When it comes to potty training, the struggle is real. Both parents and little ones often feel like they’re alone in the process—parents fall victim to unwanted criticism about what they’re doing wrong, and toddlers feel lost when they witness their only cheerleaders pulling their hair out. Thankfully, potty training books prove to both parents and toddlers that they are not alone. Here are a few we recommend and the reasons why.
The methods for teaching toddlers the skill using the toilet have changed over time. When parents forced training on children during the first half of the twentieth century, failures of that approach led experts to develop alternatives. Pediatrician Dr. T. Berry Brazelton developed his own child-centered, slower-paced potty training method over years working with children and their parents. In 1962, the medical journal Pediatrics published the successful results of a study he did using this technique with his patients. In 2004, he published “Toilet Training the Brazelton Way.” The book covers Brazelton’s toilet training in great detail and encourages a child to set the pace, encouraging her to want to use the toilet. This way, she will not get angry and oppositional because her parents are trying to force her.
