This post is part 3 of 5 in the series To Train Up a Child.

Hey potty-training warriors! Welcome to the battle! It is messy, it is time consuming, it is draining… but if you’ve ever done a potty dance after days of convincing them that “it’s okay to poopy in the potty,” you know the joy that comes from saying goodbye to the diapers!

I am sorry that I do not have all the answers. See, I think I messed up training one of my kids, one of them kinda did it on her own, and I may or may not be quite anxious about starting with the little one. But, I do have some encouragement! And a few tricks that worked well for me.

When I first started this potty training thing, waaaay back in 2006, I had no clue what to do. How hard can it be, really? I only have one child and she is interested. This should be a breeze. Oh.my.word. No. That is not how it went at all. After much laundry, much bribery, and much time spent sitting on the floor of the bathroom reading books with her, we had our first potty trained child! Oh my!

Here are a few things that worked for me:

1) Remember: There will be laundry and accidents and LOTS of them. Choose joy, my friend! Your child gets frustrated when he senses he is screwing up. Try not to be negative with your training. Keep it positive.

2) I kept treats by the toilet. M&Ms — one for going #1, two for going #2. After they got the hang of it, I moved on to a sticker chart. This worked well for night training. For example, one week of staying dry gave you this prize, and so on.

3) I also had a basket of books in the bathroom. Half the reason kids have accidents is because they are too busy having fun! If there is fun to be had in the bathroom as well, maybe it will entice them.

4) We had a little potty chair and my daughter thought it was best used in the living room, in front of the TV. While this may gross some of you out, it really helped her be successful!

5) When just starting out, set a timer to go off every 30 minutes or less. Lead your child to the potty and encourage her to try. This helps her recognize that this is a frequent thing that she will need to do from now on.

And, remember to have grace with yourself (and your child) and be as consistent as possible. Pay attention to your child and follow his or her cues. I know this sounds cliche, and it is, but it truly will “just click” for them one day! As my mom always said, “They won’t be wearing diapers forever!”

What potty training tricks have you used?

Read more from our To Train Up a Child series!

• To Train or Not to Train: Not Even a Question
• Top Tips for Sleep Training
• Your Circus, Your Monkeys
• Welcome to the Drama, Momma! Parenting a Dramatic Tween without Losing Your Sanity. Mostly.