Potty training can be one of the toughest things you’ll have to do as a parent. Although I had already trained four kids in the past, my fifth child taught me some valuable potty training tips. Now I’m passing those on to you. Check it out!

I thought I knew everything there was to know in order to successfully potty train a toddler. Boy, was I wrong. When it was time to train my daughter–my fifth child–I did everything right but she still wasn’t trained. This wasn’t my first time. I was confused. Then, she taught me a thing or two. Here’s what I learned.

Tip #1: Wait until your child is ready

You probably hear this all the time because it’s true. If your child isn’t showing any interest in going to the bathroom, don’t force it. Most of the time, mom or dad is ready but not the child. If you try to force your child, they will most likely develop negative feelings towards potty training and it will take even longer. Stop the power struggle.

Here’s some signs that your toddler is ready for potty training success:

• Shows interest in other people going to the bathroom
• Takes off diaper and seems annoyed with wet diaper
• Stays dry after a nap or extended amount of time
• Hides when they go poo or pee
• Poops on schedule
• Can follow simple directions

Tip #2: One gender doesn’t potty train better than the other

People always told me that girls potty train faster than boys. Well, all of my boys potty trained in one day and my little girl literally took months. Each child’s personality is different and each should be treated independently from another. Don’t expect certain results from each child based on past experiences.

Tip #3: It’s okay to go back to diapers

Sometimes you don’t know if your child is ready until you start trying. I started potty training when my daughter turned three years old. I thought she was ready but after a few days of accident after accident with no successes, I put diapers back on her. She didn’t seem sad at all. She was happy to put the diaper back on. That was enough of an indication to me that she wasn’t ready. We tried again a couple of months later with much more success.

Tip #4: Positive reinforcement is always better

It is super easy to get upset when potty training. But putting a child in time out and disciplining them for having accidents may cause them to regress. They are just getting used to listening to what their body is telling them. Sometimes that takes a while. Let them learn at their own pace. Give them lots of praise every time they at least try. I love using a potty sticker chart or putting a special present on display as motivation. My daughter also did really well with her very own portable potty chair.

Tip #5: Continue life as normal during potty training

I used to clear my entire schedule so that I didn’t have anything planned during potty training time. But as a busy mom with four other kids, I stopped doing that with my fifth child. It’s just not a good idea or feasible. If I needed to go to the store, I would bring extra underwear and wet wipes and hope for the best. We even took my daughter on a five-hour road trip. She had some accidents but I think it helped her learn quicker.

Other potty training tips and tricks

• Host a potty party on the first day of potty training
• Let your child pick out their underwear
• Try potty training closer to age three or older
• Use a portable potty seat
• Let your child see other children their age use the potty
• Buy a potty stool
• Let your child wear disposable training pants at night
• Ready a potty book or watch potty movies to get them excited

Hopefully these potty training tips will help you as you are training your toddler. Good luck. Let me know how it goes in the comments below.

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If you have a toddler, then you most likely have crayon on your walls somewhere in your house. So, after five kids and many colorful walls, I decided to test which is the best way to remove crayon off walls. Check it out!

The other day, my 2-year-old daughter was being super quiet. That’s when you know trouble is brewin’. So, I came downstairs and discovered a beautiful mural of crayon artwork on my white wall. This wasn’t my first rodeo. Instead of getting frustrated, I decided to test out the various ways to remove crayon from white walls to see which worked the best. Here’s what I found out.

The WORST methods to get crayon off walls

• Distilled vinegar – White vinegar can be a great green way to clean but not for removing crayon from walls. I scrubbed and scrubbed but it didn’t come off really at all. Not worth the effort.
• Steel wool – Although steel wool can really scrub off soap scum and the like, this will damage your wall. It may get the crayon off but your wall will not end up looking better. You might have to repaint it.
• Glass cleaner – The cleaner just dripper down the wall and made a mess. If you still want to give this a try, get the foaming glass cleaner, but even then, it just didn’t remove the crayon very well.
• Mayonnaise – They say the oil from the mayo breaks down the wax in the crayons without damaging your walls. But, then you have greasy mayonnaise on your wall. I was kind of grossed out by this option.
• Simple Green – This product is safe for the environment and can clean really greasy stains but for some reason it just didn’t work very well for getting crayon off walls. But, I would recommend it for cleaning sinks, tile and stoves.

The BEST methods to get crayon off walls

Here’s five of the best ways that I found to wash crayon from your painted wall. Keep in mind that I was looking for the quickest and easy option, something that I could use to scrub really quickly and be done in about five minutes.

• Baking soda – You can make a paste with 3 parts baking soda and 1 part water and then gently rub it onto the wall. This was my least-favorite of the five best options simply because it takes a while.
• Dishwashing soap – Just like you would expect it, soap adheres the crayon that is sticking to the surface of the wall and removes it. It works and it came off pretty fast. Just make sure you wipe your wall clean with water to remove any residue.
• Toothpaste – I was legitimately surprised that this worked, but non-gel toothpaste contains mild abrasives (such as baking soda) to gently remove crayon marks without damaging the wall. So, it was easier than the baking soda option.
• Pencil eraser – Just like erasers remove pencil, apparently they remove crayon as well. It helps to wet down the pencil eraser a little bit before rubbing it on the wall. Although, it did seem a little bit tedious and I wouldn’t recommend using an eraser to remove crayon off a big section of a wall.
• WINNER! Magic Eraser – I can always rely on a Magic Eraser to get the job done. And that’s exactly what it did! Using an extra durable Magic Eraser, I just soaked it in water and the crayon markings came right off. It was quick and it was easy. The entire area was clean in 10 minutes.

Here’s a little video that I made showing how I tested each of these product methods.

Hopefully this blog post was helpful for you as you’re washing crayon off walls in your home. Whichever method you decide to use, make sure you take a picture of your child’s artwork. You’ll smile about it later on.

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The post I tested 10 ways to remove crayon off walls. Here’s the best one. appeared first on My Silly Squirts.

This birthday treasure hunt is the perfect activity for any child’s special day. And even a little toddler can join in on the fun since each clue has pictures instead of words. So, what are you waiting for? Print your copy right now!

I wanted to do a birthday treasure hunt for my four-year-old’s birthday that was easy and simple. Instead of writing clever clues, I put images of basic household objects that were easy to recognize. He LOVED it! He didn’t need help from any of us. It was definitely the highlight of the day. Here’s how you can do it at your next birthday celebration.

Print and cut your Birthday Treasure Hunt

This treasure hunt only has five pages that you need to print out. Download the PDF below and send it to your local printer or print them at home.

Click on the link at the end of this blog post to download your treasure hunt.

Then just cut then clue pages in half. You’ll have eight total clues and then a treasure hunt title page to display on the table.

Hide your clues

I purposely made these clues simple so that they would work in most any household. Plus, it’s easy for your child to find them as well. So, just hide the clues in order according to the image on each clue. Listed below are the locations where you will hide your clues:

• #1: Kitchen table
• #2: Bathroom
• #3: Washing machine
• #4: Television
• #5: Couch
• #6: Fridge
• #7: Microwave
• #8: Car

Start your treasure hunt

Before you begin the birthday treasure hunt, make sure you tell all the kids participating that the birthday boy or girl is the one who collects the clues. Sometimes kids get so excited and they plow over all the other kids to find the clue.

Then, hand out the first clue and watch the fun unfold. My kids were running around the house and loving every minute of it. My little four-year-old LOVED all of the attention. The last clue leads everyone to the car. Inside I hid my son’s birthday presents and a bag a goodies for the rest of the kids.

For our birthday grab bags at the end, I bought some glow sticks, Squeeze its fruit drinks and candy. Kids also love Wiki Stix, fidget toys, temporary tattoos and Squishies. The sky is the limit.

Spice up your party with extras

Aside from the birthday treasure hunt, you can add some of the following decorations to finish off your birthday celebration:

• Birthday Banner Balloon Set
• Shark Cake Toppers
• Birthday invitations
• Plates and napkins
• Birthday tablecloth
• Hat-making activity kit
• Party blowers

Download your treasure hunt

Click on the link below to purchase and download your birthday treasure hunt.

Birthday Treasure Hunt Printable

Hopefully this gives you some great ideas for your next birthday party extravaganza. What other ideas do you have for birthday parties for your kids? Leave your comments below.

Related link: FREE Traveling Birthday Treasure Hunt

Vector graphics provided by Vecteezy

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