# 3-day potty training method... did it work?



## newbiemama09 (Dec 17, 2009)

http://www.3daypottytraining.com/

we're about to start with potty training. I've heard from a couple friends this method worked, but i'd like to hear more stories. did it work for you? did it not? what were the challenges and successes of it?

TIA!


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## UnderTheOldOakTree (Sep 7, 2010)

I'd love to hear more about this too! Success stories or no success stories with this would be great.


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## lifeguard (May 12, 2008)

We did it. It definitely worked - but not in 3 days. To be fair ds was 22 months & not really verbal at all & I'm sure this was in part the slow down. But the tips as to how to approach it worked well for us.


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## anjsmama (Apr 6, 2011)

We did it, and it definitely worked.

However - we potty trained for about a century before that. That is, DS started using the potty sometime around 21 months, and when we did this 3-day method he was 34 months. So it's only been about a month now. I think it worked so well because he already knew WHAT to do and HOW to do it, just not really when, or even had much of a good reason why. But at nearly 3, he was/is so verbal and coordinated, it was cake. I think it may be slightly less successful with a child under 2.5 for those reasons.


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## newbiemama09 (Dec 17, 2009)

DD is 28 months and has been interested in using the potty for a while. she'll use it every so often. we've been "prepping" her now for "no more diapers" and she enjoys saying "no more diapers for Cate!" she's picked out her own underwear, too, so i think she's ready, it's just a matter of doing it. i'd love to hear more stories!


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## Comtessa (Sep 16, 2008)

My SIL has potty-trained all 5 of her children in 3 days. I have no idea if she used this particular 'method,' but I know she does have some "method" -- I think you basically set a timer for every 15 minutes on Day 1, and then every 15 minutes you have the child sit on the potty. If s/he is dry, s/he gets a treat. If s/he uses the potty, a second treat. Then you do it again 15 minutes later, all day. Day 2 is a longer period of time -- maybe 30 minutes? And Day 3, I imagine it's longer still. She insists that after 3 days, all of her children were out of diapers for good during the day (though I know she kept them in Pull-ups at night for a while after that).

My other SIL tried the same method with her daughter and it was a major disaster.

I haven't tried it yet, exactly, but I've done a few mornings where I set a timer for a certain amount of time then announce cheerily "potty time!" when it goes off. It has never gone well for us. So I suspect DD will not take to the 3-day method either. *shrug* Not sure what comes next, but at least we've had a few dry days here and there (almost all day yesterday!), so we're getting there at any rate...


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## ThreeTwoFive (May 7, 2011)

I'll let you know next week. I'm allowing 10 days for my highly verbal 22-mo-old. We start Monday.


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## mamabelle (Mar 16, 2011)

I can't wait to hear how this works for you, thanks for posting! We are currently doing some very gentle potty learning with our 23 month old, at his request. I don't think he's ready for something this intensive, but I also didn't think he'd be interested in the potty until he was closer to 2.5 so I am trying to catch up!

I have heard from other moms that waiting until the "window" between 2.5 and 3 is best for those that want to potty train quickly and completely. Two toddlers in this window that I know right now just potty trained at a predetermined date ("when I become a big sister" and "when I turn 3") and it totally worked for them. I agree with previous posters about having the coordination and being able to verbalize are huge parts of being ready for this. My son wants to learn, but isn't coordinated enough to deal with normal clothing. He does great at home and naked, and is starting to learn to deal with just underwear or sweatpants, but I think it will be a while before he's ready for potty learning at daycare, leaving the house, or night time.

Good luck!


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## lifeguard (May 12, 2008)

The 3 day method we used did not have us putting ds on the potty every 15 minutes or any other predetermined amount of time. In fact it's main focus was on telling him over & over to let us know when he needed to go & remind him that the potty was where we pee & poop. It even emphasized not asking if he needed to go but instilling in him they we trusted he knew & could tell us.

As for coordination - I disagree that it is fully necessary. Ds has been out of diapers for just barely shy of a year now (it'll be a year at the end of the month) & he still can only go on his own depending on what he is wearing & only for peeing. If we had waited until he could do it all on his own we'd still be waiting. It simply means I have to go with him to the washroom (& in public this most certainly would be the case anyway).


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## ThreeTwoFive (May 7, 2011)

Update: This is going to take more than 3 days. And I'm going to get my carpets professionally cleaned when it's over.


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## crunchy_mommy (Mar 29, 2009)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ThreeTwoFive*
> 
> Update: This is going to take more than 3 days. And I'm going to get my carpets professionally cleaned when it's over.


LOL!

I know a few people that have tried 3-day methods (I think there are 2 different versions/ebooks but as far as I can tell, they are virtually the same in overall philosophy). They are not accident-free by any means... They can go whole days being dry but there are other days where they have multiple accidents. So I'm not entirely sure it works, but I guess it's a huge step in the right direction, and they are doing 'better' with it than my same-age DS (with whom we are taking a super super casual child-led approach) but DS is doing fine overall with my 'method' as well. The only real problem I have with the 3-day method is the assumption that a more casual method WON'T work (I hate judgement & always/never assumptions lol). Otherwise, it seems like a fine approach, especially if you've never introduced the potty before starting, just realize that it's not 'accident-free in 3 days'. But I've never tried it myself, so take my words with a grain of salt!


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## BellyBean (Dec 1, 2008)

We didn't do a "3 day method" by a book or anything, but it was kind of a "theme". I knew it would take us more than 3 days! We started putting DD on the potty around 13 months as a form of late EC  and she would go once and a while like mornings/nap/ect and get a treat. I decided to go all in at about 19 months and it took about 3-5 days to get her pee potty trained when naked...yep lots of messes! And we had a new puppy too, so at one point I didn't know who was making more messes, haha! For the last 2 months (summer) while at home or in the backyard we were mostly naked bottom, and she definitely has the grasp on that. She goes and pees without saying anything to anyone so I know she knows it's coming.

This week I decided to do the same thing with panites! The first day was mainly accidents since she was still use to peeing when she had a diaper on, and she couldn't really tell the difference until it was too late. It's been about 3 days now and we are starting to have sucess with her saying pee-pee before she pees and I help her with her panties. I am hoping in the next few days we can be panty trained during the day at home, and hopefully in the next few weeks we can leave the house in panties and even wear pants over them 

P.S. We decided to buy a carpet cleaner at costco between the puppy, DD, and any future children!


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## newbiemama09 (Dec 17, 2009)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mamabelle*
> 
> I can't wait to hear how this works for you, thanks for posting! We are currently doing some very gentle potty learning with our 23 month old, at his request. I don't think he's ready for something this intensive, but I also didn't think he'd be interested in the potty until he was closer to 2.5 so I am trying to catch up!
> 
> ...


i'm not sure about the "coordinated" thing either. DD tried to put her own pants on, but if they have snaps or zippers she needs help. even my almost 4 y.o. nephew still needs help with his pants, so i don't want to wait for that marker.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ThreeTwoFive*
> 
> Update: This is going to take more than 3 days. And I'm going to get my carpets professionally cleaned when it's over.


HILAR!!!

i'm thinking of making like a potty chart, too. maybe getting a clock so that every hour (or whenever) we go to the potty, then she gets a sticker for each time she's dry or uses the potty. not sure what that will look like, but i think enstilling rewards other than just food is a good idea!


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## mamabelle (Mar 16, 2011)

I think the only coordination thing that has really been stressed to me is being able to get their pants down, lots of kids need help getting them back up. For my son, this has been critical as he's really determined to do things by himself, and sometimes tell us right when he REALLY needs to go so if our hands are full... it's too late. If he can get his pants and underwear down and sit on the potty, we can make it to help him with the rest. Also, this was really stressed to me by our daycare provider and, as hard as it is to admit, I do see how they just can't spend the same amount of attention on each kid so it's going to take some extra steps for my son to be potty trained for daycare.

But each kid is different, and each day potty learning is different : ) DS definitely needs help and has done well asking for it when we're out, and then has accidents at home when he's just wearing undies... so we're just taking it day by day. I love hearing everyone else's experiences!


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## ~Amy~ (Jun 7, 2009)

Three day method worked beautifully for my son at 23 months. He had it down by the end of day 2. Most of the accidents he's had since (he's 40 months now) happened because I couldn't get him to the bathroom quickly enough (stuck in traffic, at the mall, etc). He's really just started pulling his own pants down and up since he turned three. He'd prefer I do it for him but I've had to push him a bit since he needs to be toilet-independent at preschool.


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## lifeguard (May 12, 2008)

Amy - I am finding the same thing with ds - even when he is wearing easy clothes that he can most definitely handle on his own he'd prefer I come with him & help. I've been encouraging him to do it on his own but really I'm so happy to not be doing diapers I don't mind too much.


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## Sweet.Bee (Feb 26, 2010)

We tried something similar (2 week plan) with our son recently, suggested by his preschool because he often went the whole morning without anything in his diaper and knew before he had to go. He was 2 and 2 months, I think. After 1 week, even the preschool said he wasn't ready after all.

I don't think it works if the child has no desire to be potty trained, which was the case with us. I brought him to the potty at least every half hour, and he never went, though would pee/poo in his underwear just a minute or so later. It was just frustrating for everyone. The only thing he liked were the "toddies" (flushable wipes for toddlers), but then he would wipe himself without going. After a few days, he was begging for his diaper.

I guess we'll revisit the issue in a few months, once he wants to actually do it. As long as he asks for his diaper, I don't see any hope of his being potty trained.


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## Mom2M (Sep 23, 2006)

Yes, we did it in 3 days for 3 of the kids and haven't started yet with number 4. Mostly I did the 3 day thing because I just did not feel like doing the potty training thing with asking them to go and everything, I knew I would not be consistent enough and doing it all at once would work much better for me.
I waited till they were between 2.5 and 3 years old, got a potty and just took diapers off and put them in underwear that they picked out. Then we stayed home the entire time, potty at the ready and each time they peed or pooped I told them to use the potty and they started by getting some in there at the end and then eventually just went in the potty. For overnight I still put just underwear on and a pad underneath them and told them that if they wanted to sleep in bed with me then they had to use the potty because I didn't want to get wet.
It was kind of like doing a potty training camp, that was the main focus of the 3 days even after they were using it each time because I wanted to make sure they didn't forget about it after we were back to the normal routine.
We did actually shampoo the carpet afterward,








I don't think it would have worked that fast if they were younger.


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## anjsmama (Apr 6, 2011)

This is my DS to a T. This is why I (I say I, but really he decided) waited until he was nearly 3. Because he wanted to DO the whole potty thing. "NO MOM - I not need you! I big boy! I go potty all myself!" He does NOT want me to come with him. So it was essential that he could pull down his underwear and pants, and also, he was insistent on standing. He won't sit to potty unless he has to go poop. Now that he's finished training, he STILL sometimes needs help getting his clothes back in order once he's done, but he won't let me help with undressing or wiping.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mamabelle*
> 
> I think the only coordination thing that has really been stressed to me is being able to get their pants down, lots of kids need help getting them back up. *For my son, this has been critical as he's really determined to do things by himself, and sometimes tell us right when he REALLY needs to go so if our hands are full... it's too late. If he can get his pants and underwear down and sit on the potty, we can make it to help him with the rest.* Also, this was really stressed to me by our daycare provider and, as hard as it is to admit, I do see how they just can't spend the same amount of attention on each kid so it's going to take some extra steps for my son to be potty trained for daycare.
> 
> But each kid is different, and each day potty learning is different : ) DS definitely needs help and has done well asking for it when we're out, and then has accidents at home when he's just wearing undies... so we're just taking it day by day. I love hearing everyone else's experiences!


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## jenhill (Sep 14, 2010)

I am not really sure what this method includes, but with dd1 (at 16months)and ds (at 21months)they were practically potty trained within less than a week. We went straight to underwear and went to the potty every 30 minutes. if there was an accident we rushed to the potty repeating "oh no. tee-tee goes in the potty. lets get to the potty".

Then after we both cleaned up the mess. after the first day-there were very few accidents. and by the 3rd there may have been 2.

I also gave a reward for going pee or poop in the potty (mini m&ms worked for us).

Now with dd2--it was a completely different story. She knew what to do, but just didn't really care. She went back and forth for a while. And then all of a sudden she decided she would actually do it. So i think it also depends on the child.


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