Toilet Training

Toilet training, also known as bowel training and potty training, is, in the broadest sense, an educational process that aims to make children urinate and defecate in an appropriate way. This may mean using appropriate time, place, and receptacles and adopting an appropriate posture either with adult’s help or not. This can more specifically mean being autonomous and able to handle [Page 1565]the functions of elimination on one’s own. The age to begin toilet training, the methods used by educators, and the concrete skills that the training may produce are culturally and historically variable. In addition, the gender of the child and the social position of his or her family have implications for the terms under which toilet training proceeds. Furthermore, the way of using ...