Customer Reviews

What to Expect When You Use the Potty (What to Expect Kids)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

What to expect when you use the potty is a great book for those toddlers learning to use the potty. It's a great book to read while learning about or actually using the potty. My daughter wanted to use her potty more and more as she was learning what to expect when you go potty! It's a great book that's friendly while short enough to to keep a toddler's mind on how to know when to go potty.

There are very few books my 27 month old doesn't enjoy - we read two or three before bed every nite. But he has had no interest in this one, and I can't blame him. It made the whole process seem much more complicated than a 2 year old needs it to be. It raises questions that he wouldn't think of, and is really much more suited to an older child - who of course doesn't need potty training. For a toddler, it's all about accomplishment, like "I did it myself". The digestive process and waste water treatment, which are hinted at, are not where a toddler is focusing. There was no sense of a toddler's perspective in this.

I have to agree with another reviewer, who thought this was simply a way to make more money off of the 'what to expect' series, which does include some very good books.

this was the most useful book i have ever seen! i am a huge fan of the what to expect books.. and now my kids can use them! and that angus is just adorable! it actually makes learning fun! and with a great companion.. angus! everyone with a child must get this book! its a god sent!

From the Word to Parents introduction to Angus the Answer Dog activities, Heidi Murkoff presents information on toilet training in a way that is both clever and comprehensive. But what would you expect from the author who also wrote What To Expect When You're Expecting, the must-read for mothers-to-be? Murkoff's potty book answers ten toddler questions about the process. Rather than read it to your toddler from cover to cover as you would a typical story book, keep it on hand as a quick reference guide. When your son asks "Where does poop go when you flush?" you can point to Laura Rader's colorful illustration of four flushing toilets leading to a big underground tank. Or when your daughter wonders how to wipe, try the activity Angus suggests and practice her technique on a doll.

After reading over two dozen potty books, I think this is a good instructional guide. For similar book, read You Can Go to the Potty by Dr. Sears.

This book takes the mystery (hence some of the scariness) out of the process, and handles the subject in a matter-of-fact way. Especially good for for independant minded, strong willed toddlers!

I think by the time your child will understand this book he will be 6 yrs old and hoepfully potty trained! Too advanced for a 2 yr old and not enough pictures. More information than what I needed to know. I LOVE the What to Expect books for pregnancy and child rearing, but this book didn't meet those expectations!

When I first saw this book, I how 'how cute'. However, when I read it to my son, it was a completely different story. He immediately tuned out and wanted another selection. Children who are potty training are anywhere from 18mos to 3+ years. This book is written using language, grammar, and explanations a 7 or 8 year would understand. Explanations are too complicated, lengthy, wordy. Definitely NOT appropriate for toddlers. A poor offering from the authors who are just trying to bank off their 'what to expect' series. There are many other books that are much better age appropriate choices and are more fun to read.

If you're looking for a book that will magically potty train your 2-year-old, this isn't it. It's definitely for kids 3 and older, and anyone who believes that a child under 3 can really GET the concepts in this book is deluding herself. That said, it was helpful for our 36-month-old.

We waited until our son was really ready to potty train - staying dry, at least occasionally, through naps and the night, actively acknowledging when he'd had a BM (instead of hiding it), showing a real interest in his dad peeing, and having peed on the toilet once himself. It was right after my son's third birthday that he started to become aware of his basic anatomy and what came out where. He had questions ("My poo comes from penis?" "No, your anus - hmmm, a diagram or illustration would be nice at this point..."), so we visited the public library and found this book. Voila, questions answered (plus I like the fact that the author states unequivocally that we always wash our hands after using the bathroom, even if you can't see waste on your hands). Yes, we still had to do sticker reward charts and strip our son bare-bottomed for the better part of a week in order to "train" him after that. But I do think the book helped him understand the process a little better. Bottomline: worth checking out of your public library if you're potty training a kid over 36 months.

I liked the in depth explanations in this book. If you are starting your child out for the first time and they are 1 or 2 then this book is probably a bit much information wise. However if, like so many of us, you have a 3 y/o who is still struggling with the potty (and I'm sorry if you do!!) then this is a nice book. It talks very frankly about how pee and poop are the byproducts of eating and drinking. This is nice for those of us with children who are freaked out by their poop. My child regressed in potty training right before the new baby was born and needed something beyond the very simplistic beginner potty books and this does nicely.

My 2 year old found this book interesting and I (and his grandmother) found lots of things to chuckle about. This is a great book to read along with the other potty books (Everyone Poops and other "how-to" books which focus on the mechanics of potty training). This book answers questions like, "where does poop go," and "Why doesn't my pee pee and poop look like my food/drink" (I'm paraphrasing). It gave me tools on how to talk to my son about the process in a matter-of-fact way. I read the book through with him at times, other times, I'd just paraphrase and read parts and point to the photos. I liked this book, and it was my first introduction into this Angus answer dog series. The other one that we like is _What to Expect when Mommy's Having a Baby_.