Simple Potty Training Under 2: The Full Guide

*Inside this is a full guide about how to potty train your child. Do it once and do it right. This method works great for toddlers between 20-24 months old.

If you are searching for a guide to get started with early potty training you are in the right spot!

I will dive into the details of actual potty training before 2 years old! It doesn’t matter if you have a girl or a boy, the process is the same. 

SOME QUESTIONS YOU MAY BE ASKING YOURSELF

• When is the right time to start potty training?
• What age is too early to start?
• How do I know if my child is ready or not?
• How do we start nighttime potty training? 

There is good news, mama! I have this topic completely covered for you. Let’s make potty training under 2 as easy as possible!

We all have worried about starting our children “before they are” ready, but in reality, this potty training thing is more about when YOU as the parent are ready to commit and when you are ready. Sure, the toddler needs to be somewhat capable but not as capable as you may think! 

Before having 3 boys of my own I always had heard that potty training girls are way easier than potty training boys. This is entirely a rumor. I was able to fully potty train my boys before their second birthdays with the help of THIS AMAZING BOOK. 

Potty training a three-year-old seems like a heck of a lot more work than potty training a 20-24-month-old. They have stronger opinions and habits the older they get. 

ARE THERE READINESS SIGNS I NEED TO WATCH FOR?

If you are wondering about waiting until you see readiness signs from your child, you just may never see them! Waiting until a sign comes may not be the best strategy. There are a few signs however that could be pretty apparent by 20 months or so:

• Interest in the potty
• Hiding to poop
• Asking to get a diaper change after going pee or poop

In my experience potty training, two boys under two the signs were never there simply because they were too young. I still started potty training before 2 anyways. Don’t wait for the signs.

WHAT IS THE BEST AGE TO START POTTY TRAINING UNDER 2?

There is not a real magic number answer to this question, simply because every child is so unique. My urge to potty train early was prompted by a new baby that was about to enter our home (my 3rd child under 3) and I wanted to be able to give ALL of my attention to my first son regarding potty training. Three in diapers just seemed expensive too! 

Around the two-year age mark, toddlers start to throw more tantrums and form more opinions about what they DO and DON’T want to do. This is entirely normal regarding their development milestones. I wanted to get ahead of this up-and-coming phase. Why wait for it, when we were about to add a third child into the home? 

MANY CHANGES CAN COME WHEN A TODDLER TURNS 2!

• A new sibling may enter the picture 
• Language milestones are being hit
• Transition to a big bed
• Possibly starting pre-school
• Then add in potty training!? THAT IS A BIG ASK!

See why I wanted to get ahead of it? Most toddlers between the ages of 2-2.5 will experience a lot of the above examples (not all). That is a lot of change for a little human to process!

THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY

This small time before the tantrums come and your child is still as sweet, compliant, calm, and attached as ever is what I like to call “your window of opportunity.” Seize this time to potty train! Once it is gone, it is truly gone forever!

Now obviously all toddlers are different, but for the most part, the window of opportunity falls somewhere around the 20-23 month mark! Take hold, mama! THIS IS YOUR TIME TO POTTY TRAIN!

I have potty training 2 of my 3 boys so far. Both of my older boys were potty training by 23 months. To be clear I “day trained” them first. This post is only covering day training. When they were old enough to be out of their cribs I night trained them.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO POTTY TRAIN A CHILD UNDER 2?

I can only speak regarding MY OWN experience with my boys. There is no one magic number that will answer this question. There is however a progression you will start to see that will give you the clue that YOUR CHILD IS GETTING IT:

Completely Clueless (peeing in the diaper) —> I peed —> I’m Peeing Now —> I Have To Go Pee

This progression is straight from the book, Oh Crap! Potty Training which I highly recommend. It was my confidence going through this potty training journey. 

HOW TO POTTY TRAIN YOUR TODDLER BETWEEN THE AGES OF 18-24 MONTHS

We never started at 18 months, but the book says you most definitely can. We waited until 23 months and that was a sweet spot window for my boys. Each child is different. 

To be clear when you first start all of the responsibility falls onto you! Matters of potty training should not be taken into your child’s hands! Remember they are in the “clueless” phase of the potty training progression.

Let’s Start This Process!

Pick your start day.

Write it on your calendar and stick to a day. Tell your child that this is the day we are taking the diapers off and learning how to use the potty like a big kid! It needs to be a time frame of at least 3-5 days when you won’t need to leave the house. To be clear this isn’t a 3-day method, and potty training under 2 may take a little longer.

Buy your potty gear.

You will need to get a small portable potty. I use this one. I also like this one for when you transition to a big potty because it comes with a stool to get up to the toilet. Getting flushable wipes are also great to have near your portable potty. This step cannot be skipped! 

 Potty training underwear (FOR LATER ON). With my second son, I swore by these potty training underwear. They had a small amount of padding that would help catch any accidents and they were not diapers! He loved them, and so did I! With my first son, we just bought him super soft bamboo boxers and we talked all about big boy underwear. We loved them too! 

Lose the snaps. Hide the diapers. No, pull-ups ever.

It is time to hide the diapers for nights only at this point. Get them out of sight. Also, do not dress your child in anything that will be hard to remove quickly. Lastly, never waste your money on pull-ups. They are fancy diapers that are overpriced and cause confusion for children! 

THE POTTY TRAINING PHASES + STARTING

1. Peeing and pooping without any clothes on (maybe just a shirt for warmth) with prompting from you or even without. 
2. Peeing and pooping with clothes on (minus underwear) with or without actual prompting.
3. Peeing and pooping while going about out and about or at home with prompting or without. 
4. Adding in underwear. Peeing and pooping with or without your prompt.
5. Consistent self-awareness of needing to pee and poop with full clothing on. 

In the book, Oh Crap! Potty Training Jamie talks about the different blocks you will go through as a parent when going through the actual act of potty training. Here they are:

START DAY

This is your start day. A big deal day. But don’t make a big deal about it to your child. They need normalcy and routine. Take off those day diapers and never look back! Take off all of their clothing and give them more liquid than normal! Evaluate their every move! 

*Word of advice: Do not put any training underwear on your child at this moment. No underwear should be worn until they are grasping the concept of “I need to go potty.”

The sensation that underwear gives is similar to diapers. You want them to feel the accident running down their legs for training purposes. 

You may have to continue with this type of day for at least 3-4 days until they can sit on the potty to pee and poop. Don’t move the child back into clothing until they can do this step!

ONCE THEY HAVE CONQUERED GOING TO THE POTTY WITH OR WITHOUT YOUR HELP

Prompting is okay. Even if you prompt and they are doing the actual act of peeing and pooping in the potty you can put clothing back on (minus underwear). By this time you should know your child’s queues well enough to know when they need to go. Curious about poop? I talk about it more below. 

We didn’t put underwear on our boys for the first month of potty training! They constrict and feel too much like diapers! Hide the character underwear until they are ready. 

THE FINAL STAGE

After about a week (depending on the child) they will start to “get the hang” of peeing and pooping in the potty. You can leave the house for longer periods and practice as needed. There may be accidents and that is fine. Learning and pushing forward are key. No underwear still but bottoms are just fine. 

You can assess when you think it’s time for underwear! A fun decision with you and your toddler!  

OUR POTTY TRAINING SCHEDULE

(This is the schedule we followed for my two boys for the first 3 days. Times may be different in your house depending on your schedule).

Wake Up at 7:00 am

The moment your child wakes, take off their diaper and their pajama pants. Sit them on the potty. Only a shirt should be worn throughout the day for days 1-3. 

• Put away your phone and all distractions. Throughout these next few days, you need to have your eyes on your child at all times (literally). This is what I meant by commitment earlier! Watch for ANY potty signs (stopping and pausing, wiggling, holding self, hiding). 
• The moment you see any of the clues grab your toddler and take them right to the small potty. Sit them down. It’s okay if it takes a few accidents for you to catch on to their signals. 
• Try not to ask constantly if your child needs to potty. Just wait for the clues and react as you see them. This will help the child to understand when the urge happens in their bodies for quicker learning. 

Naps Happen After Lunch 12:30-1:00

Take your toddler to the potty and have them try to pee. Then you will put a diaper on them for the nap with their clothing again. You don’t have to explain in huge detail this process because they are still so young (which is nice). 

The older the child, the more questions they will naturally have. This is a huge perk to potty training young! Fewer questions and more potty training. 

Wake Time Around 3:00 pm

Instantly remove the diaper and their pants. Take them to the potty to try and pee. At this time your toddler will go back to wearing only tops and no bottoms. 

Once you are through the naptime diaper just proceed as you did in the morning just looking for potty signals and take them to the potty when necessary. If accidents happen stay calm. No need to flail, yell, or panic. 

 7:00pm Bedtime Routine

After dinner, it’s time to proceed as usual throughout your bedtime routine. Don’t put on a diaper until the very last moment. Just have the PJ shirt on and leave the bottoms off until you are ready to turn out the light and walk out of the room. Take your toddler potty after some books right before you put on the diaper.

The next morning, just repeat the process all over again. For both of my boys, it took about 5 days of no bottoms to get to the point where they understood they were peeing/pooping and they needed to go to the potty. After about 5 days or so, I felt comfortable putting them in pants (still no undies). 

ARE YOU READY TO NIGHTTIME POTTY TRAIN? I CAN SHOW YOU STEP BY STEP HOW TO DO IT HERE.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU NEED TO LEAVE THE HOUSE AND GO TO THE CAR?

 For the first few days, it is just best to stay home if you can. At least for the first 3 days.

  If you need to leave for any reason make sure you try and use the potty before you go. I always took my potty with us in the car and placed it on the floor under the car seat for easy access. 

• · I loved this waterproof car seat liner in case any accidents did occur. I got it quickly off of Amazon.
• Make your trips short and sweet and make sure your toddler tries to go before you put them into their car seat and once you arrive at your destination.
• Tell your toddler they need to wait to pee until you get them out of their car seat. 

EARLY POTTY TRAINING PROS AND CONS

 PROS

• Potty training boys is a little different than potty training girls due to the places they can potty if an emergency occurs (aka park bathrooms are closed). Trees make nice places! 
• The cost of diapers is eliminated minus the nighttime diaper. 
• It opens up possibilities to go to schools that require potty training at 3.
• You can tackle other large milestones during the tougher 2-year mark when the tantrums start to become more frequent. It is nice not to worry about potty training.

CONS

• It requires consistency and at least 3 days at home without leaving.
• Accidents will occur and the “getting a clue” part doesn’t happen overnight.
• You may get negative comments if you tell people. “Wait until they are ready.” “You are rushing them.”

MY BEST POTTY TRAINING TIPS & ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

1. Don’t tell people you are potty training. It is easier if you just do your thing!
2. Stay cool if your child hasn’t pooped yet! It is normal for a child to hold it during those first few days of having a diaper off. If they poop in their nap time or nighttime diaper, brush it off. Their bodies are relaxed during sleep. They will eventually poop outside of that window.

*Let’s talk poop for a moment* This topic stresses so many people out when they start to think about how to potty train their two-year-old. Don’t waste any more time worrying about it. They will eventually have to try to go in the potty. They will learn! 

1. When pee and poop hit the floor (literally) do not validate it. I know for me, I wanted to say “It’s okay.” Instead just say, “Poop and pee go in the potty and not on the floor.” Keep hitting that home to the child.
2.  Take the portable potty with you EVERYWHERE when you first start leaving your home. It is a lifesaver when you can’t get to a toilet RIGHT AWAY. They can’t hold it for long at the beginning, so do them a favor and have it close by.

DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT POTTY TRAINING UNDER 2? COMMENT BELOW!