How to Use the 3-Day Potty Training Method

While many parents look forward to moving past the diaper phase, the mere thought of potty training can feel overwhelming, to put it mildly. However, transitioning to the toilet doesn't need to be a drawn-out process, thanks to a method known as three-day potty training.

"Toilet training takes a weekend," says Ari Brown, MD, co-author of Baby 411: Clear Answers & Smart Advice For Your Baby's First Year. "You just have to pick the right weekend."

Indeed, in days of yore, parents trained kids over weeks or months, nudging them toward toilet use with sticker charts and candy while allowing pull-on diapers. But switching back and forth can get confusing for kids, says Michelle Swaney, CEO of The Potty School, a potty-training consulting company. "If the point is to get pee and poop in the toilet, then why wouldn't we start having them do that as soon as possible?"

Below, learn more about the three-day potty training method, including the signs of readiness, how to prepare in advance, and how to implement the method in your household.

What Is the 3-Day Potty Training Method?

While there are many variations, at its core, the three-day potty training method is an expedited process for teaching toddlers how to transition from using diapers to peeing and pooping in the toilet. It's done by staying home and having the child go diaper-free (and often pants-free) for three full days while learning to use the potty.

Proponents of the three-day potty training method say it's more doable for kids than gradual approaches, which can confuse them. Instead, the crash course helps little ones better grasp what it feels like to have to go.

Is Your Child Ready for Potty Training?

Vana Melkonian, MD, a pediatrician in Weston, Massachusetts, recommends starting potty training as early as 18 to 21 months if the child is showing readiness, while some experts say the sweet spot is between 30 and 33 months. All agree that after 36 months, the going gets tougher (3-year-olds are known for their intense stubbornness after all).

That said, if you're in the "after 36 months" camp, you're not alone. Research suggests that approximately 40% to 60% of children are completely potty trained by 3 years, meaning there are plenty of kids who go through the process later.

Once your child hits an appropriate age and shows most of these signs, you can begin the three-day potty training method, says Dr. Brown.

Before You Start 3-Day Potty Training

Once your child is ready and you start training, underwear will be worn at all times unless your child is sleeping. Consider taking them to a store and picking out underwear together, which might get them excited about wearing them. You can also count the remaining diapers together and explain that when they're gone, they won't come back.

Also, because you'll be spending a lot of time at home while using the three-day potting training method, think about at-home activities and projects in advance. This may include gathering art supplies, picking out movies, planning games, cooking, baking, or anything else that will keep you and your child entertained.

Finally, share the process with your spouse, partner, and other caregivers, such as babysitters, nannies, and relatives. Take shifts—especially if there's an older sibling—or stay together and support each other during the process. By sharing the responsibility, your child learns that they must use the toilet with everyone, not just in certain situations or with specific adults.

How to Implement 3-Day Potty Training

Parents can choose any uninterrupted three-day period for this potty training method. However, because it requires lots of time and effort, many caregivers prefer starting it over a weekend. (Bonus points if it's a three-day weekend!)

Prepare to spend nearly all of those three days at home focused on your child. "You have to pay constant attention to them so you can learn the cues that show they're about to go," says Brandi Brucks, an in-home potty-training consultant and author of Potty Training in 3 Days: The Step-by-Step Plan for a Clean Break From Dirty Diapers.

Follow this step-by-step guide to potty train your child in three days.

Step 1: Prep your child for potty training

To begin this so-called "three-day potty training boot camp," all you really need is easy access to the toilet. While some three-day methods suggest purchasing a child-size potty, Brucks counsels against this, since ultimately your child must get used to using a standard toilet. (You can use a kid-size potty-seat insert and step stool on your household toilet, though.)

Brucks coaches parents to start prepping their child two weeks in advance by talking frequently about the coming change. "Kids need time to process," she says. "So telling them in advance is much more effective than just one day saying, 'No more diapers, you're going to go on the potty,' which is too much all at once."

She also suggests using a two-week period to introduce the vocabulary of potty going—such as what it means to be wet and dry, for example—and how you'll be getting rid of the changing table so diaper changes can take place in the bathroom.

Step 2: Ditch the diapers

Put those diapers aside! Many parents and experts recommend that your child stay naked—or at least without bottoms—during the three-day potty training method. That's because underwear might feel similar to diapers, which could lead to accidents. It's also easier to place your child on the toilet ASAP if they're already naked on the bottom.

What's more, nudity forces them to pay more attention to their body, says Atlanta pediatrician Jennifer Shu, MD, the medical editor of the American Academy of Pediatrics' website, HealthyChildren.org. "Children get immediate feedback that they're voiding or stooling. If they're wearing underwear, training pants, or pull-on diapers, the sensation of being wet or dirty may not be as noticeable."

That said, some parents prefer using pants with elastic waistbands, dresses, or training pants (reusable, specially designed cotton underpants with extra layers of fabric between the legs), especially if it's cold or their child doesn't enjoy being bottomless. Decide what option will work best for your child.

Step 3: Give extra fluids

During your three-day potty training marathon, give your child slightly more fluids than normal, in the form of water, juice, popsicles, watermelon, etc. They'll have to urinate more frequently, which gives them plenty of opportunities to practice using the potty (and plenty of opportunities for success!).

Step 4: Sit on the toilet

Coax your child to listen to their body, and sit on the toilet when they know that pee or poop is coming, says Dr. Brown. You'll probably have to watch your child for signs they need to use the toilet.

These can be subtle and can vary depending on whether your child has to pee or poop, but they often include the following:

• A pause in play
• A panicked or vacant expression
• Sounds (such as grunting)
• Going red in the face
• Passing gas

However, every kid is different, so watch closely.

Step 5: Make a potty routine

Direct your child to the bathroom first thing in the morning, before and after naps, after meals, and before bedtime. Between these routine trips to the bathroom, ask your child if they need to pee or poop regularly and remind them to listen to their body.

Some parents like to set a timer and put their child on the potty every 20 or 30 minutes. Brucks, however, doesn't recommend this approach.

"Transitions are difficult for toddlers, and if every 30 minutes you're making them stop what they're doing and get up to use the potty, they'll melt down," she says. Instead, she advises watching for those all-important signs that they have to go.

Step 6: Manage naps and bedtime

You may be wondering how you'll manage naptime and overnights. Brucks suggests using pull-on diapers for sleeping—but with underwear worn over the diaper. "You're teaching them not to go in their underwear, and often if they see underwear, it seems to trick them into not going."

Brucks also says that within a month of potty training, many kids will begin to stay dry for naps and overnight, provided parents remain vigilant—putting on the pull-on diaper just before bed and removing it as soon as they wake up so they don't use it instead of the potty.

But for some kids, overnight training is a separate process altogether, and many aren't ready to sleep without protection against bedwetting until years later. (In fact, it's normal for kids to wet the bed through age 7.)

Step 7: Expect accidents

In every potty-training journey, a little tinkle must fall: Almost no kids make it through this process without at least a few wet pairs of pants. But, counterintuitively, during the initial three days, accidents are a good thing, since they're key to the learning process.

"You want your child to have accidents because they need to know what that feels like," Brucks says, "and you need accidents in order to learn those signs that they're about to go." She also stresses that you'll need to prepare yourself for a potentially long road ahead: "They're still toddlers—of course they'll have accidents."

How to Determine the Success of 3-Day Potty Training

If you're hoping one long weekend of potty practice will instantly buy you and your child a future free of accidents, you may want to temper your expectations. It's likely, experts and parents say, that the three days will be merely a strong start to your child's potty journey. So how can you gauge success?

If your child is still leaving puddles on the floor or if they couldn't care less about having numerous accidents in their training pants, they probably aren't ready for potty training. Go back to diapers and try again another weekend, recommends Dr. Brown. But, if at the end of three days of potty training, your child regrets having an accident or two, it's mission accomplished! Your child can wear training pants every day and graduate to big-kid underwear once they regularly use the potty.

It's helpful to know that for all the glee that comes with dropping your diaper budget down to zero, it can be hard to watch your child morph from little one to big kid—and that a twinge of grief is a common, if unexpected, reaction to the potty-training process. But it also offers you a chance to be proud of your child's adaptability, says Amy Palanjian, a mom of three in Pella, Iowa, who founded Yummy Toddler Food.

"It's amazing to realize just how capable our kids are," she explains. "As you help them potty train, you see them connect the dots and start to understand that they actually can do this new and very foreign thing. It's so cool to watch your child become more independent in real-time."

Additional reporting by Jill Ceder, LMSW, JD.