Potty Training Books

Why it worksThree or four words a page and a baby who visibly deliberates - 'Should I go in my diaper? Or should I go in the potty?' - which is exactly the decision a two-year-old is making, in exactly that many words. Board pages survive being taken into the bathroom.

Why it worksThe flaps hide the accidents and then the success, so lifting the last one is a small physical reward the child performs themselves. First-person narration means they are saying 'I did it' out loud, which is the whole point.

Worth knowingPaper flaps on a book that lives near a bathroom floor do not last.

Why it worksElmo does the training, and for a child who already trusts Elmo that borrowed authority does more than any amount of parental encouragement. Over thirty flaps means it holds a wriggler on the potty long enough for something to happen.

Worth knowingOnly works if the child already knows and likes Elmo.

Why it worksDucky wants to play but Piggy is on the potty, so Ducky waits, gets cross, and then decides to try it herself - the motivation is impatience with a friend rather than praise from a grown-up, which is far closer to how it actually happens. Board pages and about ninety seconds make it usable in the bathroom.

Why it worksThe dinosaur roars 'ROAR ROAR ROAR!' and insists he does not need to go, right up until he does - so the child gets to be loud and defiant for eight pages and then watch the climbdown happen to someone else. The only potty book in this set a child asks for again for fun.

Why it worksIt normalises the whole subject by starting with elephants and whales rather than the child - by the time it reaches 'so, everyone poops', a resistant toddler has stopped feeling singled out. The one-line-per-animal pacing makes it usable while actually sitting on the potty.

Worth knowingExplicit cartoon illustrations of animals defecating. Some households find it a step too far, and it will be quoted at dinner.

Why it worksA crew of encouraging mice hold up placards through the whole procedure - notice the feeling, stop what you are doing, go, wipe, flush, wash - which turns it into a checklist a three-year-old can follow rather than a story about a child who is better at this than they are.

Worth knowingIt is instructional by design; it will not survive many re-reads once trained.

Why it worksIt names every body part involved and then shows the potty being used as a hat, a bowl and a watering can before it is ever used properly - so the child sees the process take weeks rather than working first go. That plainness is why it has stayed in print for forty years.

Worth knowingPublished as separate 'for him' and 'for her' editions with different text and pictures, so check which one you are ordering. The anatomical illustrations are frank.