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I heard it time and time again… potty training boys is harder than potty training girls, but I am here to break that myth.  I think that potty training girls is harder than potty training boys (a lot harder!)
girls are harder to potty train than boys

I wrote a book called Potty Train in a Weekend and while it did work on our boys AND our little girl, it was much easier with our boys.   I followed the same method, but found that it was just very different.

Our boys are the older ones and our little girl is the “baby” of the family (yes, she will tell you that she is the baby. She is 2 1/2.) This is where she spends most of her day… right on her Mommy’s hip. 
strawberry picking

When it came time to potty train her in three days, I was ready to go!  I knew just what to expect, I had been through this several times, I knew that I could train her before she turned two (just like her brothers.)  “I have got this down pat!”  

10 reasons girls are harder to potty train than boys:
the 10 reasons girls are harder to potty train than boys

1.  When they pee, it just trickles down their legs.  With boys, it is VERY obvious that they are peeing.  You see a stream of urine flying through the air.   With a girl- you just see a puddle forming at her feet. (very easy to miss!) 

2. With a boy, I always could “hear” when they started to pee, which made my weekend method much easier.  For girls, I didn’t know until her legs were covered in urine.

3. The boys were upset when they would have an accident, but girls just cry their little hearts out any time that they have an accident (well, our daughter did anyway!)  If she ever doesn’t make it to the potty in time, she just cries and cries.
♥   Here is our sweet Allie…why girls are harder to potty train than boys

4. Girls can be more stubborn with potty training.
Do you know how toddlers do that thing where they make their body as stiff as a board when you go to put them in their carseat or on the potty and they don’t want to go?  Our daughter would do this for the potty… if she didn’t want to sit down, you knew it!

5.  Girls are more picky about which potty seat they use!  Yes, really.  I had heard this from friends, but didn’t see it with my own eyes until we trained our daughter.

6. Girls are determined to wipe themselves after they “go pee-pee on the potty”, where you don’t have to worry about this issue for boys.   Thank goodness for flushable wipes.

7. Our daughter wanted to watch Frozen every time that she had to go to the potty- which meant that she actually wanted me to bring her potty out into the living room, in front of the TV, so that she could go.

8.  Girls expect more praise… from everyone!   Our daughter expected her three big brothers to cheer for her every time that she went (and, of course… they did!)   It was a full song & dance at each tinkle for this little ballerina!  I didn’t mind… everyone deserves a cheer because if they are proud of themselves, we should be proud, too. ♥

9. Girls wants to dump the urine out of the potty and into the big potty.   Have you ever seen a toddler dump anything?   It doesn’t go where it is supposed to go!  (Clorox wipes to the rescue!)

10. This one is specific to our daughter, but she liked to wear her bicycle helmet when she was on the potty.   Potty Training is dangerous work, you know!   hahaha!

Overall- all four kids had their struggles and had their successes, but the boys were far easier to train than our daughter.   I think that it was mostly the pee running down her leg thing that made it tough, but once she had her first successful “pee pee in the potty”, she, too, was potty trained in a weekend!

Ps- This is another thing that I wish I had known about when I was training her.  She would have LOVED this potty baby doll. (I’m sure she will still love it!)

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Are you ready to potty train your child?

GET THE BOOK HERE:
potty train in a weekend
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Potty Train Toddler - is your child ready?

Hi there!

I’m Becky, a former elementary school teacher turned certified child development therapist and blogger. I work at home with my husband and together we are raising (and partially homeschooling) our four children in the Carolinas. I love diet coke, ice cream, and spending time with my family.

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8 Comments

  1. I agree with you, the thing that makes it the hardest is the fact that you have to watch for the puddle of pee constantly. My daughter also has eczema on her legs for the pee really makes her itch! But we have two princess potties. The princess potty (Disney, which also seconds as a stool and has music) and the Disney potty insert. She’s also very picky about which potty she wants to use!

    1. Yes!!

      Oh no- poor thing. 🙁 Our daughter has eczema too (ps- have you ever tried Soothe by Rodan & Fields? That is what we ended up using on her & it has been wonderful!! Message me if you want info about it.)

      ps- we have the Disney Princess potty chair, too. She loves the 3rd “song” and says “Da-da-da-da-da-da-DAH!” with it! 🙂

  2. Do you mean “Expect” in #8? Doesn’t quite make sense otherwise.

    8. Girls except more praise… from everyone! Our daughter excepted her three big brothers to cheer for her every time that she went…

    And thanks for the TT tips.

  3. We’re due with baby #4 in May and she’ll be our first girl. We did wait until our boys were three to potty train and it was a breeze, but I’d always heard girls potty trained earlier than boys. Guess we’ll find out eventually. I think we’ll be in for quite the learning curve having a girl in our house after all our boys!

  4. I agree with is that girls want to wipe themselves after peeing. That’s because (a) we need to, and (b) we are a lot cleaner than a boy!

  5. Agreed! I’ve got a three year old girl that just doesn’t get potty training. We’ve tried and failed for more than six months. At my wits end!

  6. Fully agreed with this post! I’ve got a 2 year old baby toddler that just doesn’t get potty training. We did but failed for about 4 months.