Book SummaryOh Crap! Potty Training, by Jamie Glowacki

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Oh Crap! Potty Training

In Oh Crap! Potty Training, parenting expert Jamie Glowacki provides a step-by-step guide to effectively potty training your child, as well as advice on specializing its various steps to your child. She bases her methods on experience from her early career as a social worker and from coaching families one-on-one through potty training. With this experience, Glowacki has created a potty training guide which...

Oh Crap! Potty Training Summary The Three C’s of Potty Training

Throughout the book, Glowacki emphasizes three main tenets for successful potty training. The success of Glowacki’s potty training depends on these tenets, so you should understand them before beginning the process and apply them throughout. Let’s examine these three tenets, and how they contribute to successful potty training.

Tenet #1: Clarity

Potty training is easiest when you approach it with clarity. In the context of potty training, clarity means you’re clear to your child about what you need them to do—you’re firm but supportive and don’t offer your child the chance to say no. Clear instructions help your child understand what’s expected of them, making it easier to follow your instructions and learn. On the other hand, if you aren’t clear about what you want, your child will feel confused, anxious, or frustrated—feelings that derail potty training by encouraging resistance, power struggles, and tantrums.

Throughout potty training, communicate exactly what you need your child to do, without phrasing these instructions in the form of a question or option.

• For example, instead of saying, “Do you need to pee? Do you want to pee in the toilet?” say, “Let’s go...

Oh Crap! Potty Training Summary Beginning Potty Training

Once you understand the mindset you’ll need for successful potty training, you can begin the process. Glowacki provides suggestions on when to start and how to prepare.

When to Begin

Glowacki recommends beginning potty training when your child is between 20 and 30 months old. She claims that at this age, your child will be eager to please, curious, and willing to accept new responsibilities. Any younger and they might not fully grasp what you expect of them. Any older and they’ll be more willing and able to resist you and engage in power struggles. (Shortform note: You might think that children are too young to be potty trained at this age. However, research shows that many Vietnamese mothers get their children out of diapers at around nine months of age by training them from birth. This suggests that consistency matters more than age for potty training. Therefore, an approach like Glowacki’s should work even for children who are quite young.)

In addition, do not wait for your child to signal they are ready. Glowacki emphasizes that your child often won’t send these signals—they don’t know they want...

Oh Crap! Potty Training Summary The Phases of Potty Training

After preparations are complete, Glowacki separates potty training into five phases, explaining what each phase looks like and how to approach them. She emphasizes there’s no one “correct” length for each phase—every child has their own pace. (Shortform note: Experts agree with Glowacki’s suggestion to go at your own child’s pace, and further argue that pushing a child too hard can lead to self-esteem issues, anxiety, and increased resistance.)

Phase 1: Naked

During phase one, keep your child fully bottomless and focus entirely on them while they are awake. This way, you’ll immediately notice every time they start to pee or poop. Once they do, quickly bring them to a potty chair. These steps allow your child to consistently practice using the potty, and to make a connection between the potty and the act of peeing and pooping.

(Shortform note: While Glowacki acknowledges the difficulty parents working full-time might have setting aside multiple days for potty training, she claims that you’ll need to prioritize your child over work. However, her suggestion might not be financially...

Oh Crap! Potty Training Summary Additional Challenges

While the phases act as general benchmarks for your child’s progress, Glowacki emphasizes that every child is different and will probably encounter additional challenges which prevent potty training progress. She mentions four common challenges your child might encounter and suggests how to approach each of them.

Challenge #1: Poop Difficulties

Your child might have an easier time peeing in a toilet than they do pooping, which Glowacki says is perfectly normal. She offers three reasons a child might have trouble pooping in a toilet and advises how you can deal with each.

Anxiety

Just like adults, children have a hard time pooping while anxious. Glowacki explains this is a physical response—the sphincter muscles close up the anus in response to anxiety. To reduce anxiety, make pooping a normal and calm event. Talk openly with your child about poop, and offer them privacy while pooping since a parent hovering or watching often adds pressure. (Shortform note: While anxiety alone can prevent pooping, research shows anxiety around pooping can also cause constipation (another common cause of poop difficulty, as we’ll...

Shortform Exercise: Plan Your Potty Training

Reflect on your plans for approaching potty training.

Has your child signaled that they’re ready for potty training? If not, do you think they’re ready? Explain your answer.

Shortform Exercise: Address Your Challenges

Make a list of potty training challenges your child is facing or might face, and try to understand why.

Has your child encountered any of Glowacki’s listed challenges? Or, if they haven’t started potty training yet, are there any challenges you’re particularly worried about?