Potty training

How to start? what is the 3 day rule?

 

I started with buying a little potty and some books about using the potty. At first I just let the kids explore the potty and then they would sit on it at certain times of the day, with no pressure of going. I would tell them that eventually their pee and poop would go in the potty and they would no longer need diapers. I used pull ups with my DD and she PT-ed very easily. My son was a challenge (pull ups were a set back for him) and we did have to use the 3 day method. That is basically, you throw away diapers and pull ups, they go straight to underwear. Set up 3 days where you really don't need to leave the house (if anyone is helping you train, they need to be on board with the program too), you will be loading your children up with liquid to encourage them to go and you have to keep your eye on them for signs of being about ready to go or just about having an accident and get them to the bathroom or their little potty. The theory is that by the third day, they will either be trained or mostly trained. For my son, he was mostly trained by day 4. Staying dry at nap and night time took him about a month later. But I would lay chux pads down on his mattress, over sheets, which were over a mattress protector, on top of the chux pads were towels, so when he did have an accident at night or nap time, I usually just had to change him and a towel/chux pad and not the whole bed. The 3 day program suggests at night to check on them an hour after going to bed and having them pee and an hour before waking...this is to help them see that going to the bathroom overnight is okay as well.
As for poop, it is recommended to start giving them the foods to help them poop before and during the 3 day phase so they will see pooping on the potty is normal. With my son, I would cut up a dried prune and mix it in his grape jelly for his PB&J sandwiches (lucky for us, he was on a big pb&j kick at that time).
Once your child or children are mostly trained, leave the house with a change of clothes, travel potty in case they have to go while you are out.

My DD was a couple of months shy of 4 when she started to really train and was done by 2 years 8 months (night and day)...my son, we started the 3 day program 2 years 9 months with him and he was done about a month later (day and night).
I always say, you can try and if you feel your children are not ready yet, there is no harm in stopping and trying again another time. I had to do that with my son and it was a sanity saver for everyone in our house. It was a big mistake on my part to think that my DD and DS would train the same way and at the same time.