I really expected to like this book, but honestly, it's not great. My daughter loves Karen Katz lift-the-flap books. She's read about a dozen from the library and we own several. So I was excited to see this book, and based on the great reviews, I bought it. My daughter is now 22 months, is potty trained, but this book was not helpful AT ALL in the process, and my daughter did not like it. The text was so counter-productive to potty training that I really struggled reading it or finding appropriate ways to modify it. Didn't matter too much because my daughter rarely chose this book for me to read to her on the potty or off.
PROS
- Cute pictures, androgynous character that can be used for a boy or a girl
- Child's toy bunny appears on almost every page, so you can play 'where's the bunny?" and also associate this with your child teaching their own stuffed animal how to use the potty
- The final page ends with the child saying "I'm so proud of me!" which is a wonderful message - not only should our children be recipients of praise from us for their potty-training milestones, but should also feel a sense of pride in their own accomplishments.
CONS
- It's not a lift-the-flap book. The pages fold out, like the way the page folds out entirely on the last page of many of the Karen Katz actual lift-the-flap books. This is difficult for a young child to manipulate, struggling to pull up the page from the crack of the binding, plus it's just not very fun when it's EVERY page. My daughter was not excited at all to lift open the pages. There's no hidden surprise, it's just an open page. And it doesn't even reveal something new with regard to the page you're on, it could easily just be the next page in the book.
- It's not an instruction manual. There are NO INSTRUCTIONS on how to use the potty. Instead it's a story, narrated in the first person, from the perspective of a young child (as evident from the cover, the child is androgynous so could be interpreted as a boy or a girl to suit your context). The front of the book clearly says "a karen katz lift-the-flap instruction manual". It is NEITHER of these things. At no point does the book tell your child the steps of a basic potty routine (go to the potty, pull down pants, sit, go potty, wipe, pull up pants, flush, wash hands). There are only a few instances of sitting, a flushing potty that is not associated at all with actually going to the potty, and one instance of actually peeing in the potty.
- The text in the narrative is COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE to getting your little one potty trained. It's not good for before potty training, and it's DEFINITELY not good for during potty training. The narrative runs roughly something like this:
The child gets a potty, she used to wear diapers but "when she's ready, she won't need them anymore." -- This not great when you're in the middle of potty training and you've already said bye-bye to diapers.
The child sits on the potty, but decides ultimately that "I'm not ready yet. I want to go and play!" -- Really? Ah, jeez! Do you know how hard it is to get your little one to sit on the toilet when you ask them to? And now you have a book that shows a character who essentially says "Screw this, I'm going to go play!" Uh, no.
Later, the child decides that yeah, she does have to go. Her mom takes off her diaper, but the child says "this potty's not for me!" -- Really? Ok, so not only are you giving your child the idea that not sitting on the potty is the fun thing to do, but also that perhaps this potty concept just isn't a great thing after all, maybe it's just not for them, maybe learning how to use the potty is something that they shouldn't want to do because other kids, like the one in this book, also don't want to do it. It must be bad and not fun at all.
Of course, because the child didn't pee in the potty, she has an accident outside. But Mommy says it's ok. -- This is fine. Of course you want to be gentle and supportive. However, given this context - child refused to sit on the potty, didn't want anything to do with the potty, and then ran outside and peed her pants - this isn't an "accident" this is a child being obstinate. Not ok. Is this behavior typical? Yeah, of course, but you don't want a potty book that models bad behavior and negative potty associations, you want a book that models ideal behavior and positive associations. You want a book that makes your child think that using the potty is the best thing ever, so fun, and so grown up! It's like if you had a book about eating vegetables and all of the pages said how gross and disgusting vegetables were and how the child would rather eat cookies and ice cream and only on the last page does the child decide to have a single bite of broccoli, and maybe they'll do it again some time. NOOOO!
Finally, the day is over, and the child goes to sleep in a diaper. -- Also, not ideal. Yes, most parents choose not to night-train their child simultaneously with day training. However, most parents who do this also use pull-ups so the child makes the full transition away from baby diapers (yes, I know pull-ups are also diapers, but they are a different KIND of diaper). The child in the picture very clearly has a traditional diaper on with the tabs. So again, the book reminds your child of how comforting and wonderful it was to wear diapers, and hey, if you pee your pants maybe mommy will put you back in diapers. It's ok. NOOOOO!
The next day, the child finally SITS on the potty but says "I still don't think I can!" -- Great, more negative emotions.
Mommy sits on the big potty next to her and also shows her how to flush the toilet. -- Ok, fine. But the child STILL hasn't USED the potty!
It's now bath time, and the sound of the running water makes the child want to pee. Does she pee immediately (as most children do when this happens)? No. She just sits back down on the potty and "sit and wait and sit." There's a lot of sitting and waiting - this from a child who previously refused to sit on the potty at all, so I guess that's some progress.
Last two pages are great and positive. Yay she peed in the potty and says "I will do it again!" Good! Ideally you do want your child to do this more than once. And the last page is about how proud the child is of herself, which is also very good.
- Not only is the description on the front cover UNTRUE and INCORRECT, even the description of this book on the back cover is just SO OFF. The back cover says "Children will love following along and lifting the flaps" THERE ARE NO FLAPS "to see the child play, sit on the potty, eat, sit on the potty, sleep, and then sit on the potty... until finally there is success." Um, what book did they read? The child receives potty, sits on potty, runs away from potty, pees pants, sleeps in diaper, sits on potty again, prepares for a bath, sits on potty again, and then on the penultimate page pees. WHEN DID THE CHILD EAT?? I went back through the book 4 times to see if I had missed this part. Also, the child only sits on the potty once before sleeping, not twice.
IN SUM:
I truly do like Karen Katz books. Her book "Grandma and Me" is an absolute favorite in our house. Her books are sweet and adorable, with positive messages. The lift-the-flaps are so fun and also educational. However, this book, unfortunately, FAILS as a potty training book. In the end it has a supportive message, but all the pages leading up to that are filled with the child having negative feelings toward the potty and peeing in diapers. I can understand where the rationale to design the book in this way comes from, perhaps if your child is having negative feelings toward the potty, then they will relate with the character, and like the character finally pee in the potty. However, just FYI, it doesn't work that way for 18 months - 3 year olds. They're still in herd-mentality mode (monkey see-monkey do), they're not truly capable of introspective self-awareness and empathy. If you're potty training a 5 year old, then, yeah, maybe this book might work for you.
Potty-Training Books, I DO RECOMMEND:
- Potty by Leslie Patricelli (there's a reason there are over 1,000 positive reviews on Amazon for this book, it's truly great, and the text and pictures are so basic you can modify the story line for every stage of potty training),
- Big Girls Use the Potty! (A DK book with step-by-step instructions, a sticker chart, and stickers!), and
- Girls' Potty Time (another DK book, the cover is a toilet seat, shows toddler girls picking out potties and undies, teaching their stuffed animals to use the potty, and rejoicing in the fun that is potty training).
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Customer reviews
Lots of pages, but not a true lift the flap. This is a book that you have to sit with your kids to read (not that I'm against that!! I read 10-20 a day with my daughter!). But I was hoping for one she could look at on her own too, she loves lift the flap books, and I'm hoping to get her more interested in potty training! This book has folded pages that open up horizontally. Not a "lift the flap". This is an "open the page". A kid would tear or crease this book pretty bad on its own.
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Gifting potties and panties in this cheerful book that little ones with good hand-coordination may specially enjoy
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Harlon James
Good for potty training preperation
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