The Truth About Potty Training in the United States
Author: Sean Platt Date posted: Jun 30, 2009 Article views: 61 Wordcount: 428 Ezine Ready
Before parents were able to purchase disposable diapers in any strip mall across the country, the vast majority of American children were potty trained prior to blowing out the candles on their first birthday cake.
That all started to change in the late 1950s and 1960s when parents in this country first started deciding to put off potty training until after their child's first year, with the idea being that their child would be completely potty trained by the age two.
This was a radical philosophy at the time. The concept was first introduced by a Dr. Brazelton. The good Dr. argued that children are only ready to be trained after they are able to walk by themselves. This as we know doesn't happen until some time between the ages of 1 and 1 1/2 thereby completely altering the paradigm for when potty training would take place.
Dr. Brazelton's philosophy was considered a substantial delay at that time, but if we jump ahead fifty years in this country, we see that the majority of American parents are now being advised to postpone potty training until their child has the verbal and motor skills that are more often associated with a 3 year old toddler.
Is this postponement considered progress?
In the meantime, the rest of the world continues to happily potty train their children without the use of readily available disposables - without pressure, undue punishing, or any other form of psychological damage inflicted upon their child during the first 2 years of life.
When you consider that throughout the history of the world children have been trained far earlier than what is now commonplace in the United States, you have to ask yourself, "Are we doing the right thing in this country?"
Here are a few potty training facts to consider:
The average age for potty training in this country has steadily risen. Back in the 1940s, the average age was eighteen months. Today, it has jumped to thirty-five months for girls and a staggering thirty-nine months for boys.
Potty training a child early has zero effect on the development of their personality. Countless studies clearly demonstrate this, contrary to popular belief.
Parents can start the process of potty training at any age.
Teaching a child to use the potty can be every bit as easy as teaching them to stack blocks.
It's never too early to start potty training.
We've been going backwards in this country for a while now. Perhaps it's time to turn ourselves back around and start heading in the other direction.
Sean Platt offers regular potty training help at PottyTrainingPower.com. Click on the link to download the free potty training report, "The Truth About Potty Training in America" today!
