Rating: 
Summary: Lots of good advice
Review: I believe two of the most frustrating parts of toilet training are dealing with accidents and dealing with the child's resistence. The book gives advice on "standard" responses to both of these situations. For example, the book clearly stated how the trainer should respond to an accident. It allows me to be very consistent with my 2 year and 2 months old daughter.My daughter was very agreeable to the toilet training process, so I decided to give this training method a try. She had already been peeing in the potty, so the only leaning step was to go to the potty by herself, without my prompting. She archived the book's standard of "potty trained" within a day, but it took the next 4 weeks to for her to become more or less accident free. We are still not out of the woods yet (still have accidents once every 2 or 3 days). So even though the initial training worked for us, it does not always mean that the child will be accident free from then on.
Rating: 
Summary: Not everything in life is fun.
Review: I have been reading the negative reviews and have the feeling that most of them are a lot of sour grapes. I too, have a VERY stubborn, independent, intelligent, wild son and after giving up that he would ever feel like using the toilet himself as todays experts say he should, I decided to follow the guidelines in this book, and initiate it myself. I was delightfully surprised that after training in one day, my son is still the same happy-go-lucky little guy. The boot camp style training was just what we needed to get this job done and get on with our lives. It did not scar him emotionally and we both are happier for it. I can't tell you how elated I am when he has me come in to the bathroom to "view" his work! The parents that don't like the "forced" practices will have to learn someday that it is OK for your child not to like doing something he has to do, that is just a fact of life. Actually, the practices are what clinched it for us. My son hated the practices, so after having to do them a few times after an accident, we had no more accidents. Granted, I didn't enjoy making him do these practices he hated, but because of them this obstacle of potty training is over with. I do not think that wanting this done in a few hours is a selfish thing, as one reviewer implies, and that drawing it out over days, weeks, months, is much more frustrating than one, albeit, very long day.
Rating:
Summary: Potty trained 2 weeks after his 4th birthday-finally!
Review: I wish I had known about this book years ago. My four year old showed no interest in potty training after numerous suggestions and gentle prodding on my part. I felt like such a failure as all of his classmates had been trained for some time now. He was on the verge of being kicked out of preschool! I feel that at least in my son's case, the current attitude of "whenever"- leave it up to the child- does a great disservice to mothers who wish to get this hurdle of life crossed at a reasonable age. The no nonsense approach in this book written back when it was OK to be the boss in the parent-child relationship was just what we needed. Of course it is never OK to physically correct (spank or hit) the child while potty training, but it is OK to firmly and gently do so. This was one exhausting day, and we did not do perfectly as the book predicted we should. But amazingly, the next day, HE WAS POTTY TRAINED! I don't know how it happened, or why, but he was! I also feel that you can adapt the training methods in this book to your own needs. My son still wears a pull-up at nap and night time- sometimes he is wet, sometimes he is dry. Hey, after 4 years of changing diapers, I can live with this for a while. I was so happy the first time he used the potty on his own, and then later at preschool(which I was dreading) he had no accidents, I cried both times. I'm weird, but believe me , this book is a gem. I will let you know how it works on my 2 year old, if I can just find a day with nothing to do!
Rating:
Summary: Success!
Review: I have a 32 month old daughter and had tried various methods of potty training. She had been going "poop" for about 4 months in the toilet no problem, but hadn't figured out when she needed to pee. She would wear the same "pull-up" diaper all day if you let her, so it was a continuous power struggle just to get her to try in the toilet or change her pull-up. The advice I was getting was "just let her do it in her own time - don't push". I was very skeptical about this method at first. I started at about 9:00 a.m. and by 5:00 p.m. she let me know for the first time that she had to go pee and made it to the toilet! Once that step was achieved, she was set. I did make some modifications to the book. She hated the practicing with wet training pants, but when we made it fun to try when she was dry - like a race, she liked it. I changed her into underwear later in the day so I could see when she started to go. I did tell her "NO" at first (first day) when she went pee and did the "verbal rehearsal", etc. but laid off of that when she understood what was expected of her and focussed on what she was going to do next time. I did let her play, but kept a close eye on her, read to her, etc. I gave her my undivided attention. Over the following week, she has had a few accidents, but is getting better at it every day. She is so proud of herself - it has made her more independent in other ways, getting dressed, etc. It is one less power struggle to deal with - I wish I tried it a bit sooner! Overall, the training was a very positive experience for both of us. She did get very frustrated mid-day, but I believe it was in part because it is frustrating to learn something new. You need to be flexible, supportive and encouraging. Adapt the method to your child. It is a learning process for both of you. Good luck!
Rating:
Summary: Coming back for the grandchildren!
Review: I love this book. I used it when my son was born in 1975 and did it again with my daughter a couple of years later. I loaned out the book so many times that it finally got lost. Now I have a little grandson who will need it within a few months. Glad I can find it again.
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Summary: Potty Training & Twin Boys
Review: I absolutely dreaded the thought of potty training my 34-month old twin sons - but this book was exactly what I needed to proceed with confidence. It presents a reasonable & straight-forward approach. I think the concept of the boys teaching the baby doll to use the potty first was brillant because it took the focus & pressure off of them directly while they were still learning the essential skills they needed to succeed. We started at 7:00am and by 10:30am one of my boys used the potty for the first time (both pee & poop) and his brother followed within a couple hours. We had a handful of accidents the first 2-3 days but by the 4th day, we were set ( this includes nighttime dryness too) I did not follow the book's approach for accidents- too harsh for me and with the level of success they enjoyed- it seemed unneccessary. Prior to this attempt, my boys showed NO interest in using the potty and would only sit on the potty chairs for 2-10 seconds at a time. I think the fact that they were almost 3 years old made this an easier process and once I put them in underwear - we did not go back to diapers (even though it was the first thing one of them asked for on the first three mornings of potty training). I am so glad I found this book. I feel quite sure if I hadn't that this would have been a much more drawn out process - many of my friends took 1-3 months to accomplish what we did in 3-4 days! I've already bought this book for 3 friends who have never attempted potty training with their children - I hope it helps them as much as it helped me and my boys.
Rating:
Summary: ~~Too bad I did not read it sooner! ~~
Review: I just got this book about 4 days ago. I read it, and then I went downstairs and started teaching our almost 3 yr old daughter. I did my own version of this method, and just incorporated the fine points. A few of the things that I've incorporated is asking her to check to see if she is dry, letting her empty the pot into the toliet herself. We trained with the television on, with her sister present, etc.
We started on a Saturday, today is Tuesday and our daughter is basically telling us when she has to go, and then she's doing it herself.
Rating:
Summary: Potty "Boot Camp"
Review: Toilet training with this method takes commitment and consistency, not to mention mental stamina. But it sure does work! One of my college professors, a behavioral psychologist, recommended it after trying it successfully with HIS three kids. When I had a child of my own a decade later, I remembered the recommendation and tried it myself. My son was two and a half when I trained him, and when I started, I felt like I was putting him through boot camp. All of a sudden he was thrown into an intensive program of training, drills and rules, with Mama Drill Sergeant prodding and coaxing him through each step. Not every bit was a success for us. For example, I found that my son was terrified of the toilet-training doll (can't say I blame him; that "Potty Dotty" doll we used was one weird and scary artifact, in my opinion), so we scrapped that part after only a few demonstrations. Nor could I ever get him to complete 10 full training drills after an accident. We settled for two or three at most, usually with my son crying and unhappy already from shame at wetting his pants. Nevertheless, the overall method worked miracles for us. My son, who was totally resistant to using the potty when we started, got the basic concept down in two hours, and needed only about a week of follow-up before staying reliably dry all the time. I would recommend this method to any parent who: 1)Is willing to take time to read the whole book and understand the logic behind it 2)Has the ability to be firm and consistent with a child, in a loving way 3)Can dedicate at least one entire uninterrupted day to training, and 4)Has friends and family willing to support and encourage the newly-trained child.
Rating:
Summary: Tired in Texas
Review: I must say, I really was not expecting this technique to work. There are so many gimmics out there. My daughter is 23 months. We have been working with her since she was 18 months. I bought videos and books about pottying as well as taking her on a regular schedule. Nothing worked! I got this book, read it as fast as I could and took the next day to train my daughter. After four hours of training, my daughter went to the potty by herself. No help from me!! The best thing is that I never got upset during the process. We have not had any accidents since the training. I am a believer and will refer this book to all mothers wanting to potty train their children.
Rating: 
Summary: Authors are living in a dream world!
Review: I'd like to buy a one-way ticket to the fantasy world these authors are living in. I find it highly unlikely that 98% (they claim) of all children can be potty-trained in 4 hours or less. I tried this technique on my 2 1/2 year old daughter and the whole process became a constant power struggle with lots of frustration and no real results after almost 2 weeks. Sure it may work for some kids who are particularly cooperative and responsive, but if your toddler is like mine (very bright but independent, strong-willed, likes to do things on her own) I think you will be disappointed in this very aggressive approach. You're better off asking some real parents their approaches to potty training and see what works for your child. Don't waste your money.
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