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
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...
Read MoreStay 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...
Read MoreToilet 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...
Read More2 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...
Read MoreTesting 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...
Read MoreDon'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...
Read MoreTrain 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...
Read MorePotty 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...
Read MoreRemembering 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...
Read MoreTeaching 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...
Read MoreVideo
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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