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Potty Training 
To Train or Not to Train?
By Rexanne Mancini

I have always found the notion of toilet training a toddler to be a bit much. I didn't feel right about pushing my girls to do something I felt would eventually come naturally. At three years old, both my girls were potty trained ... not because I read books and raced them to the porcelain each time I suspected they should go. They knew what the potty was for. They knew when they had to go. They'd figure it out on their own! Well, by golly, they did! 

Sure, we went a little stupid each time they were successful users of the throne and they got rewards and accolades just like the kids who were put through a regimen of potty training tactics fit for Patton's soldiers. But we never made it a big issue in our house and, consequently, it never became an issue. 

I've known parents who felt they had to potty train their babies at two or even younger to enroll them in preschool. We, instead, found a great preschool that accepted kids in diapers. Their philosophy was that the children who were still in diapers would naturally learn to go on the potty by watching the other kids go. I suppose it worked. I never really gave it much thought. Potty eureka just sort of happened around here on its own. 

I've heard that little girls are easier to potty train than little boys. Any readers out there care to comment? We'd love to hear from you, especially if you've trained both a boy and a girl. 

As for bed wetting after four or five years of age, some kids just can't help wetting the bed at night. It seems these precious ones are not emotionally unstable, torn apart by low self-esteem or any other old-wives-tale rationale. They simply do not have the capacity to hold their urine and they are deeper sleepers than most.  If you have a child who cannot stay dry at night, there is a remedy. Please talk to your child’s pediatrician.

Copyright – 2000-2004 – Rexanne Mancini
 

Recommended potty training books for toddlers: Everyone Poops and Does A Pig Flush? (Maintaining your sense of humor is a must at this stage and toddlers love to see the humor in life, too!)

Also see Potty Training Solutions for a lot more potty options:

And a great place to join other parents experiencing life in the potty training years is my community forum. There's a special message board for potty training where you can get advice, ask questions, post your concerns and interact with other parents and experts on potty training: Potty Training Forum

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Rexanne Mancini is the mother of two daughters, Justice and Liberty. She is a novelist, freelance writer and maintains an extensive yet informal parenting and family web site, Rexanne.com – http://www.rexanne.com -Visit her site for good advice, award-winning Internet holiday pages and some humor to help you cope. Subscribe to her free newsletter, Rexanne’s Web Review, for a monthly dose of Rexanne: http://www.rexanne.com/rwr-archives.html

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This article is available, free, for reprint with my bio line included. Please contact me for information on how you can feature this article on your web site: Click here: Reprint Permission - You may also request an email version of this  article by sending any blank email to: Potty Training Article