Expert/company advocating this approach (if applicable):
Judith Cohen: Mom/Teacher/Expert

Description of method:
We had a stubborn, but very intelligent 3 year old who was about to enter nursery school. Panicking, because the nursery school would not allow a toddler in diapers...we drew a huge animal shape (one that she would easily recognize) and taped it to the inside of the bathroom door. I had been a teacher, so I had a ready supply of stickers. I told my child that there were no longer any diapers to fit a 3 year old (which was true in those days) and asked her what she was going to do. (Essentially, I threw the ball in HER lap.)

She just stared at me and then at the elephant. Then she sat on the potty, and urinated. Immediately, she wanted a sticker to put on the elephant. Later, she had a bowel movement, using the same process. She was trained in ONE day and entered nursery school, diaper free...no accidents, not even at night. She kept using the stickers until they were gone, just because she liked the activity of tracking her successes.

We thought we had a great idea and called a patent attorney. We patented 4 "Potti Pets": elephant, hippo, dinosaur and pig.

We have sold over 300,000 because they WORK. Why do they work? From a psychological standpoint, the child who actually chooses the Potti Pet, now has ownership of his potty training experience with his own selection of a friendly, bright and non-threatening animal to keep him company while he/she goes through potty training. Toddler now gets to be an active participant in a process and gets rewarded for successful tries. Nothing succeeds like success. This is an absolutely true story.

If anyone wants to know where these can be found, please contact me.

Recommended age for this method:
2-3 1/2

How long should it take for child to be potty trained by this method?
1 to 4 days