The No-Cry Potty Training Solution

Even though I've posted about potty training before :), I'm going to post about it again. I think that in some ways I feel like we never "officially" started because I would just give it a try when she was/is interested. With using cloth diapers, it really doesn't feel much different to me anyway.

I've recently took a look at Elizabeth Pantley's books on the "no-cry...solution". She has all kinds of books out including solutions for napping, sleeping, discipline - all of which are no-cry solutions. Interested?

I thought this information was helpful to think about while we begin/continue the process and for anyone else doing it as well.

The following is from The No-Cry Potty Training Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Child Say Good-Bye to Diapers (Pantley)

A Few Quick Facts About Potty Training

The perfect age to begin potty training is different for every child. Your child's best starting age could be anywhere from eighteen to thirty-two months. Pre-potty training preparation can begin when a child is as young as ten months.

♦ Teaching your child how to use the toilet can, and should, be as natural as teaching him to build a block tower or use a spoon.

♦ No matter the age that toilet training begins, most children become physically capable of independent toileting between ages two and a half and four.
♦ It takes three to twelve months from the start of training to daytime toilet independence. The more readiness skills that a child possesses, the quicker the process will be. (Take the Readiness Quiz in Chapter 2)

♦ The age that a child masters toileting has absolutely no correlation to future abilities or intelligence.

♦ Nighttime dryness is achieved only when a child's physiology supports this--you can't rush it, but you can nudge nature along in a few different ways. (See Chapter 5)

♦ A parent's readiness to train is just as important as a child's readiness to learn.

♦ Training need not be expensive. A potty chair, a dozen pairs of training pants and a relaxed and pleasant attitude are all that you really need. Anything else is truly optional.

♦ More than 80% of children experience setbacks in toilet training. This means that what we call “setbacks” is really just the usual path to mastery of toileting.

♦ Understanding the reason for the setback and setting a plan will bring success. (See Chapter 6, Problem Solving)

♦ 98% of children are completely daytime independent by age four.