How to Potty Train a Girl

One of the keys to successfully potty training any child is to make sure that they are ready and interested in ditching diapers. The good news is that there is some evidence that girls start potty training earlier than boys, sometimes showing signs of readiness even before they turn 2. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, girls should be able to communicate that they want to learn and have the gross motor skills to be able to get to and get on and off the potty by themselves. You’ll also want to make sure they have the fine motor skills needed to be able to get their pants and underwear off in time.

Okay, this might sound like a cliche, but it still works! Prior to starting potty training, involve your daughter in the process by letting her choose her own special potty and her cool big girl underwear. She might enjoy a special mother/daughter outing to the store to pick out her superhero or princess underwear and you can use that as a low pressure way to introduce her to the restroom at your favorite store. Some kids are frightened by automatic flush toilets, so giving a preview before she actually needs to use it might take the edge off that fear.

If you are a mom, you are probably already used to having company in the bathroom! But during potty training, you can use that lack of privacy to your advantage by narrating what you are doing and asking your daughter if she has any questions. Don’t be shy about letting her see you wipe (who said being a mother wasn’t glamourous?) because you’ll be helping her visualize what she’ll need to do when it is her turn on the potty!

Once she has shown she is ready, you’ll want to approach potty training with a positive attitude and to think about encouragement rather than bribes and rewards. “Giving kids a since of pride prior to any accidents helps so much. You might set a timer every hour and ask ‘Are you clean and proud and dry?’ and when they say ‘yes’, you take them to the bathroom and say ‘Yahoooo!! Let's stay clean and proud and dry! Let's sit on the toilet and see if anything comes out!’. If they say "no" the response is ‘that's okay, buddy! Let's try again. Let's get cleaned up and you can pick out what underwear you want to wear next!’ suggests Mary Beth Cunningham, MA, LCPC and expert in educational psychology.

An important part of giving a girl potty confidence it to make sure she has enough time to get to the potty and to get her clothes off. For days when you are potty training at home, consider having her wear a short dress so she only has to get her diaper or underwear off before getting on the potty. Rachel T, mom of two from Des Moines, Iowa, is a fan of the dress plan. “I waited until spring to potty train my daughter just so that we wouldn’t have to deal with her pulling down tight leggings or dealing with zippers. A dress is easy to pull up and she had fewer accidents due to not making it in time than my son did.”

One of the biggest differences between boys and girls when it comes to potty training is learning to wipe. In order to prevent UTIs, girls should be taught to wipe front to back to avoid getting any stool in their urethras. This can be a tricky skill to learn and requires a bit of coordination, so parents should take the lead on demonstrating the right technique. Some parents will wipe once and then let their daughter do a second wipe as practice. This is especially important for potty trips that involve both pee and a bowel movement.

She’ll soon get the hang of it and you’ll both be glad to put diapers behind you for good!