Information center: Potty Training
The Best Age to Potty Train
by John Rosemond, a family psychologist.
My recommended method - which I term "Naked and $75" - has been the subject of extensive media coverage. Here's how it works: Let the child walk around the house naked from the waist down, put the potty where it is easily accessible and correct mistakes matter-of-factly. The $75 is for carpet and furniture cleaning. The overwhelming majority of parents who have employed "Naked and $75" have reported success. The failures have almost always concerned kids older than 30 months. This is consistent with the opinions of other researchers, including Dr. Bruce Taubman, a pediatrician with Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, who has said he has a "hunch" that the critical period for this training lies between 24 and 30 months. The New York Times reported that 92% of children in 1957 were toilet trained by age 18 months.
Potty-Training Stats
In 1997 a researcher from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, studied 482 healthy toddlers between 18 and 30 months of age to see how long before they are potty trained. Study findings reveal that:
- 4% of the children were potty trained by age 2
- 22% by 2.5 years
- 60% by 3 years
- 88% by 3.5 years of age
- 2% were not trained at 4 years old
- Boys tend to train later than girls. 48% of boys were not trained until after 3 years old compared to 30% of girls.
On May 4, 2000 the Wall Street Journal reported that, "children now wear diapers until they are 36 to 42 months old, some 6 months longer than they did 16 years ago." In that year (1985) disposable diaper manufacturers introduced the super absorbent gelling material in their diapers. The ad's new jingle was "even when they're wet, they're dry." This chemical gel is thought by some to be a hindrance to potty training.
Results of a 1996 national survey of diaper service customers revealed that babies diapered in cotton potty train much sooner - on average at 30 months of age.
Parent to Parent Helpful Hints
The Need to Pee
To help my son understand when he needed to pee, I took off his diaper wrap and when I saw the wetness come on his diaper I would let him know what happened and take him to the potty. Disposables wouldn’t have let me teach him this concept. We’re at the beginnings of potty training now.
Cindy, Fremont, CA
