This is a sponsored post, but all opinions, images, and real-life potty training successes and failures are my own.

I’m a firm believer in not trying to force potty training. So what if your kid isn’t ready when his cousins are, or your friends’ kids? Trying to potty train a child that isn’t quit ready yet (physically, emotionally, attitude-anally) is a guaranteed headache….for you AND him. You’ll be stressed out and frustrated, he’ll be confused and frustrated. But if he IS ready, the process is easier, faster, and well…possible.

So how do you even know when your child is ready to try potty training? According to the Pull-Ups® Big Kid Academy, you can look for these signs:

• He tells you he needs to go
• He’s interested in the potty chair/toilet/your bathroom habits
• He stays dry during a nap
• He doesn’t like to wear wet or dirty diapers
• He follows simple directions
• He stays dry for at least two hours at a time.

Once you get started, make sure that you’re both committed. Gather some essential tools: a potty chair or toddler-sized seat for the toilet, some books on why being a big kid in big kid underwear is so awesome and what the heck potty training is all about, Pull-ups or underwear for your big kid to wear, and an extra bucket of patience. You’ll need it.

There are different ways to do the actual potty training. Maybe you have a timer that goes off every ten minutes, signaling that it’s time to try to potty. Maybe you start a sticker chart (our chosen method) and every time he goes potty on the seat or toilet, he gets a sticker. When he gets ten stickers, maybe he gets a treat. Our dude got to choose a toy when his chart was filled up, but that wasn’t even the exciting part….he was way more into choosing which sticker to put on. You can get fancy and organized with a chart, but for our fourth child, we slapped a piece of paper on the wall and called it good.

Like I said, the Pull-Ups® Big Kid Academy is full of helpful information, tips, and tricks for the entire potty training process, plus coupons and the products that can help.

We’re in the “Pro” stage, meaning that our little guy wears his Jake and the Neverland Pirates pants at night only.

Are YOU ready to start the journey, the potty training adventure? Sign up (for free) for the Big Kid Academy, where you can get tons of tips, advice, resources, and more.

What are your best potty training tips?