When it comes to potty training, pediatric specialists don't embrace any one training method. Although in some countries children are potty trained before age 2, many children in the United States aren't trained until after their third birthdays. How you decide to train your child depends on your style of parenting and your child's temperament.
Infant Potty Training
Infant potty training, also called "natural infant hygiene" and "elimination communication," involves introducing your baby to a toilet between birth and age 4 months, according to BabyCenter.com. The parent must learn to be in tune with the baby's signals to rush him to the toilet in enough time for him to use it. In time, the baby becomes conditioned---not taught---to use the toilet when he sits on one, and he will be able to transport himself to a toilet once he is able to walk on his own. The infant potty training method is rarely used in the United States, but it is cost-friendly because it involves significantly fewer diapers.
Practice Makes Perfect
A parent-led approach to potty training involves the parents deciding when to introduce their child to the potty. They will purchase a potty when they decide the time is right, make the potty easily accessible to their tot and gradually instruct her in using it. Some parents give their child training pants, which are like diapers that can be easily pulled down for potty use, as a transition between diapers and underwear. Some parents opt to chart and reward their child's progress with desired items, such as treats and small toys.
Child-Led Approach
Pediatric specialist Dr. Terry Brazelton and the American Academy of Pediatrics have embraced a more modern approach to potty training children: waiting for the child to signal when he is ready to use a potty and letting him train himself in his own time. This strategy spells out recognizing some common toilet-training readiness signals, such as the child staying dry for at least two-hour intervals during the day, the child making certain postures or facial expressions when he is about to soil his diaper and the child being interested in having "big kid" underwear or using the potty like Mom and Dad. After the child exhibits at least three or four of these signals, the parents can take the child to a store to choose a potty, encourage the child to sit fully clothed on the potty and empty the child's soiled diaper into the potty to show him where urine and feces go. Eventually, according to this technique, the child will one day decide to sit on the potty and use it.
One-Day Approaches
Some approaches promise fast results for families who want to get through potty training quickly. Not all children are well suited to these methods, as some may be more stubborn or fearful than others. Dr. Phil McGraw's one-day approach is a well-known quick-training method. The first step involves parents partnering with their child to "teach" a doll that wets to use the potty seat purchased for the child. Once the doll "goes" in the potty, she gets a "potty party" with lots of praise and potentially noisemakers and balloons. After the doll has learned to use the potty, parents encourage their child to drink lots of fluids, remove her diaper and wait for her to use the potty in the same way as the doll. Any accidents shouldn't be cause for scolding, but proper potty use should be reinforced afterward by encouraging the child to sit on the potty 10 times with her pants down. When she finally uses the potty, she gets her own big "potty party."
