Potty Training Boot Camp

I sort of did that...I say sort of just because I haven't actually read that book so I'm not sure what exactly it consists of but in telling a couple friends what I did they said it was similar. Last year we were snow/iced in for 3 days straight followed by a weekend. My son was a few months shy of 3 at the time and we had taken baby steps toward true potty training, as in he had gone a few hours without a diaper from time to time, we encouraged him to use the potty but didn't require it, etc. So when I realized we were stuck at home (and I was pregnant and determined to have him fully trained by baby time), I just went for it. I told him no more diapers except when he slept, and I presented it like a fun adventure that we were going to do now that he was such a big boy.

I set the timer on my phone and took him potty every 25-30 min on the first morning. At first he actually got excited when the timer went off and ran in there ahead of me. When something happened we cheered. As the day wore on he got a little sick of it but still complied. The next day he wasn't as cooperative, but I had also already started to learn that I could trust him somewhat as to whether he had to go or not; so I continued to have the timer go off ever half hour but if he said he didn't have to go, we didn't. He didn't have a single accident that day either. On the third day he had a few accidents but seemed to learn from them. By the weekend he was pretty much trained! I was still reminding him every hour or so, but there were times when he would actually tell me he had to go when I had not asked, and when he said he didn't have to go I learned I could trust him with that for the most part.

Regarding poop - this is gonna sound kind of harsh, but I didn't plan it this way and it just happened to work! During those same icy days, he had a poop accident in his underwear. I took him to the nearest bathroom which happened to be the downstairs guest bathroom. It has tile floor and it was freezing in there. He attempted to pull his own pants down before I could get to him which of course resulted in poo all over his legs and on the floor. So I had to strip him down, start laundry, clean the floor with antibacterial wipes, and this all happened in a whirlwind while he stood there naked and shivering! He kept saying Mommy I'm cold! And I was just rushing around like a mad woman saying "don't move please there's poop everywhere, hang on one more second honey!" So I finally cleaned him up and got him a new shirt and warm socks, put him on the potty, and he finished up his poop. Compared to the ordeal of standing in one place shivering while I madly cleaned everything up, pooping in the potty was a breeze! And that is still to this day the only poo accident he's had!

So long story short, if your little one is ready then it will probably work great! To me it was better this way than dragging it out. It seems to me you just have to reach that point where you say no more diapers, period, and be ready to deal with the natural consequences of that. So that seems easier to deal with in a matter of a few intense days than in an off-and-on fashion.

Good luck!

I tried with my daughter at 2.5 years..it was great I did it on extended weekend..three days and she was potty trained in day. 5 More days including night. She is 6, but except a few here that I can count on finger. It was awsome!

It will give you a good indication if your child is ready or not, because if they are it will work and if not, they're not ready. It involves ALL of your participation, not just a little. YOU have to be the one looking for your child's cues that he/she is ready to go so they will learn to recognize the feelings, and you need to get them to the potty. One of my grandsons trained this way in 4 days, pee and poop, day and night, and he was 2 years, 8 months, a modern miracle ; ) Mom knew he was ready, used the last of the diapers and they did it, so it can be done.

I did not read the book but did take this approach with my daughter over new years and it worked great. I was home for 4 days straight. She totally had interest and I did not push one bit. I had the mind set of OK we are going to just clean up what happens. She had one accident in pants and cried..poor thing. Then I explained if she feels the urge to tell me and we can go together to the potty. I asked about every hour or so and she got it after one day. I still use pull ups over night, it takes time for their brains/bladders to develop for that long. Naps she can usually do great but I always ask her to go before napping. she will be 3 in May...I cannot take any credit for this..she truely was ready to do it on her own. good luck!

I tried it.
Turns out my little guy wasn't ready, despite my thinking that he was.
So, for us...epic failure. :)