Ten Ideas for Potty Training a Princess

I stood watching her on the toilet, heart swollen with pride & eyes full of tears, half proud half sad. She did it, only about five days in she was fully transitioned from diapers to the toilet. At that very moment I could recall the last diaper I changed, but I had no idea it would be the last. Oh my heart, relieved & proud & broken all at once. More of a little girl & less of a baby every single day.


Magnolia was more than ready for the toilet from a physical aspect, from the emotional point she wasn't really ready. She was just so scared of going in the toilet & had zero desire to give up her precious diapers. I tried everything I could think of to get her excited about it, but nothing worked, at first anyways. I knew being on home isolation during the world pandemic was the absolute perfect time to learn, if only she wanted to try. Finally one morning I texted my sisters & said I needed my nieces to give her a pep talk. If only they could come over and show her how they did it, I knew she'd want to try because she looks up to them in all that they do. They Facetimed with her & got her soooo excited. Addy even had a stack of toys & gifts to give her as a reward & it was the sweetest thing ever to see Magnolia's face light up with all the encouragement she needed. And guess what? She was willing to try just for them. It was great to see her finally willing to at least try, but going wasn't so easy for her. I knew my nieces could only get us so far, and then it was on me. I tried to be firm & encouraging, but I also had to cave numerous times & give her the diaper she demanded. For her, it wasn't about learning to control her bladder, she already had that figured out, it was about getting over the fear of the toilet & getting used to something new. Day 1 & 2 were the hardest because she would give-up and demand a diaper. By day three she was willing to go a handful of times, and by day four & five she was almost 100% going on the toilet. It was really just that turning point of actually going on the toilet that gave her the confidence she so desperately needed & then it was smooth sailing from there.

Now I just have to say Magnolia wasn't easy on me in regards to the reward system. A sticker chart just didn't cut it for her! I had to go over the top & think of new ideas & rewards each day. I wanted to share some of the things I did to get her pumped up each day to try again.

1. Food coloring - one day I was struggling to get her to even enter the bathroom & I had the idea to make the water turn a fun color. I took some pink food coloring & added one drop to the toilet bowl water & we then had unicorn magical toilet water! It worked, she was so excited to see it & couldn't wait to flush it goodbye.

2. Cake sprinkles - adding to the food coloring idea, we put some cake sprinkles in the toilet bowl & our unicorn magical toilet became even more magical.

3. YouTube - during the first few days of learning she would sit on the toilet for what seemed like forever just trying to go. I used my phone to play potty training songs. On YouTube just search "potty training songs" and you'll find lots of cute options.

4. Story books - we read books on the toilet!

5. Easter egg - this was the biggest hit & something we did numerous times a day. I took a glitter Easter egg that we had out already for Easter & filled it with some kind of treat each time she was going potty. Once she was finished she'd come out & have to look for the hidden egg & find something special inside. I would put a few M&Ms, jelly beans, chocolate chips, or stickers inside.

6. Sticker chart - the traditional sticker chart did come in handy & on most days she would pick out a sticker to put on her chart. I ordered this sweet little Princess Potty Chart from Amazon & it came with everything (chart, stickers, reward certificate, instruction book, reminder cards). Great deal for only $10!

7. Dance parties - one of Magnolia's most favorite things to do is dance & sing. Of course, we had lots of celebration dance parties after she went potty. I tried to make up some goofy songs along the way.

8. One big reward - she knew once she was going on the toilet all the time she'd get a pink glitter scooter just like her cousin & it was a big motivation for her through the process.

9. Underwear - I let her pick out all of her new underwear & each morning she picks out the ones she wants to wear. Now she picks them out to "match mommy" and my heart melts.

10. Cheerleaders - Ryan & I were her biggest cheerleaders every single time she sat on the toilet, regardless if she went or not. We jumped up & down, yelled "hip hip hooray," clapped & gave thumbs up, sang goofy songs, danced, and used all the positive reinforcement we could think of to make her feel incredibly special & supported through the transition. We Facetimed with my mom & sisters often & they were all so proud of her & made it a big deal to celebrate with her virtually. She felt the love, no doubt about that.


I found it's important to reward the attempt of trying, regardless if it was successful or not. We celebrated no matter what. I also talked to her in the beginning about the fact that she may have a few accidents & that it's 100% okay. She only had two accidents & both times I made sure to be very calm & positive so she didn't feel scared of the weird sensation. The fact that she was more than ready to learn from a physical perspective made this part a million times easier.

I didn't mention above that we actually bought all the stuff to learn back in January. She was very enthusiastic about learning the first day & then it turned into her crying & begging for a diaper. I didn't want to push it & under no circumstance would I ever set her on the toilet while she was in an upset mental state. I wanted this process to be mostly her decision & so we decided to take a break. For potty training take two, she did need that little push of encouragement from her cousins the first day, but once she committed to learning she knew she was in control. And it worked! 

We are so just proud of our little princess & while I'm a little sad she's out of diapers I will say it's nice not changing diapers all day long!

xo