Potty training tips for the science-minded parent

Welcome to your one-stop source for potty training tips based on the latest scientific research.

There has been lot of misinformation has been published about potty training.

These pages can help you sort through the facts and decide what potty training approach is best for your child.

Here you will find information about:

• Signs of toilet training readiness

• Choosing the right potty training age

• What scientific studies reveal about the timing of training

• The anthropology and biology of infant potty training

• A scientifically-tested method of infant potty training

• How to prepare kids for potty training

• An overview of potty training methods

• The science of "Toilet training in less than a day"

• How to prevent potty training problems

• Making a potty training checklist

Getting started

When is your child ready to start toilet training? Some experts have developed a list of signs to watch for. For more information, see this article about signs of toilet readiness.

Many pediatricians and “how-to” authors recommend that you delay potty training until your child is 2-3 years old. This might be the right answer for you.

However, the scientific evidence suggests that some kids might be better off if they began training much earlier. Even infancy can be a good time to start-—if you use the right methods. Read more about your options and the scientific studies that back them up.

Planning a strategy

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Infant potty training is common in many parts of the world, and the practice can be safe, gentle and effective.

If you’re interested in an early training, check out this article on infant potty training tips. The article discusses the benefits of infant training, the science of infant bladders, and resources to help you learn more.

You might also be interested in this article about a safe, scientifically-tested potty training method for infants and toddlers.

If you want to begin training later, I have four more articles for you. First, see these tips for preparing your child to use the potty. Dr. Barton Schmidt has written that one of the most common mistakes American parents make is a failure to prepare their child for training. This article offers potty training tips for making toilet training go easier and-—just possibly-—faster.

In addition, see these important health and safety guidelines for training your child. These guidelines include potty training tips for making your child more cooperative.

In addition, you might want to check out this guide to popular potty training methods. There you’ll find reviews of five major potty training methods. I outline these methods step-by-step, and, where the information is available, tell you what kind of track record each method has.

I also offer a detailed discussion of "fast-track" toilet training techniques, i.e., programs designed to potty train kids in a single day.

Other resources

For help fine-tuning your plan, see this potty training checklist. And don't forget to visit the library. There are several good books available on potty training. Two of my favorites for kids are:

Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi (Kane/Miller publishing, 1993)

Where's the Poop? by Julie Marks and Susan Kathleen Hartung (Harper Festival, 2004)

Both of these take a "natural history" approach, preparing kids for potty training by discussing where and how other creatures eliminate their waste. Everyone Poops is decidedly more graphic (illustrations show the, er, actual emergence of poop from the body). But the disgusting aspects of the book are probably one reason for its popularity with toddlers and preschoolers.

Content last modified 7/08