Potty Party?

I was a preschool teacher for many years, and potty parties were a huge highlight of the day. They were held after the child was potty trained, and were a celebration of their new "Big Kid" status. Parents and grandparents came, we had treats (like cake or cookies) decorated with their favorite thing (superhero, trucks, princess, etc). Gifts were special big kid undies, also in the child's favorite theme. We had games that revolved around ditching the diapers. The child was allowed to play on the normally restricted big kid playground with the larger playstructures. There was even a ceremony where the guest of honor stomped on the diaper and threw it out, and was then crowned a "Big Kid." It was such a proud moment for the child and the parents, and a lot of fun. You can get really creative with this. Some families even had the child hand deliver (or box up and mail) the leftover diapers to the babies at a women's shelter, as the babies needed the diapers, and the big kid didn't need them anymore. Just keep the focus on leaving babyhood behind and becoming a big kid in big kid undies. Have fun with it. Congratulations on following your child's lead to potty train. It's sooo much easier if there is no power struggle involved. :)

I have a friend that does a potty party with her girls and it seems to work with them, but then again, I have heard that boys are harder to potty train than girls. I only have boys so I wouldn't know. Anyway, they put up streamers and have a little tea party and I believe they do their nails too. She has six girls so I am sure it is a lot of fun. All I can say is to give it a try, if it doesn't work, try something else. Good Luck!!!

We did it with our first child. Maybe it works for some kids, but it accomplished nothing with our son. We felt silly and he got no motivation from it all, despite our big to-do. However, it's now something we look back on and laugh about ("Can you believe we ever did a potty party???"). Even did a peeing doll, too (What were we thinking?). What really mattered the most with both kids was just committing to the move to underwear/panties and that led to training.

We've never done one, but I think it's a great idea. Maybe not 'hyping' it up like that, but purposefully asking friends that are potty training to come over and work on it together? We did the peeing doll too, lol. I saw it on Dr. Phil. Don't put pressure on you or your child. They will do it when ready. We pushed our daughter to do it before she was ready and she ended up holding her poo...that lead to lots of problems. 6 months later she is no longer holding it in, but still not going poo in the potty and asks for a diaper.