Many people ask me why I say Toilet Awareness rather than Potty Training. There are a couple reasons.

First, I don’t use the word ‘potty’. I find it to be a silly word. The correct word is ‘toilet’. Children learn and use the language they hear. If the language around them is correct with proper pronunciation, then they develop that same language. When children learn correct language they are better able to communicate with people around them. They often speak with more confidence as their conversation is received with respect rather than considered cute because they are using baby talk.

Next is the word ‘awareness’. Children’s process of learning to use the toilet is a slow awareness that develops around their understanding of their body, their environment, and social norms. ‘Training’ suggests that they are being programmed in some way. As a parent, I want my children to be aware of their own body functions and understand the feelings and sensations within their bodies, and then choose to act accordingly. Watching my own three children come into consciousness around their body functions was the impetus for naming the process I teach to parents, ‘Toilet Awareness’. The term Toilet Awareness allows a parent to see where their child is on the journey to controlling this body function and meet their child at that point, allowing this method to work for their family wherever they are on their journey.
For more details and step by step instructions on Toilet Awareness, read the book!