Sat Why attention can matter more than any prize.
Nights and dads
- Potty Trained All Day but Still Wetting the Bed? Nothing Is Wrong Why nights take longer than days, and how we handled them.
- What I Wish Other Dads Knew About Potty Training Stay close, skip the deadline, cheer loud.
Want the whole book?
The full guide is organized by theme, with all six principles, a chapter just for dads, a chapter on nights, and printables you can use right away, including a readiness checklist and grace cards.
Stretch your family budget, too
We share daily family deals and giveaways in our free Facebook group, to help families do more with the budget they have.
