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Elimination Communication: You can start as early as birth, for any child.
Potty Training: What culture do you most identify with? That will probably greatly influence the answer to that question. According to Diapering Habits: A Global Perspective, “cultural norms greatly influence the age at which a baby begins toilet training.” Countries such as China and India that predominantly use cloth diapers tend to begin Potty Training before age one year old. Russia on the other hand is an example of a county that primarily uses disposable diapers, but also practices early Potty Training. Countries that wait until about two years of age include the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany and France. Nearly all countries, even just two generations ago, started at significantly earlier ages.
Countries that start Potty Training at ages 0 to 12 months:
Countries that start Potty Training at 13 to 24 months of age:
Countries that start Potty Training at ages 2 years or older:
Personalized Phone Consultations: These are best if you have specific questions, a unique situation, or are just wanting a listening ear and one-on-one support. We have a range of families who choose Personalized Calls for a wide variety of reasons, including, but not limited to: not knowing where to start, not knowing what to do next, first time parents, a high volume of questions, not knowing how to deal with fear, stubbornness, constipation, withholding, nights, naps, undies, multiples, hectic schedules, split parenting opinions to get on the same page. We are happy to meet you wherever you are at on a Personalized Call.
Home Consultations: For those wanting Potty Training super powers straight from the get go. We will advise and encourage you with what to do. We have activities planned to kick off the process with a sense of fun and enthusiasm for the task at hand. This is the opportunity to feel rest assured that what you are doing (we’ll help figure out exactly what that will be) is encouraging and effective and troubleshoot as we go along. We are there in real time so get to be part of incorporating Potty Training directly into your family situation. We come ready, so you don’t have to be.
Online Courses: 24/7 access to a course that you can start and stop at will. Our signature course is a choose your own adventure course giving you advice most pertinent to your family, and preferences. Access is for 90-days from purchase. There are also static mini-courses available on various specific topics.
Online Course + LIVE access + Downloadables + Search Tools + Video/Audio/Transcript/Podcast Modalities: Not only do you get access to our best-organized 5-stage course (and help figuring out where you're currently at). But, you ALSO can choose your modality of learning (video, audio, transcript & a podcast, just for core content). You get access to a pottying path, live (and recorded) Q&As, expert sessions, and community. It’s not just virtual high fives, but is coupled along with actual Potty Training advice and answers to your questions. AND, there's a search bar which covers ALL the content. So, you can pop in your keyword/term & out pop ALL times it has been referenced whether in your current stage or not. Beautiful checklists, and printables & other fun items to help you enjoy a successful pottying journey are all at your fingertips! This simple to navigate, encouraging environment is a great place to start. If you’re not sure which service to request, start here!
If your child is age 5 or older, we recommend seeing your family physician before contacting us to rule out any sort of physical problems. For children ages 0-4 we love seeing you whenever you are ready. We are not a substitute for traditional or holistic medical advice, or a substitute for seeing your primary doctor, but remember we talk Potty Training all the time. This is our speciality. We are here whenever you are ready to reach out. Clients have chosen either route, exhausting all of the other services and then coming to us, or circling us in from the beginning and then they can incorporate our suggestions into any other therapy plans their child may have.
Absolutely not, and there never will be. Even though our costs are higher to make sure you have a highly qualified consultant, the cost will never be passed along to our special needs families. People are people. That’s what we think, and we love working with all types of families, especially those who have children with special needs.
No, but we require one in-take call per individual, whether they are a twin or not.
We have helped all sorts of families. The way your family is set-up may influence how we decide a plan, but it will not determine whether or not we will work with you. We happily have, and will, work with all types of families.
Does anyone really want to be stuck in a bathroom with their child for 3-days straight? We don’t think so. That’s why we offer flexible advice to fit with your schedule, and need for fresh air. Though we do suggest having a solid day, or ideally two or three, available to potty train consecutively when you first start, you don’t have to. We will work with the flexibility that you have.
To put it clearly, we don’t have one specific plan that we teach. We have basic principles that guide what we do and there are definitely best practices that we teach, but there is not a set “everyone do this and it will work for all of you” method. Our foundational teachings are based on communication, a child’s natural abilities and the pivotal role that you, as a parent, can play in the process. Nearly everything else can be tweaked to go along with your family’s preferences.
We are your secret weapon. We will train and guide you throughout our time together and prompt you on what we’ll be doing next. We will engage, help focus, talk to and treat your child like the special little human you raised them to be. But, that said, we will not touch your child at any time, or for any reason. For your peace of mind, and the safety of your children, all of our consultants are background checked and cleared.
You will be given an in-take questionnaire upon booking and then you will be able to schedule. For Home Consultations you will be given a supply list ahead of your consultation. If you have a Personalized Call scheduled, you don’t need to do anything past the in-take questionnaire preparation.
Typically, for Personalized Calls you can schedule within 48-hours, depending on your availability. For seasons of high volume, it can be up to a 2-week wait, but generally if we are not busy you can shoot us an email and we’ll open up some additional consultation slots for you to choose from. If you need to book a phone/Zoom consultation within less than 48-hours, there is a $50 rush fee. You can email carrie@thepottyschool.com to request a rush booking.
To ensure the best experience for both you and our team, please schedule your Home Consultation at least one week in advance. For Home Consultation bookings with less than one week's notice, a $500 rush fee applies.
Summer, our peak season, fills up quickly! You can book your summer Home Consultation as early as January of the same year.
To secure your preferred date, a non-refundable and non-transferable $500 deposit is required.
We have a no return policy on a consultant’s time. That said, for phone/video chat consultations we require 72-hours advance notice for rescheduling and cancellations of Personalized Calls. If you booked within less than 72-hours there are no refunds and no rescheduling. If you book a consultation and then cancel (more than 72-hours in advance) for any reason, there is a $50 cancellation fee for phone/video chat calls.
If you are late for your consultation by 10 minutes or more, your consultant will spend the remainder of his/her time working on sending you email advice and suggestions in response to your in-take questionnaire. This will account for the time scheduled, and there will not be a refund, or the option to reschedule, and this consultation will be considered a service rendered.
If your consultant is more than 5-minutes late, please check the email that you booked with for any update. If there is no email from @thepottyschool.com, please call us at: 949.229.0114 so we can find out what’s going on for you.
Absolutely, as long as they are over the age of 18. We are happy to do a 3-way Personalized Call. One other family member/co-parent over the age of 18 is allowed to be in the home during a Home Consultation. See special needs section for questions about therapists, and additional support people.
For Home Consultations we follow CDC, and state guidelines, which may include wearing proper PPE and extra cleaning. There is the possible option to do it outside as well.