Oh Crap! Potty Training: Everything Modern Parents Need to Know to Do It Once and Do It Right: Volume 1 (Oh Crap Parenting)

Wow! Not only is this a great method but I love the authors style. Practical, honest and it works. The only potty training guidance you’ll need.

My sister recommended this book to me, she used this method for both her boys under 2 years old successfully. I started my daughter on this at 20 months old, and six weeks later she is potty trained and uses the loo with a loo seat insert - always asks to go for a wee/poo now as she can't pull her knickers and trousers down by herself. Only once in a while now, no more than once a week, she pees in her pull-ups at night and this is usually first thing in the morning if I don't take her for a pee immediately on the loo (we get up for a pee at about 3am and that means she is dry and has no pees in the night). It was hard work and stressful for the first couple of weeks as you really do have to watch them like a hawk, Jamie reiterates that a lot at the beginning and she it is so true! My daughter goes to nursery 4 days a week so I had to get nursery staff on board but they were really great and we just took our potty to nursery so it was always available for her and that really helped massively. You need to give it your all for a few weeks but it is seriously worth the effort and the time! My daughter is so excited and pleased with herself for going to the loo now and I feel like it has really made her grow up a bit more too at the same time. It saves lots of money on nappies, we just use one pull up a day now at night time (put it on just before she goes to sleep after her last pee) and it is only for just in case, she still asks to pee/poo when she is wearing it which I was quite surprised about. So many people say they will just wait until their child is 2 or 3, or they say we don't want to push them too much, but now I have done it this way I would really recommend this method as quick and effective. A child of 20 months (in my experience) is totally capable of being potty trained, and it doesn't pressure the child at all, it just makes your intentions totally clear so they get is quickly and thoroughly.

This book is excellent at teaching the fundamentals of potty training however I really don’t like the way the author actually writes she’s got a weird attitude and she refers to girls genitalia as yonis?? What on earth

What a wonderful guide for parents. Informative and straightforward, clear and concise. Two months on and we have been accident free from day 5! It went way better than expected, thank you for writing this book.

I can’t recommend Oh Crap! Potty Training enough! As a mom of a strong-willed 3-year-old who had zero interest in ditching the diapers, I was feeling overwhelmed and honestly kind of dreading the whole potty training process. This book was a total game-changer. Jamie’s approach is so practical, down-to-earth, and reassuring. She breaks everything down into manageable stages and helps you understand what your child is going through — emotionally and physically — during the transition. I appreciated the no-nonsense tone and the encouragement to trust my instincts while also sticking to a clear plan. We followed the method pretty closely, and within a few days, we were seeing real progress. It wasn’t magic (there were definitely a few messes and meltdowns), but this book gave me the confidence and tools I needed to stick with it and stay calm. Now, just a couple weeks in, my little one is proudly using the potty like a champ! If you're on the fence or feeling nervous, do yourself a favor and read this. It's supportive, smart, and actually kind of funny. Total lifesaver!

I’m one of those people who likes to follow the rules, stick to a process and then it will be bound to succeed. Unfortunately for us, following this ‘3 block’ plan (masquerading as the 3 day plan that’s already cited everywhere) didn’t work at all. Day one got off to a good start, we had successful wees in potty, proud happy boy and impressed parents. But day two, when he realised this was for life and not just a day, and we had many many ‘accidents’ and tears. We tried everything the book recommended, putting him on the potty mid-wee (absolute disaster, he was inconsolable), backing off completely (also didn’t work he just weed on the floor and sobbed), and every other trick in the book. Literally. On the morning of day 4 after 3 days inside with no clothes on (him, not us, although maybe we should have been the amount of my own trousers I had to wash), we happily took his nighttime nappy off and pointed out the potty incase he should need it, casually leaving him to it. This resulted in him weeing all over the floor and sitting in it, sobbing and saying ‘sorry’. Absolutely awful moment for us. So we have given in and out his nappy back on (we asked him and he nodded sadly). We will give it a couple of weeks and try again but this book is definitely not for the faint hearted or for all children. It’s also very American, very patronising, positively offensive to dads (there’s a chapter at the back which consists of 2 pages of things dads can do to help mum because let’s face it, she’s going to be doing all the hard work) and doesn’t contain an ounce of ‘child-Led’ mentality which has worked for us very well up until now. I’ve given it 3 stars because some of the psychology and fundamentals are worth a read but take it with a pinch of salt and remember no one knows your child like you do!

I don’t usually write reviews but thought this was worth it in the hope it may help other parents. My son is 32 months. We had tried potty training earlier and did the no pants thing which he was great with but as soon as he had trousers on he just wet them and continued playing. No real acknowledgement of what he did. We therefore stopped and waited a month. In that time I was given this book to read. Yes there are some things I don’t agree with and also it seems to be the end of the world if the kid isn’t potty trained by 3, but actually it is a really good easy to follow book. And it is what gave me the motivation to try again. Jamie explains that your toddler is never going to say ok I’m ready to sit on a potty and it’s all about your determination and just continuing with it. And do you know what, our little guy smashed it. As we had been doing no pants time before bath for a while he was already used to going potty naked so day one was a breeze. On day 2 we went out and about with the potette. He did a poop outside our house but again aced it. We had 2 accidents. And on day three zero accidents. There were a couple of leaks where he hadn’t got to the toilet in time but he knew where he was going and what he wanted to do. I think there was a bit of poo withholding but again we just kept going and eventually he had no other option. He now loves to admire his poop and tell everyone about how big it is! We celebrate that. Our nursery were on board. Before we started we explained the book we would be following and also the commando time. They were happy to go along with it including saying to him that from Friday we are throwing away nappies and he knew it. We are two weeks in and all good. We were also planning to put off night training for another few months but he is already having dry nights and waking up to tell us he has to pee so after buying more mattress protectors we are persevering with that too. I’d say the book is good if you need motivation and also just to know that you can go back and start again. I think some stuff just needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. You know your child best and what they can achieve but there is a lot of sense in this book. I think the key is not to put too much pressure on yourself. Like I said we put it off for a month as it clearly wasn’t on his radar when he was peeing and not noticing. But when you do start then just keep going. They will get it. Good luck!

As a first time parents with an extremely stubborn child I have really struggled with following the potty training method of my parents & grandparents. I was also hesitant if he was ready. This book made me realise that my child is more than capable and made me more confident about the process. I knew exactly what I had to do. Yes it was hard, yes it took my child to go from block 1 to block to 12 DAYS. Yes, a lot more than estimated by the author, but again, I know my child and I knew it was gonna take much longer because he is pretty stubborn when it gets to us teaching him something because he likes to do things at his own pace. I simply followed the book and after 7 days I started to question if it really works, but still carried on. And BOOM all of the sudden on Day 12 it has clicked. He makes a pee in his potty and carries on doing so without any resistance or fuss like he used to. Of course we still have a lot of work to do but I am certain that we will make it. It was certainly worth the hassle, yes it was tough but it works!

We followed this book to a T with our 22 month and it worked amazingly! Love all the troubleshooting too. It's very complete.

Loved the practical tips by the author and the rational behine her approach. Its simple and no nonsense. Worked beautifully for my daughter who went from being in diaper 24*7 to being completely diaper free 24*7 in 4 days flat. Would recommend it to all parents looking to toilet train their kids.

Just Google rather, more info online.

Great read

I knew I wanted to potty train my little one as soon as possible. I was the last of my friends to have kids and had seen it go so terribly wrong when they waited too late as per what the internet suggested. My husband and I were both potty trained by two so I knew it was possible, but when we asked our respective moms, we just felt like we were missing some direction. I found this book during my research and it was perfect! I was 34 weeks pregnant with my second and my son was 22 months. We'd had a couple false starts before this book, so I was a little apprehensive, but after reading this cover to cover I felt like the missing pieces from what our parents had told us were filled in. We did what was suggested and went cold turkey on the diapers. We followed the book step by step and by the time I had my baby two weeks early I wasn't worried about my son spending a few nights at his grandparents. Literally, in just a few weeks he went from clueless to trained day and night. If you're looking to start, I cannot suggest this book enough (I literally tell every parent about it!) And I cannot stress enough that you should go all in and do day and night at the same time unless there's a really good reason not too. Now we're five months in and I barely think about it at all. Since starting he's had a few accidents. We follow the book still and use these as learning experiences. At home, he's had maybe five accidents tops since the first month and he's had a couple at preschool, but overall, he's trained. We make sure he goes before long car trips and take our folding potty seat in his knapsack wherever we go, we keep a potty in the livingroom (we don't have a bathroom on the main floor), and we keep one by his bed so he can get up and go at night if he has to and it's all just part of our routine. If he's a lot to drink one of us will check on him during the night to see if he has to go, but we're lucky that he's aware of his needs and will call us to help him to the potty if he has to go in the middle of the night. We remind him every night to call us if he has to go and to hold it until we come for him. It's just part of our goodnight's now. He can hold his bladder all night most nights, I actually can't remember the last time I had to get up, honestly. For parents who are wondering if they can or if they'll ever stop obsessing over their kids bathroom needs, yes you can and yes you will. Like I said, we're 5 months in and it's just not something that we continue to obsess over. It's just routine and easy now. I know not all parents will have this easy experience we had, but we didn't go into this endeavour knowing it would be so successful, but following this book made it so. I cannot reccomend this book enough and really YOU CAN DO IT!!! Don't be afraid, it's not nearly as intimidating as you think, I promise! EDIT: First, in the book it's reccomended to get a plain, no nonsense potty, my suggestion is to go to IKEA if you can, their potties are cheap, easy to clean and are a perfect size. Second, just this past Christmas, my son had his first flu since potty training. It resulted in an ear infection and he needed antibiotics. These caused the trots and while my poor kid seem quite betrayed, (should've seen his little face...), he still managed to get through the ordeal. This was one situation where I wasn't sure how it would work out, but we got through it with no accidents. And lastly, when we first began potty training, my son was obsessed with visiting every bathroom every five minutes whenever we went out. This was super annoying because first I was very pregnant and then I was recovering from a csection and he always insisted I take him. We followed the book's advice and kept the visits all business unless he went. That meant no paper, flushing, washing hands etc. He loved the novelty of going to public washrooms but when we wouldn't let him have the fun without peeing he got tired of the game and after about a month or so he stopped and only asked when he actually had to go. This was probably the most trying part of the process for us, but it passed quickly (it didn't feel like that at the time, though!). So if you're going through this, it does eventually end!