How a Sibling Can Help With Potty Training

When I hear about moms discussing potty training I remember those days very well. Everyone has the “solution” right? WRONG!!! After my second child, I really believe it all depends on the child. No two children are alike and therefore, it may take one child longer than the other to train. I do believe that a sibling is magnificent help! I am not an expert as I know there are many books out there to help, nor will I tell you how to do it, I will just share a few tips that worked for me having a sibling in the house:

Not stressing my child out

I remember with my first born I almost felt like I was stressing him out. Every few seconds, “you have to potty? You sure?”. He would give me that stare like, “is she asking me again?”. With my second son, I wanted to try another strategy and I promised that I would look for signs of interest from him. He would follow his brother into the bathroom and actually see where the urine was coming from and where it was going. This was very helpful. I felt as if every time his brother went into the bathroom he tagged right along. He was curious and he seemed very interested.

Shopping for underwear

We decided to shop together for underwear and allowed him to pick them out and be a part of the process. He LOVED Diego, so Diego it was. We walked into target and made a few hours of that day to make sure it was special and that he was entering a new chapter of his life. His brother was very helpful. Helping him pick them out and when we arrived home his brother even modeled how to put them on, and explained to him the “do’s” and “don’ts“ of potty training.

Keeping the potty in the bathroom

A few people would tell me, “allow him to be naked or move the potty around the house”.  I thought it was crazy because after all, the toilet is in the bathroom right? With my second child, I left that potty right in the bathroom. And when having issues with plumbing, call Graham and Sons right away. When my oldest son went to the bathroom, my youngest would tag along right after him. My eldest would sit on the toilet and my youngest would take a seat right beside him on his potty. He was the model every day for his brother. I was amazed that I didn’t have to do much but say, “remember, when you have to go to the bathroom run to your potty”. I didn’t need much of that because whatever his brother did, he did.

Celebrate his achievements

Seems as though every time he went to the bathroom we made a big stink about it. We gave him high fives and danced around. We also reminded him how much of a big boy he was. His brother always made sure to remind him of how great he was doing. I also commended my oldest child for his help an reminded him how much of a GREAT big brother he was!

I truly believe with the help of his brother this is what really helped my youngest to be trained by the age of two. It took my first born much longer to train, and I know it had a lot to do with not having a little person like himself to help guide him. I saw it all happen right before my eyes and I know that the sibling model really helped my youngest flourish and gave him confidence to want to potty train.  Everyone does not has a sibling but maybe a cousin or the close friend of a child can assist in the process. Whatever works for you and your child, run with it!

Let’s share: What has helped you potty train your child?