How a book can help with potty training

Starting potty training does not have to mean asking your child to practise on the potty straight away. Reading a book together can be a first introduction. On the sofa or before bed, you can make the subject familiar while nothing has to go right in that moment.

A story lets you look together at what a potty is, what it feels like when a wee is coming, and what happens when you give it a try. In a personalized story, your child is the main character. Their name is part of the story, and the pictures show their appearance or a familiar cuddly toy. That makes it easier to talk about what happens and what the main character tries.

A book shows what is going to happen

Potty training involves several small steps. Your child has to notice that a wee is coming, stop playing, walk to the potty, pull down their trousers, sit, and wait.

To an adult, these actions naturally belong together. A toddler still has to discover how noticing a wee connects to stopping their game, walking to the potty, and sitting down. A story lets you look at that sequence calmly. The main character notices something, walks to the potty, and gives it a try.

You can point at the pictures together and describe what happens at home in your own words. There is no need to turn the book into a lesson. A brief comment such as “Look, he can feel a wee coming too” is enough. If your child only wants to point at the dinosaur toy or skip to the next page, that is fine as well.

Illustration from “Sam op het potje” showing Sam proudly standing beside his mint green potty while his dinosaur toy watches from the windowsill

Reading together takes pressure off practice

After the fourth time, a question like “Do you need the potty?” can start to feel rather big. During story time, the attention is somewhere else. You are sitting on the sofa or reading before bed, talking about somebody in a book.

That little bit of distance helps. Your child can say that Sam finds it scary, that his toy should go first, or that wet trousers feel unpleasant. There is no need to ask whether they feel the same. Sometimes they make the connection with home on their own, and sometimes they do not.

A book will not prevent a battle when your child genuinely does not want to try. Put it away if that happens. Reading should remain a calm moment, not a hidden instruction to sit on the potty after all.

Repetition makes the potty more ordinary

Toddlers can ask for the same story five evenings in a row. That may feel repetitive to a parent, but it gives a child something to hold on to. The pictures stay the same, the sequence stays the same, and the ending is no surprise.

This gives you a chance to repeat the words that belong to potty training: noticing the feeling, taking trousers off, sitting, trying, and washing hands. The words gradually become familiar. Your child does not have to carry out those steps today.

Use the same simple words you use in everyday life. If your family says “do a wee” and “do a poo”, keep saying that. Familiar language is more useful to a toddler than the perfect wording.

Your child is the main character

Your toddler’s name appears in the story. In the pictures, the main character has the same hair, the same cuddly toy, or that favourite yellow jumper. The story clearly concerns somebody from their own world.

Do not expect every child to suddenly sit still and listen. Sometimes the recognition does give you an immediate opening: “Hey, that is you. And Dino is trying first.” Your child can watch themselves practise without the real potty having to be ready beside them.

In our example book “Sam op het potje”, the green dinosaur toy first shows how it works. Sam then learns to notice when he needs a wee. He tries, something is allowed to go wrong, and eventually he succeeds. You can flip through the complete example book at the bottom of the page. If you want to compare other potty books first, see: The 5 best books about potty training.

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Accidents belong in the story too

A story in which everything works on the first attempt may be pleasant to read. It does not look much like practising with a real toddler, though. That may include a wee beside the potty, trousers that come down too late, or a child who simply does not want to try today.

That kind of moment can be useful to read about together. An accident does not need to become a joke. The story simply continues afterwards: clean up, put on dry clothes, and try again later.

Do not look only for a cheerful ending. Check whether the book leaves room for things to go wrong without shame. A personal story can reflect your own child here. One child may want their cuddly toy to demonstrate first. Another mostly recognizes forgetting while they are busy playing.

Read when nothing has to happen

Keep the book with the other picture books and pick it up when your child wants it. Try not to save it for the moment after an accident or as a final attempt after a long discussion. On the sofa, after a bath, or before bed, your child can look and ask questions without having to practise immediately.

A book cannot decide when a child becomes toilet trained. It cannot make a child who is not ready become toilet trained any sooner. It can make the subject feel smaller: this is the potty, this is what the feeling might be like, an accident can happen, and tomorrow we can try again.

Want to know more about how your child’s appearance becomes part of a story? Read: What makes a truly personalized children’s book with a photo?. For practical ways to keep reading relaxed, see: Reading with silly voices: why funny dad voices are so much fun.