How did y’all potty train multiples?

[peace608]

What method (besides the 3 day pants off method) worked for you? How did you deal with one kid wanting to jump in the mix when you’re trying to deal with one on the potty and you’re the only parent at home? All tips and tricks are highly appreciated!!!!

 

[jamesrabbit]

@peace608 I trained mine one at a time. As soon as one showed signs of being ready, I worked with him. The other one, seeing his brother getting lots of praise, Disney underpants and a mini marshmallow every time he successfully used the potty, was inspired to learn too.

 

[peace608]

@jamesrabbit Smart!!! Did you use a certain method?

 

[jamesrabbit]

@peace608 Every hour or so, I'd ask if he wanted to try sitting on the potty to try to pee. Eventually he started telling me he had to go instead of me asking all the time. Then the other one wanted to try too. I didn't do the pants off method. I was worried one of them might have an accident somewhere and not tell me.

 

[timothythe2nd]

@jamesrabbit This exactly. Daycare helped a lot because they were there all day so they’d offer them to use the potty frequently. Mine were trained “late” compared to most kids, they were 3.5yrs, but it was very little effort for us. As soon as my son saw my daughter getting all the praise/attention and treats, he was adamant that he was done too.

I do feel like a lot of people rush it for their kids - and I get it, diapers are expensive and no fun especially for two - but I think often it sets kids back, they have a longer training time, etc. We never did the no pants thing either, just frequent offering and praise.

My boss told me her singleton was potty trained at 16mos and it’s like…okay... All of the 16mos olds I’ve ever known are still perfecting their walking, let alone pulling their pants up and down on their own, positioning themselves on the potty and telling you when they need to go reliably.

 

[brothermark83]

@timothythe2nd I think there's a lot of pressure to start at 2, especially from people who spout off that their child was trained at birth! My twins have just turned 2. I'm thinking of trying with my daughter over the summer but my son is nowhere near ready.

 

[timothythe2nd]

@brothermark83 We had a bit of a relapse when we focused on it more around 2.5, so we just backed off.

And I agree, lots of pressure to do it early! Just like people brag about how their child(ren) hit whatever milestone so early or are the 99th percentile for height and weight or some other arbitrary badge of perceived honor. Like good for you/them and all, but kids and people do things on a spectrum of normal, and it’s ok not to be the first, biggest, or best all the time

 

[nikki_virginia]

@peace608 Well so far I send one of them to pre-school in underwear, and he does great there, then comes home, refuses to pee on the potty, then shits on the floor and throws up at the sight of it.

I can't even entertain the thought of potty training the other one yet.

 

[mikentexas]

@peace608 I'll let you know next week . The plan is to do the Big Little Feelings 3 day method. It seemed the most in line with my parenting style lol. I'm going to do one twin M-W and the other Th-Sa. So cross your fingers, pray for me, pour something out to the old gods and the new, whatever is your style.

 

[needhelp20]

@peace608 I had twins 17 months after my singleton. No pants for a few days in the hardwood floored living room, with hourly questions of "do you need to go potty?" And regular reminders of, "if you need to go potty, remember to tell me, ok?" Were my go-to for all three. It wasn't fun, but it worked.

 

[retrofuturist]

@peace608 We had Baby Bjorn potties (one for each) in the living room. We slowly moved them closer and closer to the bathroom. Sometimes they’d just sit and read in them.

 

[sarava]

@peace608 Great question because we are in the same boat over here.

 

[peace608]

@sarava I don’t even have a method selected! I am reluctant to do the ‘pants off’ way because of the mess, but that seems to be the way a lot of people do it these days!

 

[sarava]

@peace608 We are trying to sit them on their little toilets for 2 minutes every 20 minutes but no luck so far.

 

[deacondrew]

@peace608 I didn’t find it too different from potty training a singleton. Except we had two potties in the bathroom.

 

[peace608]

@deacondrew I’ve never potty trained a singleton. Did you use a specific method?

 

[deacondrew]

@peace608 Oh just the regular stuff. No pants, M&Ms / stickers. My girls picked it up more quickly than my son.

 

[primjames]

@peace608 The 3 day thing works. I was shocked. We did it over a rainy weekend and it was incredible.

It taught me that I really need to give more credit to how smart these kids really are. They were just over 2 years old when we did it.

 

[matt97]

@peace608 We did do the 3 days pants off method so not much help there, but it was not as hard as. I thought. We got two plastic potties and ladder seats for the toilets, dog pee pads for our furniture, and incentives for when they went, and just never looked back. We were good to go in a short amount of time.

 

[devonte]

@matt97 How old?