Potty Training Boys vs Girls (with a giveaway from Potty Pets)

Are you team #Boymom or #Girlmom? Or maybe, like me, you have one of both. When it comes time to potty train, is there REALLY a difference between potty training boys vs girls? We dove deep into the depths of the internet to bring you the lowdown on this question.
What does SCIENCE say about Potty Training Boys vs. Girls?
FACT: Most girls potty train earlier than boys. (I’m not gonna extrapolate to say that us females are smarter… but, you know what I’m thinking. 😉
” The median ages for “staying dry during the day” were 32.5 months (95% confidence interval: 30.9–33.7) and 35.0 months (95% confidence interval: 33.3–36.7) for girls and boys, respectively. ” -According to a 2002 study.
Real Life Moms (aka NOT scientists) on Potty Training Boys vs. Girls
Tips for Boys:
- When you’re potty training boys, face them toward the back of the toilet when sitting down to pee. There still might be mess, but less of it. Also, get used to wiping down the bathroom every single day to avoid it constantly smelling like pee! -June, The Experienced Mama
- As a mom, going to the bathroom by yourself is a luxury. Children watch how you do things and copy them, so it is just natural for them to sit while potty training. If Hubs was doing the majority of the potty training it might be different, but then again maybe not because there are more messes to clean up when standing. –Little Miss Kate
- My #1 tip when it comes to potty training boys vs girls is to teach them BOTH TO SIT. So often people train their sons to pee standing up but then it can lead to fears about sitting down to poop. MUCH easier to train to sit until they are old enough to understand the difference! -Emily, Journey of Parenthood
- And specifically re boys… A. Make them sit down. And B. Buy a shitload of bleach because there will be PLENTY of ‘my willy didn’t point the right way!’ moments. My daughter literally never peed on my face or on the ceiling. FML. -Frances, Whinge, Whinge, Wine
- I had a girl first. Seemed easy peasy with potty training, sit and tinkle! A couple years later a boy comes along. To a avoid all the mess other boy moms face I decided I was going to teach him to pee sitting down. Worked like a charm for a year. Then he went to primary school and the other boys thought him new tricks and now I have pee on the back of toilet seats, on the side of the bowl and the floor ??♀️ –Kathryn Anywhere
Are you sensing a theme here??
Tips for Girls:
- My daughter was very scared of the potty so I ended up hugging her while she peed for the first few times. She needed extra comfort. It’s super awkward to hug someone while they pee, but toddlers are essentially tiny drunk people and I feel like there were some days in college where I had to hug a friend on the toilet. -Nikki, Toots Mom is Tired
- I have one daughter so I’m not sure if this is an accurate technique but in my experience, if you wait long enough, it happens on its own. LOL. We waited for a while because nothing seemed to work, and then in 2 exact days she got potty trained. ?♀️ – Mujde Muji Bau, Soiree Group
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Lean forward, not back when you pee. Learned the hard way on this one. ??♀️ –Mother of Serendipity
- Teaching them to wipe front to back each time is challenging. Also, public toilet seats are gross, and tiny kids can’t “hover.” -Michelle Riddell
Potty Pets Giveaway from Squatty Potty
Whether you’re training a boy or a girl, your kids will love having their own little Squatty Potty Potty Pet. It’s no secret that us moms here at MomCave are huge fans of Squatty Potty.
And now kids can have their very own! It promotes the best posture for elimination (That’s a polite way to say it makes pooping easier), makes kids feel more secure that they won’t fall in, and is also used as a hand-washing stool.
Win your own below!
Win a Potty Pet from Squatty Potty and MomCaveTV


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11:04 pm
What a great idea! I’m a fan of the one for adults and am happy to see a smaller one for kids.
7:44 pm
I am a big fan of the adult Squatty Potty and this child’s one is fantastic!
11:31 pm
this is great, would love to have for my grandchildren
9:13 am
Thanks for the pointers. Going through the same season with kid #2 who is boy.
9:32 am
I am #Teamboy These are great tips. The Potty Pet is so cute and I love it can be used as a stool!
9:43 am
my favorite is the pup
2:01 pm
This would be wonderful for my granddaughter.
5:38 pm
This would be perfect for my boys !
5:46 pm
These are the cutest…and I love the choice of animal designs! Perfect for my cousin’s little one!
12:18 am
These are so adorable and will be such a big help when it’s time to potty train my little girl!
7:03 pm
These are absolutely adorable! Wish we would’ve had one when our son was potty training.
8:21 am
Great tip with the bleach. I have two little boys.
5:35 pm
Gteat tip.. never thought about bleach. I neen steam mopping. My youngest has stomach issues. Always has so this would benefit him.
3:26 am
What a fun-looking stool for my kids to learn how to use the toilet.
2:22 am
Boy all the way!
5:09 pm
Thanks for the great giveaway!
9:58 pm
This will be great for my granddaughter that I’m helping potty train right now.
11:19 pm
We read yours tips for boys. We would love to give this to our son so these working parents would have an easier time training our grandson and save money on diapers.