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...

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The 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...

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On 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...

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The 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...

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Where 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...

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Some 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...

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Toilet 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...

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Debunking 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...

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I 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...

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Nip 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...

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Recent Questions

You're Going to Learn to Use the Toilet Today

Posted 1 week ago

Today I have started potty training my almost 16 month boy. I’m a little overwhelmed but felt that the time was right. Am I supposed to still use diapers when he sleeps and just focus on day...

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Stay The Course

Posted 1 week ago

A while back I had asked a question about potty training my daughter (2). She has the idea down but often gets too busy playing and then has accidents. I have been making her wash out her...

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Toilet Training in the mean time

Posted on 8/22/2023

I have temporary custody of my just turned two granddaughter. Her dad works out of state and isn’t with her as much as he would like to be. Her Mom has supervised visits every other weekend. I...

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2 YO having occasional accidents

Posted on 8/21/2023

We began potty training our daughter (2yr) when she was 16 months old. Now a year later she can take herself to the bathroom and sometimes stays dry all day. Other times she has accidents but I...

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Testing 1 2 3

Posted on 8/17/2023

My children (2 and 1) are very used to having their grandparents around all the time since we currently live together while we try to find a house. My parents are away for about 10 days and the...

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Don't stop, keep going.

Posted on 7/18/2023

We started potty training our 17-month old daughter last week, and we are on day 9. Yesterday she had 24 successes and 7 accidents for pee, but she is still pooping only on the floor. Today she is...

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Train Them Up

Posted on 7/11/2023

Our family doctor was shocked when I started potty training our daughter at 16 months old and she is mostly potty trained now (she’s a few months past 2). With my son (13 months old) the doctor...

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Potty training and perpetual frustration

Posted on 6/21/2023

We used John’s process of potty training and I thought my daughter was potty trained (other than diapers for naps and bedtime). We started around 16-17 months old and now she is a few months past...

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Remembering how to use the potty

Posted on 6/12/2023

My son has just turned 3 at the end of May this year. We started potty training him last year in June. We got him trained to the point of using the toilet, unassisted for all poos and 90% of...

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Teaching Child to Dress/Undress Helps With Potty Training

Posted on 5/19/2023

Hello, we've hit a plateau with potty training. Our 2yr old is accident free when her pants off (thanks to John's method). Introducing underwear and pants is the next step we're having issues...

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Video

Toilet Training Made Stress Free (Webinar Recording)

Posted on 5/16/2023

In 1955, Harvard University determined that nearly 9 out of 10 children were completely toilet trained to the point of being accident-free by 23 months of age. In the 1960s, pediatricians began...

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