Mastering potty training control may be no easy feat for your kiddo, but the right books and videos may help youngsters grasp the concept — or at least be distracted long enough to go on the potty!
Make toilet training fun
From potty training books that feature familiar friends to toilet training videos that use music and stories, discover the 18 best potty training books and videos to help your child conquer the porcelain throne!
Read potty training books with your child
Books featuring your tot's favorite characters will keep her engaged while mastering the art of potty training. Pick up books like:
- First Look & Find: Elmo's Potty Book
- Dora's Potty Bookby Melissa Torres
- Berenstain Baby Bears My Potty and I by Stan and Jan Berenstain
Potty training books with sounds make mastering this new skill less mysterious and a bit more fun, such as:
- Elmo's Potty Time Play-a-Song Book
- It's Potty Time for Girls by Ron Berry
- Flush The Pottyby Ken Wilson-Max
Not all tots potty train their bowels at the same time as their urine, so look for books that address the topic of number two, such as:
- Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi
- Where's the Poop?by Julie Markes
- It Hurts When I Poop! A Story for Children Who Are Scared to Use the Potty by Howard J., M.D. Bennett
Opt for gender-specific potty training books
When it comes to going number two, both boys and girls may sport the same technique, but to help your potty training kiddo really grasp the concept of how to go number one, opt for books especially geared toward your boy or girl, such as:
- The Potty Book for Boys by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
- Once Upon a Potty - Girlby Alona Frankel
- My Big Boy Potty by Joanna Cole
Study books for parents on toilet training
Before you can help your child grasp the concept of potty training, it's important to learn the best way to help them, so check out books like:
- The Magic Bowl Parent's Guide: Potty Training Made Easy by Dr. Baruch Kushnir, a child psychologist and potty training expert, featuring different motivating rewards and treats to give your potty training child
- Superbaby: 12 Ways to Give Your Child a Head Start in the First 3 Yearsby Dr. Jenn Berman, a marriage, family and child therapist, offering guidelines and tips to help you raise a happy and healthy toddler, including potty training strategies
- Toilet Training in Less Than a Dayby Nathan Azrin offers tips and techniques to have your child potty trained in less than four hours for the average kid.
Let your child watch potty training videos
Using narration, songs, stories and kids your youngsters can identify with, potty training videos can help tykes grasp the concept of how it's done with videos such as:
- Potty Power - for Boys and Girls
- Sesame Street - Elmo's Potty Time
- Go Potty Go! Potty Training for Tiny Toddlers
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Expert tips
Expert tipsBefore you begin, note that "children must be ready both emotionally and physically for potty training to be a success," explains KellyAnn Bonnell, M.A., director of the Unitarian Universalist Early Education Cooperative Preschool. "There is no ideal age. Wait until your child begins to show interest in the process. That will be sometime between 24 and 36 months. When your child is ready it shouldn't take more than a couple of days."
Exposing your youngster to the 18 best potty training books and videos before you attempt toilet training may put little ones at ease, so stock up now — you may soon have yourself a potty trained tot!
More on potty training
Get your child potty trained fast
Potty training a special needs child
The scoop on poop: Potty training myths revealed