Excerpt: 'Potty Train Your Child In Just One Day'

June 1, 2006— -- Can you really potty train your child in just one day? Speaker-author-consultant Teri Crane says it's possible.

In her book, "Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day," Crane, known as the Potty Pro, provides tools to help parents and their children reach one of the most important milestones in their lives.

Crane has tips for themed potty parties -- such as a seriously silly circus, a cartoon character carnival and a magic carpet express -- and supplies parents with everything they will need. Teri says that a potty party day engages a child in potty training in a way that no other method has before -- by speaking a toddler's language. She says it will motivate your child to want to go to the bathroom, and to keep on going.

You can read an excerpt from "Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day" below.

The Secret's Out -- Potty Parties Are In!

To every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.
-- Mary Poppins

Every day I'm besieged by telephone calls from moms who are confused, frustrated, and overwhelmed. Mostly they're at wit's end. They beg me for the secrets to potty training their children. And no matter what their particular potty woes might be, how long they've been trying to train their child, or how harrowing their bathroom battles, I invariably recommend a single, one-size-fits-all solution: Have a One-Day Potty-Training Party!

Kids love parties. In Toddler-Speak, a party means fun, games, cake, candy, presents, and prizes. For a two- or three-year-old, it doesn't get much better than that.

In Mom-Speak, a party can mean a fun way to motivate your child to learn a new behavior -- in this case using the toilet. Giving your toddler motivation is critical to your success because when it comes to becoming toilet trained, most kids have absolutely no incentive. None. And when you look at it from their perspective, why would they? Life experience has proven that it's fast, easy, and convenient to go in their diapers.

No matter how much you want your child to trade in her Huggies for big-girl underpants, chances are she will remain blissfully unmotivated by your desire or concern. Plus, if a child has had a negative experience with the potty, it can be even more challenging to entice him to try it again.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, helping the 11 million children under the age of four through the potty-training process can be one of the toughest challenges for parents. Learning to use the potty is a key milestone in a child's development. Unlike other milestones associated with walking or talking, however, this developmental hurdle tends to be a source of considerable concern for both parent and child. A stressful potty-training period can damage a parent/child relationship and injure a child's self-esteem. But when this hurdle is successfully negotiated with a minimum of contention, it fosters a child's sense of independence and accomplishment.

The One-Day Potty-Training Party is a fun, time-tested method for achieving potty-training victory. In the fast-paced, overscheduled, multitasking society in which we live, parents need a training tool that will teach them how to potty train their child in one day. The cost savings alone are enough incentive for most parents. And U.S. Census Bureau statistics indicate that American women are increasingly having more than two children. Even with our frantic schedules, we can attack this parenting challenge in an organized, structured fashion, with help from a tested routine. And as this book will demonstrate, that means a well-planned and exciting potty party!

There are a number of driving forces behind the push for quick and effective potty-training programs:

I came up with the idea for a one-day potty-training party when I was desperate to toilet train my son Spencer so that he could be enrolled in preschool. Although at the time I felt like I was the only mother facing this challenge, I've since discovered that there are millions of moms in the same tight spot as I was in three years ago. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Report, there are approximately 20 million parents with 11 million children under the age of four, and more than 4 million of those are currently enrolled in a nursery or preschool program where children often are not permitted to move up to the next level until they have been successfully potty trained. So even though the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that there is no set age to begin potty training, the majority of preschool programs won't accept a three-year-old who isn't potty proficient.