We are currently potty training A, making this our 3rd go at this developmental milestone in 4 years. We aim for about 3 years old as that seems to be most reasonable for our boys understanding some bodily cause-and-effect, as well as being able to handle the mechanics of an elastic waistband. (Aside: whoever decided to put buttons on pants for sizes 2T – 3T: shame on you.)

We generally subscribe to the crash course pants-less few days to kick things off, sending a preemptive apologetic text to our neighbors for the inevitable nudity they will witness. We do a sticker chart and mini positive inducements (read: sweets) along the way, and “mega prizes” to mark milestones like 10 successful trips to the potty. It’s not perfect and we send a lot of changes of clothes to daycare during the weeks that follow, but I feel as though we’ve been generally successful in our pursuits.

That said, we picked up one invaluable parenting hack from our daycare itself, and I didn’t even realize what a gem it was until I was giving my 3-year-old nephew pointers when he was just potty trained a couple of months ago as well. Let’s call it “Pythagorean Potty Lean.”

Remember Pythagorean theorem: a^2 + b^2 = c^2? Picture the toddler boy as c^2.

Standing on a step stool facing the toilet, a toddler boy can lean forward and brace himself on the back of the raised toilet seat such that his body creates that hypotenuse length of a triangle. When he… ahem, goes, it “goes right in!” (in the words of my nephew).

There you have it. Not necessarily the most profound parenting hack, but one that will matter very much in my next few months nevertheless.