5 Steps To P.O.T.T.Y.™ Training. Download

"Post training, bladder and bowel accidents were reduced by 97% and success was maintained at four month follow-up."

"If your child has no desire to use the potty, chances are [s]he’s just not ready," says Ari Brown, MD, coauthor of Toddler 411 (Windsor Peak Press)."


My wife, Jamie, and I tried to potty train our first born 2 times before succeeding. And, yes, I’ll be honest with you, we failed TWICE!

Of course, coming from a psychology background, I thought I knew everything I needed to know. (Was I ever wrong!)

Nate, our son, showed no interest at all. I tried, and bribed, and threatened and scolded. (Of course, this only made things worse.)

I went back to the drawing board, so to speak. I had to find out what I was doing wrong. I thought I undertood child psychology.

"If your child has no desire to use the potty, chances are [he’s] just not ready," says Ari Brown, MD, coauthor of Toddler 411 (Windsor Peak Press).

"Pooping into the toilet is scary for a lot of kids. They may feel as though they’re losing a part of their body when they poop."

This time I swore that I would endure whatever it took to potty train my son. I would fight tooth and nail. I decided that I wouldn’t lose my temper, I would remain calm no matter what.

I really did resolve to do these things…they just didn’t happen. (I lasted 3 days this time.)

I was able to catch Nate right before he peed or pooped. Of course, I had to watch him like a hawk for most of the day. Anytime I would take my eye off, that’s when he would have an accident.

I thought that I could just stick it out. I thought that I just had to have more will power than him.

He was peeing, and if I caught him on time, I could get him to the toilet BEFORE it ended up on the floor.

He would hold it in for 1 – 2 days. This isn’t normal for most people. (It is for potty training kids though.) I knew that he could do it, but he wouldn’t…he was refusing to poop in the potty…but why?

"Pooping into the toilet is scary for a lot of kids. They may feel as though they’re losing a part of their body when they poop, or they may not like it if the water splashes onto their bottom or they may worry about being sucked into the toilet." Adiaha Spinks-Franklin, MD, (Pediatrician at the Meyer Center for Developmental Pediatrics at Texas Children’s Hospital, in Houston.)

"The length of a child’s attention span depends on how interesting he finds the activity." Helen F. Neville, B.S., R.N.

Nate was just over 3 years old. He showed all the signs of being potty trained. He had all the motor and comprehension skills of a 3 year old.

I couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t go to the bathroom. He had to go, but he would try to hold it so he could keep playing with his toys. (Looking back now, it’s pretty funny to think…his skinny little 3 year old legs, all pretzel-like and twisted up, tripping over them, trying to hold in his pee.)

It was enough to get his attention, but heaven forbid there should be a toy on the way to the bathroom. Nate would see it and get distracted. I knew it because later I would find a wet spot on the floor.

"Most children who are resistant to toilet training are enmeshed in a power struggle with their parents." (Barton D. Schmitt, MD, Published from Contemporary Pediatrics)"

Lilly is a 4 year old. Her exhausted mother just had another little girl and is tired of changing diapers all day. She’s tired of cleaning up messes, and tired of doing chores all day. She is a stay at home mom.

Now, why is Lilly 4 years old and still in diapers? Her mother has been trying for over a year! (Yeah, I know, STRESSFUL!)

She will not under any circumstances use the bathroom. She’s not afraid of the toilet. She is fully developed. (In fact she’s very, very intelligent. She plays games to push her parents’ buttons.)

When her mother kindly asks her to use the potty, Lilly will scream, "NO!" Then, with a death stare, aimed right at her mother, she purposefully pees in her pants and poops.

Her mom’s jaw drops…

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5 Steps To P.O.T.T.Y.™ Training.