Customer Reviews

THE POTTY BOOT CAMP: Basic Training For Toddlers

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I did everything in this book over a long weekend, and it totally did not work. My son is older (3) and has been trained to pee in the toilet, but is still very hesitant to poop on the potty. I used every ( and I do mean every) technique and none worked. However, I think my son may just be fearful or very stubborn. I should note, that I emailed the author for some advice at the outset and she replied within the day. For that reason and the fact that this book is not a treatise on parenting, I give it three stars and would recommend it, perhaps to someone who was just starting potty training.

I will start by saying that I did not follow the book to a T, but it provided the basis of structure and routine that I was not previously using in my PL efforts. I found the suggested rewards to be a little extravagant (i.e. a tricycle for self-initiating)--stickers and excited praise worked fine for us. She got a book on her first completely accident-free day. We had a few melt downs in the first couple days, which the book gave me the confidence to muster through. It was much easier on day 3, and by day 5, we had a good groove going. Three weeks later, my just turned two year old is pretty solidly potty trained--the pinnacle of which was a #2 on a public toilet today :) (I know TMI, but parents get it.)

This is not a "when they are ready" method--it's a "when you are ready" technique--and as a cloth diaperer, I was ready to be down with laundry ;) I do not recommend this book for parents that can't bare to see/have made their children cry (it isn't called boot camp for nothing). I highly recommend this book for tougher love types.

After trying my own potty training techniques (that weren't working) and researching many potty training methods, I found the Potty Boot Camp and knew this was the one for us. We potty trained our 22 month old and 3 year old at the same time over a 3 day weekend. We were amazed at the progress of our daughters over those couple of days and I have been recommending this book to everyone I know that will be potty training soon. It worked for us! The book is easy to read and we followed her techniques just as she had written them. I wasn't planning to potty train my 22 month old at the same time as my 3 year old until I read this book. We are so glad we found this and it's a great feeling to have both our daughter's potty trained!

I was completely overwhelmed by the number of books on the market. I'd decided I was going to potty train my 2 year old daughter over a long weekend since I work a full time job. I had no idea how I was going to do this until I found The Potty Bootcamp. It was so easy to follow. It took me 45 minutes to read the book from beginning to end and 3 days later my daughter was wearing big girl underwear with no accidents!!

The first day was difficult for us because my daughter is very sensitive and was not happy about our new "diaper-free" situtaion. I e-mailed the author over Easter Weekend, and the very next day she responded with more helpful suggestions and lots of empathy. She gave me the confidence to stick with it, and sure enough, my daughter got over that hump and figured out that it's better to go in the potty than on the floor. There is also a very comprehensive outline of what to do when you're successful and what to do when you have a set back. I wouldn't have had the courage or confidence to do it on my own. Just be aware that there will probably be some clean up and some tears as your child gives up the luxury of going whenever and wherever with a diaper, but the first time you hear "I DID IT!" come from your child after a success, you'll know it was worth it!

I am a mother of two, my son 2 in a half and my daughter 7 months old. I decided one day to start training my 2 in a half year old son to go potty. Luckily after reading many many reviews, I decided to go with Potty Boot Camp. It is to the point and covers every possible situation that you may be in.

Day 1: I used my timer and monitored him every 10 minutes. I used the ipad as a bribe to keep him on the potty. He would play with his favorite apps while we wait for pee or poo. Every time he had an accident, he was actively participating in cleaning up, washing his underwear, and rinsing himself in the tub. The entire process is so exhausting. When evening came, I wanted to throw in the towel. I remembered the author specifically said to not do this, and I figured that we had put so much work into this, lets see it through. By the end of the night he started to initiate and even "poo" in his little potty. I didn't know what to make of it by the end of the day, whether day 2 was going to even be successful because just when it seem like he was getting it, the day was over.

Day 2: My son woke up on the wrong side of the bed and just whined. He had an accident and we went through the whole cleaning procedure. After that, all his pees and poo ended in the potty. I did not have to use my timer. He initiated every one of them in his potty. My husband could not believe it. I cannot believe it!

I recommend starting this method with FULL COMMITMENT. Its going to be a very exhausting for both you and your child. Make sure that you have your entire day set aside to fully invest in a method that can only work if you commit yourself to the process. The author is readily available and has provided her email for questions, concerns, or comments. That to me shows her commitment and confidence to her method.

We had tried several different methods for potty training, and while some things worked, we just weren't getting it. My 19 month old would potty every time we sat her on the toilet, but she would never self-initiate. We tried going bare-bottomed around the house, pull-ups, "big-girl" panties, rewards, sticker charts, etc... But nothing had worked. Plus after months of this, I was nearing the end of my second pregnancy. So we backtracked into diapers because I just didn't have the energy to keep up with her messes anymore. After my second was born I was bound and determined to find any other method to make her "get it". So I found this book on Amazon and it peaked my interest. It had all of the methods I have found in quick online searches, but the best of them lined out for you to try in easy steps. You can pick and choose what methods to use in your home or you can do it exactly how she writes it. Since we were already pottying when placed on the pot - I just needed that last piece of the puzzle. And the "drills" did it. She has been in big girl panties for over a week, self-initiating her potty trips, and has even gone #2 on the toilet (which she never did before).

The book was a quick read, but really, that's all you need. After all, it's not rocket science. But because every child is different, you might need lots of different ideas compiled in one simple spot. I figured if one method didn't work I'd try another, and another, until something "stuck" with her. AND this will be a great resource to use when it's time to get my second little one to the toilet! I won't be going in blind. It will make the whole process much faster for us since she has a simple guideline that helps the child understand in a day or two of hard work.

I am a stay at home mom. It is safe to say that we tried to potty train HARD CORE for a few months before mommy had to give up and revert back to diapers. This book and Dr Riffel's layout definitely gave me the upper hand in helping my now 24 month old learn to be a big girl. AND because I now have a second child and see their personality differences it is safe to say that my eldest child is a very independent thinker, self-reliant, and stubborn. I believe that this book could help out even the most difficult children!

I bought this book hoping to get some great tips and advice on finally getting my 2 1/2 year old son potty trained. He had been using the potty here and there and initiating a bit, but I wanted to get him fully potty trained. He was not as easy as my daughter and I was running out of ideas!

This book is to the point - loved that part. It is very rigid however, and the first day was exhausting for me and my son. The second day, I couldn't move on to the next step because he still wasn't initiating potty on his own. He behaved as if he had litterally been to bootcamp! He was extremely clingy, slept late the next day and would not go near his potty seat - he ran and threw a fit.

All in All this may work for some kids, but I am going with the natural method of just nudging him, but for the most part letting him do it on his own - No bribes, no drills for us!

I really wanted to knock potty training out quickly with my 2 yr 9 mon old daughter instead of dragging out the process. I knew doing this method would be stressful based on the reviews and the fact that the book tells you it will be, but I didn't know how stressful. The first day was miserable, and my daughter never self-initiated. I had assumed she would since the books says 90% of children do. I was mentally and emotionally exhausted at the end of day 1, but the book and all of the reviews say not to give up, plus I wasn't willing to throw away all of that day's work. Day 2 was also stressful, because she again failed to self-initiate. However, I moved on to the naked intervals on day 3, and that was the key for my child. She self-initiated first thing in the morning, and didn't have a single accident all day. We are now on day 7, and she hasn't had an accident in 2 days (even poop!). So, even though our training didn't go exactly according to the book, I am very pleased with the outcome and would highly recommend this method. It's very tempting to give up after day 1 and 2, but you'll be happy you powered through. I also love that there is a facebook page for this book, and the author logs on daily to answer questions and offer encouragement. Although I didn't ask any questions, it was so helpful just to read other peoples' and know that I wasn't alone!

Monday is currently coming to a close. On Friday, four days ago, we started potty training with Potty Boot Camp. Although we had casually talked about the potty before this, my 24 month old had never gone pee in the potty, and generally refused to even sit on it without a diaper.

The book recommends at LEAST 2 weeks of "Prep Time" which involves reading potty books, discussing the potty, demonstrating the potty, having them sit on the potty etc. We did not have that available because when I realized a holiday weekend was coming and the perfect time to train, I only had a few days to prepare. It was Monday and I was determined that on Friday we would start boot camp. Luckily with my Amazon Mom Prime membership I was able to purchase everything we needed and have it on Wednesday. We did the best prep time we could in that time from Monday to Friday and really talked up the "exciting" thing we were going to learn the coming weekend!

Day 1 was absolutely excruciating. The concept of potty boot camp is very simple, but the time investment is brutal. On day 1 your child will spend 5 minutes on the potty and 10 minutes off. Also any time they have an accident, which for us was A LOT, you do drills. This translates to spending all. day. long. working on potty training, so you have to be mentally prepared. Our kid was one of the ones who did not self-initiate on Day 1, and he had tons of accidents and only the tiniest successes. We were really discouraged.

However the book offered a lot of support for this situation, and we stuck to the program and recommendations. On Day 2 we did another half day of "Day 1" activities and then moved on as outlined. To our shock and awe, by the end of Day 2 he was using the potty with almost no accidents.

Now, by Day 4, he is almost done training (except naps and nighttime of course). He is very close to being accident-free and I am confident we only have a few days to go before that becomes the case.

I can't say enough good things about this method. On Day 1 I was convinced that we were somehow doing something wrong but just HAVE PATIENCE and STICK WITH IT! Your kid can learn to potty train over a weekend - it's unbelievable but true.

If you are looking for a book that will tell you EXACTLY how to potty train your child, this is it! It really is no more complicated than following a cookbook recipe. I also appreciate the fact that the book is short- I'm a mom who does not have time (like most moms) to read a novel. We implemented the techniques over a three day weekend and had a child completely out of diapers by Monday. It worked like magic!

I also appreciate that the book is very 'conversational' - it's not clinical, not preachy, and not written like she's talking 'down' to you. The author right away makes you feel like she's just another mom you met in your playgroup that's simply passing along some helpful tips. Also, like some other books I read, you will NOT feel like a failure if your child is the one that isn't cooperating.

I think you won't regret your purchase.