Product Description

The time-tested, gentle, and successful method that introduces children to potty training as early as six months

While parents around the world successfully potty train their children well before preschool age, in the United States, we've moved away from this early introduction. However, there's no evidence that later is better--in fact, there's even significant reason to believe that later can be detrimental.

Written by a respected child psychologist, Early-Start Potty Training shows why the early-start method is preferable to the commonly used readiness method. Waiting until children show signs of readiness can hold them back from preschool, cost a fortune in diapers, and lead to health problems. The early-start method avoids these concerns by starting the process of training as early as six months old.

This easy-to-follow program provides you with:

• Time-tested training tips for introducing toddlers--and even infants--to the potty
• Methods for combating common problems of training delay
• A troubleshooting plan for moving toddlers from diapers to potty independence
• Hints on how to overcome accidents and build confidence in children

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #90076 in Books
• Brand: McGraw Hill
• Published on: 2005-06-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Features

• Methods for combating common problems of training delay
• Hints on how to overcome accidents and buid confidence in children
• A troubleshooting plan for moving toddlers from diapers to potty independence

From the Back Cover

“Dr. Sonna is giving parents and babies a wonderful opportunity to introduce the potty at an age when learning new skills is part of every day life.” --Barbara Gablehouse, MD.

Have your child completely potty-trained—by the age of two!

Drawing on methods used with success around the world, Early-Start Potty Training shows that potty training your baby at an early age is not only possible, it’s actually beneficial to your child’s health. Drawing on the latest scientific studies, Early-Start Potty Training debunks the myth that it is better to start teaching after age two and gives you a step-by-step plan to be finished with diapers before your child’s second birthday. Author of The Everything Potty Training Book, Dr. Linda Sonna explores the many drawbacks of the “readiness” method, including the emotional, financial, and health repercussions of waiting too long. Instead, she advocates loving, gentle, toilet “learning” methods, and proves that the earlier you introduce the potty, the better off your child will be.

Early-Start Potty Training is full of caring steps, tips, and techniques to help speed your child’s potty learning success, including:

• Expecting success without pressuring your child
• Why a potty chair is better than a potty seat
• The pitfalls of disposable diapers
• Preparing babies for potty independence
• How to overcome toddler resistance
• How to potty train—and prevent bedwetting—at any age

About the Author

Linda Sonna, M.Ed., Ph.D., is a professor of counseling psychology at Yorkville University with twenty years of experience working with parents and children. Dr. Sonna is the author of eight parenting books and is a public speaker.

Customer Reviews

interesting, but not comprehensive
I am a stay-at-home mom of a 15-month-old. I am also a trained Montessori teacher. I have used cloth diapers with my son from the time he was one-month-old. I have seen many children toilet train before age 2.

So, I came to this book agreeing with some of what the author had to say. I think she makes a good case for changing our society's preconceptions about toilet training, but this book is short on extensive practical advice that parents (and teachers) need.

The author does not approve of any sort of diaper, particularly disposables. However, she recommends cloth diapers as a lesser of 2 evils sort of thing. Her advice on laundering diapers is laughably out-of-date (treated wet pail, wash 3 times(!), etc.). Washing machines are far more evolved than the author realizes, and I would not use cloth diapers if it were as much trouble as she describes. She even thinks you still have to pin prefolds.

Some of the ideas in this book are useful, but it will have to be supplemented with books that go into greater detail. It cannot be the only book you read for potty training info.

If you want to read a book written by someone with very strong opinions about early potty training and the problems with diapers, then you may like this book. If you want a more balanced approach, I would pass over this one.

What a find!
Someone gave me this book. I'm not big on the self-help book craze, but I must admit that this author (she also wrote some other child development books) opened my eyes to the cultural differences in potty training, and does a great job of detailing why here in America our children take longer to potty train than anywhere else. This book isn't just a manual and a "how to" but it's also an expose on the diaper industry. I'm suprised this hasn't been picked up by the news agencies. This so called "self-help" book is actually a fabulous read. I HIGHLY recommend it.

Oh yes, they can learn before 2!
I heard about EC (or elimination communication) about four years ago, when my son was 9 months old. (He is now nearly four.) I didn't have any books on the topic at the time, but decided to try it anyway at home with my son as soon as he started to walk. When he started to walk two weeks before his 1st birthday, I started leaving him without diapers in the daytime, or putting him in cloth and pointing out to him when he was peeing. He was trained by 15 months. (He could go to the bathroom when it was time without reminders. I only needed to help him with some clothing for about three months more, then it was elastic waists for a while.) He was peeing and pooing on the potty, and going all day without accidents.

Three years after my son was born I gave birth to a daughter. The christmas before her birth my brother gave me this book. I read it cover to cover. At two weeks old I started to catch her pee in a pot. It was easy a first. Then as she was able to go longer between eliminations, I couldn't catch it on a regular basis anymore. I left her in diapers and just put her on the potty when I changed her. Sometimes we caught some sometimes we didn't. But she began to associate the pot with elimination and with the word "potty" and the sign for toilet.

I am proud to say that just yesterday my daughter crawled up to me saying "mamamama" I was wondering what she wanted so I picked her up, and asked her if she wanted to eat (while showing her the sign for eating), she stared at me blankly, so I took a chance and asked her if she wanted to go potty (and showed her the sign). She became very excited. So I put her on the potty and she peed! My daughter is almost eight months old. I hope that by twelve months she will be asking for the potty consistently, so that we can eliminate diapers all together.

This book was an invaluable resource to me. I appreciated all the back ground info about why we use disposable and why people believe kids can't use the potty till two or three. I would recommend this book to others in a heart beat. Only down fall is that there isn't quite enough practical application. I would love to have heard more stories about HOW mothers did this with their kids. There is practical application, just not enough.

Mrs. Meg Logan