Funniest potty-training stories ever

Potty training is different for every child and family. While some kids take to it quickly, others are a little, um, less interested. Whether you're winning the battle or ready to give up, just know that you're not alone. To prove it, our readers have shared their funniest stories of their experiences!

After moving to Alberta from Ontario, we didn't know anybody. We were invited over for lunch by a co-worker of my spouse. Our daughter was playing in their toy room while us adults finished our lunch. All of a sudden she wonders out half naked into the kitchen only to place a handful of poop on the dining room table. So much for first impressions!
– Brittany Hartwick, Beaumont, Alberta

My son hid in the closet, took off his pants and Pull-up and pooped in our suitcase.
– Jennifer Kennedy, Moncton, New Brunswick

I am currently potty training my two-and-half-year-old twins. After my daughter had her first poop on the potty she was flushing it away when she looked in the bowl and said: "Bye-bye poop, miss you." It was adorable.
– Stacy Hipwell Leger, Victoria, BC

We let our son run around outside with no pants on (in summer) as part of potty training. He got really good at peeing on the trees. On a trip to the park, we were walking along and he fell behind. I stopped and turned around only to see him pulling his pants down and peeing on the neighbour's tree (in their front yard)! To make it worse she was sitting on her front porch. Fortunately she is a mom/grandmom and thought it was hilarious.
– Jennifer Lynch Van Winden, Orangeville, Ontario

When my daughter was three, she was peeing on the potty, but we were still struggling with pooping. She would hold it in until nap time or bed time when she knew she would have a diaper on.

I decided one day to try taking her out of her diaper for nap time, hoping she would have to poop and would do it on the potty. I put the potty in her room and told her she could go in there or come out to the bathroom if she had to go.

About 10 minutes later she yelled from her room that she pooped. I went in there and I could smell it, so I looked in the potty. Nothing. She wouldn't tell me where she pooped, so I looked around the room but I couldn't find it.

I asked her if she pooped in her pants and she said no, but I decided to look only to discover she was wearing a diaper that she had put on by herself just so she could poop in it!
– Cassidy Rae Tippe, Didsbury, Alberta

My little boy was three, and he had gone to sleep for a nap so I thought it was a good time to shower. I got into the shower and about 10 minutes later, he came running to the door yelling: "Mommy, Mommy, I have to go, I have to go!" I tried to rush out of the shower as fast as I could. When I finally got out and opened the door, he was standing there with no pants on holding one of my new measuring cups full of number two. I could not get mad at him because I was laughing so hard.
– Melissa Spencer, St. John's, Newfoundland

I caught my daughter when she dropped her drawers, squatted and pooped in the yard. The initial humour of her pooping like our dog in the yard quickly faded to horror. When we came in the house, I saw "muddy" footprints and smelled a poop odour throughout the house. I couldn't pinpoint the smell, until I laid eyes on the dog who was covered head to tail in my daughter's poop after rolling in it!
– Erin Englehart Dolfi

My three-year-old-son stood with a dirty diaper in the hallway and sternly said, "If you don't do as I say, I will poop my pants more!" That was the day we knew he was smart and could use the toilet and the great potty war was on!
– Wendy Martin Turley, East York, Ontario

When my two-year-old son peed in the potty for the first time, we did a very exciting potty dance. He was so proud of himself for not going in his diaper that he went to my bedroom and had a poo on my carpet. He proceeded with the same potty dance. All we could do was laugh.
– Christy Kachur-Plaitis

My first born was so stubborn when it came time to potty training. One day, I thought I would try letting her spend the day naked in order to make it easier for her to go potty on her own. Later that day, I came upon a giant puddle of pee in the kitchen and my daughter sliding through it "slip-and-slide" style saying "Wheee!". Is that what they mean when they tell you to make potty training fun?
– Elissa Dodd, Beamsville, Ontario

My son would pee in anything that looked like a toilet: flower pots, garbage, kitty litter, buckets, sinks. We let him pee outside sometimes so for awhile he would just open the back door and pee all over the mat.
– Nikki Michaelov, Toronto

My daughter, Lauren, came into the bathroom when I was using it and patted me on the knee and said, "Good girl, Mommy! I hear tinkles!"
– Jennifer MacLeod, Bedford, Nova Scotia

When my daughter was little, I remember working with her on going to the potty and cheering for her one time after she did a number two. Her response? "That not a poop. That a turd". I had a few words with my husband later, once we were done laughing.

Potty training tips that work> Ditching diapers is often a prerequisite for preschool, but toilet training with a deadline isn’t fun for anyone. Here are some tips to help with the transition.