Toilet Training
John's Most Recent Articles
Starting Toilet Training Early Pays Off
Posted on 12/27/2022
Q: My grandmother maintains that her children – my mother and her two siblings, all born in the 1950s – were completely toilet trained at 18 months. Her terse explanation: “I just gave...
Read MoreThe Problem With Pull-Ups
Posted on 11/1/2022
I finally tracked down the fellow who invented the so-called “pull-up.” His name is Lucapher (Big Lou) Saytan. Reputedly, Mr. Saytan lives in an underground bunker from which he develops and...
Read MoreOn Chores, Discipline, Potty-Training
Posted on 3/29/2022
Q: When I give my 5-year-old daughter a chore, she does it, but all the while she is muttering under her breath, huffing and puffing, and so on. Do I discipline that behavior or just let her...
Read MoreThe Keys to Relatively Quick, Painless Toilet Training
Posted on 1/12/2022
Q: I recently tried toilet training my 32-month-old, but after a few days of no success, I decided to stop. A friend tells me to hang in there, but my pediatrician says my son isn’t ready. She...
Read MoreWhere We All Went Wrong
Posted on 8/25/2020
My profession, psychology, began demonizing traditional childrearing in the late 1960s. I was in graduate school at the time and on fire for the promise that the proper use of psychological...
Read MoreSome Benchmarks on Toilet Training
Posted on 6/9/2020
“There’s no one-size-fits-all model of childrearing for all the world’s parents,” opines Alma Gottlieb, Professor Emerita of Anthropology at the University of Illinois. Gottlieb was quoted in an...
Read MoreToilet Training Is Not Rocket Science
Posted on 9/26/2018
Talking today’s mother through her first experience with toilet training is akin to talking someone off a ledge. Both situations involve massive anxiety, high drama and lots of yelling and...
Read MoreDebunking Hot Potty Training Myths
Posted on 8/14/2018
“Potty training is a nightmare.” So begins advice from Meghan Leahy, advice columnist for The Washington Post. More accurately, potty training has, of late, BECOME a nightmare, thanks to advice of...
Read MoreI Spy Toilet-Training Atrocities
Posted on 7/10/2018
Strolling through my go-to grocery store the other day, I happened down the Baby Products aisle where I spied packages of toilet-training pants featuring pictures of happy children who looked at...
Read MoreNip Toddler Misbehavior in the Bud
Posted on 12/19/2017
Q: My parents recently told me that my husband and I are letting our toddler run our family and that it’s becoming increasingly uncomfortable for them to visit or have us visit with them – they...
Read MoreRecent Questions
Potty training and responsibility
Posted 4 weeks ago
Is it ok to discipline a 4-year old for a potty accident? We potty trained our daughter at 25-months old. She turns 4 next week and she rarely has accidents anymore. However, strangely, today...
Read MoreNight time potty training
Posted on 12/26/2022
Hello, I am ready to toilet train my 22-month old son. My question is with regard to leaving him naked and free for overnights. He currently sleeps in his crib overnight from 7pm-7am. This allows...
Read MorePotty Training Setbacks
Posted on 10/24/2022
My 4.5 year old has recently started having accidents in preschool. These include both poop and pee. It doesn't seem to bother her. At first the school nurse would clean her up and send her back...
Read MoreToilet Training Takes Time
Posted on 8/1/2022
Hello, we started potty training our 18-month-old nine days ago and have had little progress. I've read John's book on toilet training, and I feel like we're doing all he recommends but think we...
Read MoreToilet Training Guidance
Posted on 7/30/2022
My son is 17 months and I’ve been trying to toilet train him for 6 days using the “naked and $75” technique outlined in the “Toilet Training Without Tantrums” book. I have yet to see notable...
Read MoreToilet Training Takes Time
Posted on 7/27/2022
Hello, we started potty training our 17 1/2 month old 9 days ago. Some progress but not much, we ask where pee pee and poopoo go and she points to the potty. She seems to go into a corner, but not...
Read MoreMiddle of the Night Potty Solution
Posted on 7/16/2022
My 3.5 year old has been potty trained since before he was 2. I read and generally used the Rosemond book. However, I didn’t do the night/nap training as my pediatrician said it was just...
Read More6 YO PEEING HER PANTS
Posted on 7/8/2022
Our 6yr Girl has has recently started peeing her pants because she refuses to stop playing and use the restroom. She has admitted that she is just being "lazy" and thought she could hold it. ...
Read MorePotty training struggles
Posted on 7/6/2022
My husband and I are finally potty training our 28 month old and it's been a struggle. He understands our commands but decides to fight them at every turn. He resists going onto the potty and once...
Read More9 year old's Frequent Night Time Urinating Best Evaluated by Pediatrician
Posted on 6/26/2022
My 9-year-old frequently gets out of bed to go to the toilet at night. I don’t mind but our house is laid out that he has to leave his bedroom, come down the stairs, past our living room, dining...
Read MoreTopics Covered
- ADHD and other disorders
- Adoption/Foster Parent
- Aggression
- Allowances
- Alpha Speech
- Anxieties, Fears
- Arguments with Children
- Audio Files
- Bedtime/Sleep
- Bedwetting
- Bullies/Bullying
- Character/Values (teaching)
- Chores/Responsibilities
- College
- Consequences/Punishment
- Daycare/Preschool
- Depression/Self-Harm
- Developmental Issues (e.g. late talking)
- Discipline Methods (e.g. time-out)
- Disobedience/Defiance
- Divorce/Custody
- Drugs (marijuana, cocaine, etc.)
- Education
- Electronics (Computers/Video Games/Television/Cell Phones)
- Elementary School
- Extracurricular Activities/Hobbies
- Father
- Food/Eating Problems
- Gender
- Gentle Parenting
- Grandparents/Grandchildren
- High School
- Homeschooling
- Homework
- John's Discipline Methods
- Learning Disabilities
- Lying
- Manners
- Marriage Issues
- Mealtime/Eating
- Mental Health
- Miscellaneous Discipline Problems
- Miscellaneous Editorial Columns
- Mothers
- Only Children
- Pacifiers/Security Blankets/Thumbsucking
- Parent Leadership and Authority
- Play
- Preschool
- Rebellious Behavior
- Respect
- Rewards
- School Issues
- Self-Esteem
- Shyness
- Sibling Conflict
- Single Parents
- Social Issues (fighting/arguing with friends)
- Socialization/Social Skills
- Spanking
- Step-Families
- Tantrums
- Teenage Issues
- Terrible Twos
- Toilet Training
