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This week I have been celebrating my three-year-old daughter’s completion of the potty training process. It has been almost a year since she first she had shown interest in using the potty. As a matter of fact, she even had gone all by herself many times and was almost potty trained at the age of two…and then her baby brother was born. Then she decided that diapers and pull-ups were cool. She especially liked the pull-ups that had pictures on them that disappeared when they got wet; she liked making the pictures disappear.

We had tried many gimmicks to inspire her to use the potty: sticker charts, treats, themed underwear, etc. While some of those gimmicks worked for some of my other children, my three-year-old was not impressed. I had to wait until she wanted to use the potty again. When that spark of interest showed up, I had a plan. My daughter’s best friend had recently started using the potty and was quite excited about it. I invited my daughter’s friend over for a panty-painting party. We sat around the dining room table armed with plain colored training pants and fabric paints. I helped each of the girls write her name in pretty colors on the back of her panties. Then I let the girls loose with the paints, and they painted pretty designs on their panties. The girls couldn’t wait to wear them.

The next day, the girls got together for a play date wearing their special panties. They encouraged each other to use the potty and were careful to keep their pants dry. Now, my daughter is diaper-free—even at night!

After going through the potty-training process with six children, I have learned a couple of things:

1. It’s best to wait until the child wants to use the potty, and then use fun incentives. It makes the process much easier.

2. A little positive peer pressure is a great motivator!