How to Potty Train Twins

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Twins are a lot of fun but they definitely come with their own set of challenges — potty training being one of them.

My twins are 2 1/2 now and we are starting to think about potty training. After potty training 4 other kids (plus dozens more during my years as a home daycare provider), you’d think I’d have the potty training thing down.

I’m discovering that, just like everything else with twins, potty training has to be done just a bit differently.

Buy two matching potties

I get asked all the time when I dress my twins in matching outfits it if is hard to have them in matching clothes all the time. The truth is, I dress them alike because if I don’t, they fight over who gets which outfit.

When we give one twin something, the other twin has to have the exact same thing.

This rule applies to potty training too. We have an older potty from when my daughter potty trained and we were hoping we could just get by with using that one and maybe a seat that goes directly on the potty for the other twin.

My twins disagreed.

To save ourselves from breaking up a lot of fights (and making potty training way harder than it needs to be) we went out and bought matching potties.

We thought about trying to get by with one potty and having them take turns or having one twin use the little potty and one twin use the big potty but we knew there would be endless fights. For twins, look for a narrow potty seat so you can easily fit the potties side by side.

Use peer pressure to your advantage

Peer pressure is in full force with twins. You hear a lot about the negatives of peer pressure but there are definitely some situations where it can work in your favor. My twins are super competitive with each other. They will not be shown up by the other twin. To give you an example, one twin had a cold a while ago and the other was healthy. I had to wipe the healthy twin’s nose and give her “medicine” (we went with tiny pieces of candy) every time I took care of the sick twin or they would go nuts.

We learned really quickly that this will be the biggest asset we have in potty training.

We’ve been having the girls practice using the potty for a little while now . . . with no success. Finally one twin peed on the potty. We cheered and danced around the bathroom so the second twin got jealous. She ran over and said, “i potty too!”.

Within a few minutes she had pooped on the potty and was very pleased with herself. Of course, then the first twin was upset she hadn’t pooped on the potty, but at least they were pushing each other to try harder.

Make it easy on yourself with a few shortcuts

I’m all for making any task easier, especially when it comes to potty training. Lay a towel under the potty seats so you can just throw it in the wash when there are any spills. This will save you from needing to scrub your floor every time your toddlers use the potty.

Toddlers will have accidents while potty training. I’ve found the easiest way to help toddlers learn when they need to use the potty and protect their clothes (and furniture) from leaks is to use Pull-Ups® Cool & Learn® Training Pants.

These have a cooling sensation that helps you potty train and makes it easier for toddlers to understand when they have had an accident. They are actually the only pant that feels cool when wet. You still get all around protection (which is definitely important). The Easy-Open Sides make it easy to change if your toddler does have an accident.

It doesn’t hurt that they have my daughters’ favorite character on them either — Sophia the First.

You can find these at your local Walmart and they start as low as $8.97, which definitely helps when you are buying for twins.

Now through October 8th, you can even use this coupon to save $2 off 1 package of Pull-Ups (or GoodNites) at Walmart.

Determine your Child’s Potty Training Personality

All kids are different. That’s why it is so important to understand your child’s potty training personality before you start potty training. With twins, you’ll likely have two different personality types. Huggies has a cute guide to help you determine your child’s potty training personality.

Squirrel – A Squirrel never wants to slow down but can be motivated with fun games.

Turtle – A Turtle is not a fan of change and can be super stubborn. They take a while to warm up to new ideas.

Puppy – A puppy is ready and willing but just needs to learn what the rules are. They can be highly motivated by treats so use that to your advantage.

Owl – An Owl is predictable and determined. They like to stay clean so that’s a motivating factor for them.

Bear – A Bear happily goes from one thing to another. They are pretty flexible.

I’m dealing with a Turtle and a Squirrel with my twins right now. I loved going through the resources available for each personality type to help me find ideas that will work for them. Find out what your child’s personality type is here.

Are you currently potty training twins? How have you found it different than potty training a singleton?