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Relationship Between Age at Initiation of Toilet Training and
Duration of Training: A Prospective Study
Nathan J. Blum, MD*; Bruce Taubman, MD‡; and Nicole Nemeth, MD§
ABSTRACT. Objective. To study the relationship be-
tween age at initiation of toilet training, age at comple-
tion of toilet training, and the duration of toilet training.
Methods. A total of 406 children seen at a suburban
private pediatric practice were enrolled in a study of
toilet training between 17 and 19 months of age, and 378
(93%) were followed by telephone interviews with the
parents every 2 to 3 months until the child completed
daytime toilet training. Information obtained at fol-
low-up interviews included how often parents were ask-
ing their child to sit on the toilet or potty and where the
child urinated and defecated. Parents were considered to
have initiated toilet training when they first took out a
potty chair and discussed some aspect of training with
the child. Intensive toilet training was defined as asking
the child to use the toilet or potty >3 times per day.
Results. Age of initiation of toilet training correlated
with age of completion of training (r ⴝ 0.275). The cor-
relation between age at initiation of intensive training
and age at completion was even stronger (r ⴝ 0.459).
Younger age at initiation of intensive toilet training was
not associated with constipation, stool withholding, or
stool toileting refusal. However, age at initiation of in-
tensive toilet training was negatively correlated with du-
ration of toilet training (r ⴝⴚ0.481), indicating that ini-
tiation of training at younger ages was associated with a
longer duration of training. In addition, the correlation
between age at initiation of intensive toilet training and
age at completion of training was not significant for
those who began intensive training before 27 months of
age (r ⴝ 0.107).
Conclusions. Early initiation of intensive toilet train-
ing correlates with an earlier age at completion of toilet
training but also a longer duration of toilet training.
Although earlier toilet training is not associated with
constipation, stool withholding, or stool toileting refusal,
initiation of intensive training before 27 months does
not correlate with earlier completion of toilet training,
suggesting little benefit in beginning intensive training
before 27 months of age in most children. Pediatrics
2003;111:810–814; toilet training, preschool age children,
parenting.
ABBREVIATION. REEL, Receptive-Expressive Emergent Lan-
guage Scale.
P
revious studies have suggested that an earlier
age at initiation of toilet training is associated
with an earlier age at completion of toilet train-
ing. For example, Taubman
1
found that when toilet
training was introduced before 24 months of age,
68% of children were toilet trained before 3 years of
age, whereas when toilet training was introduced
after 24 months, only 54% were toilet trained before
3 years of age. In a study from Belgium, Bakker and
Wyndaele
2
also reported that earlier initiation of
training was associated with earlier achievement of
daytime bladder control. In contrast, there has been
concern that early toilet training may be coercive and
lead to later difficulties with constipation or encopre-
sis.
3–5
However, much of the literature that describes
this association is almost 50 years old and relates to
parents’ beginning toilet training before 18 months
and often before 12 months of age.
4,5
This is much
earlier than most parents currently begin toilet train-
ing.
6
Thus, it is not clear that these reports would
apply to toilet training within the context of a child-
oriented approach to training.
If parents correctly judge when their child is ready
to toilet train, then one might expect that earlier
initiation of training would be associated with earlier
completion and one would not expect an association
with toilet training problems. If parents are not good
judges of when their child is ready, then there are 2
possibilities. If parents overestimate the skills neces-
sary for training (or wait until after the child is ready
for cultural or other reasons), then one would also
expect to find that earlier parental efforts toward
training would be associated with earlier completion.
In contrast, if parents initiate training before the child
is ready, then one might expect earlier initiation of
training to be associated with prolonged training
and, possibly, an increased incidence of toilet train-
ing problems. In this article, we report the relation-
ship between when parents initiated toilet training
measured as the age at the first step toward training
or when parents began more intensive training and
both when children completed training and how
long it took them to train. We also investigated
whether earlier initiation of intensive training was
associated with toilet training problems such as con-
stipation, stool withholding, and stool toileting re-
fusal.
METHODS
Sample
Families of 408 consecutive 17- to 19-month-old children from
the private pediatric practice of 1 of the authors (B.T.) were asked
From the Divisions of *Child Development and Rehabilitation and ‡Gas-
troenterology and Nutrition, §Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Received for publication Feb 21, 2002; accepted Oct 8, 2002.
Reprint requests to (N.J.B.) Children’s Seashore House of Children’s Hos-
pital of Philadelphia, 3405 Civic Center Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
E-mail: blum@email.chop.edu
PEDIATRICS (ISSN 0031 4005). Copyright © 2003 by the American Acad-
emy of Pediatrics.
810 PEDIATRICS Vol. 111 No. 4 April 2003
to participate in a study designed to investigate factors related to
age of completion of toilet training and to study an intervention to
decrease stool toileting refusal. Parents of 406 children gave writ-
ten informed consent to participate in the study. Children with
global developmental delays or structural abnormalities of the
spinal cord, genitourinary, or gastrointestinal tracts were ex-
cluded. Twenty-seven families were lost to follow-up or stopped
participation in the study before the completion of toilet training.
One child was dropped from the study because of global devel-
opmental delays not apparent at the time of enrollment. A total of
378 (93%) were followed until they completed daytime toilet train-
ing and are the subject of this article. The study was approved by
the Institutional Review Board of Children’s Hospital of Philadel-
phia.
The pediatric practice is in the suburbs of a major metropolitan
area and serves predominately middle- and upper-middle-class
families. More than 90% of the families are white, and the mean ⫾
standard deviation Hollingshead score
7
was 52.4 ⫾ 10.8, which is
near the top of social strata IV of the 5-category index. At enroll-
ment, the Receptive-Expressive Emergent Language Scale
(REEL),
8
a parent report measure of language development, was
administered. The REEL provides an age level for the child lan-
guage skills, and results are presented as developmental quotients
(developmental quotient ⫽ REEL language age/child’s chrono-
logical age ⫻ 100). National norms for the REEL are not available,
but in 3 validity studies, children’s mean language ages have been
found to be at or slightly above their chronological age.
8
Children
in this sample had a mean developmental quotient of 130.4 ⫾ 20.4
(range: 69 –175).
Measures and Procedures
At enrollment, an intake form was completed to obtain demo-
graphic data and families were randomized to receive 1 of 2
intervention handouts. Both handouts emphasized a child-ori-
ented approach to toilet training.
3
The intervention handout pro
-
vided the additional recommendation to increase praise for defe-
cating and not refer to stool in negative terms (eg, stinky). The
effects of the intervention on stool toileting refusal are described
elsewhere (Taubman B, Blum NJ, Nemeth N. The effect of an
intervention targeting parental behavior on stool toileting refusal:
a prospective study. Submitted for publication). Follow-up tele-
phone interviews were conducted every 2 to 3 months until the
parents reported that the child had completed daytime toilet
training at 2 consecutive interviews.
Follow-up Interviews
Information obtained at follow-up interviews included whether
parents believed that they were trying to toilet train their child,
how often parents asked or reminded the child to use the potty,
and the presence and frequency of constipation or painful defe-
cation during the interval since the last interview. In addition,
information on toilet training behaviors such as where the child
urinated and defecated and how many accidents the child had
was collected.
We defined the age of initiation of toilet training as the age at
which parents took out a potty chair and began discussing some
aspect of toilet training with the child. We defined the age of
intensive toilet training as the age at which parents asked their
child to use the toilet or potty ⬎3 times a day. Duration of
intensive toilet training was defined as the age at completion of
toilet training minus the age at initiation of intensive training.
Children were coded as being frequently constipated when they
were treated by the pediatrician for constipation or when parents
stated that their child was constipated more than once a week at
any follow-up telephone call or once a week at 2 or more fol-
low-up interviews. Daytime toilet training was scored as com-
pleted when parents reported that the child wears underwear
during the day and urinates and defecates in the toilet or potty
with ⬍4 urine accidents per week and 2 or fewer episodes of fecal
soiling per month. Stool toileting refusal was scored as occurring
when a child refused to defecate in the toilet or potty for longer
than 1 month after meeting the criteria for daytime toilet training
for urine.
Statistics
Statistical analyses were performed using the Statistical Pack-
age for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 9.0; SPSS Inc, Chicago,
IL). Pearson product-moment correlations were calculated to eval-
uate the relationship between age at initiation of training and both
age at completion of toilet training and duration of training. The
presence of toilet training problems for those who initiated inten-
sive training before 27 months was compared with those who
began later using the
2
statistic. Between-group comparisons for
continuous data were made using the t test for independent
variables.
RESULTS
Children in this sample completed daytime toilet
training at a mean of 36.8 ⫾ 6.1 months (range: 22–54
months). The 197 boys in the study completed train-
ing later than the 181 girls (38.0 ⫾ 5.6 vs 35.8 ⫾ 6.6
months; P ⬍ .001). Parents reported initiating toilet
training at a mean of 20.9 ⫾ 2.6 months (1 parent
reported asking the child to sit on the toilet or potty
before enrollment in the study to 34 months). A total
of 297 (78.6%) parents reported asking their child to
use the toilet or potty ⬎3 time per day at some point
during the toilet training process and thus met our
criteria for beginning intensive training. The mean
age at initiation of intensive training was 28.7 ⫾ 5.6
months. The 81 children whose parents never re-
ported meeting our criteria for intensive toilet train-
ing began toilet training at the same time as the rest
of the sample (20.9 ⫾ 2.8 vs 20.9 ⫾ 2.6 months).
However, this group completed training at a mean of
34.0 ⫾ 5.8 months, which was significantly earlier
than the rest of the sample (37.7 ⫾ 6.0 months; P ⬍
.001).
As shown in Table 1, there was a direct correlation
between age at initiation of toilet training and age at
completion of toilet training. The correlation was
even stronger between age at initiation of intensive
training and age at completion. However, earlier
initiation of intensive toilet training did also correlate
negatively with duration of training, indicating that
earlier initiation led to a longer duration of training.
Graphs demonstrating these relationships are shown
in Figs 1 and 2. These relationships were consistently
found in both the 195 children in the intervention
TABLE 1. Correlation of Age at Initiation of Toilet Training With Both Age at Completion of Training and Duration of Training for
Entire Sample, Intervention, and Control Groups
Age at Completion of Toilet Training Duration of Intensive Toilet Training
Full Sample Intervention Control Full Sample Intervention Control
Age at initiation of toilet training 0.275* 0.328* 0.216† ⫺0.141† ⫺0.079‡ ⫺0.212†
Age at initiation of intensive
toilet training
0.459* 0.500* 0.414* ⫺0.481* ⫺0.481* ⫺0.504*
* P ⬍ .001.
† P ⬍ .02.
‡ P ⬎ .10, not significant.
ARTICLES 811
group and the 183 children in the control group
(Table 1). In addition, when analyzed separately,
both boys and girls demonstrated similar correla-
tions of age at initiation of intensive training with
both age at completion of training (boys, r ⫽ 0.446,
P ⬍ .001; girls, r ⫽ 0.447, P ⬍ .001) and duration of
intensive toilet training (boys, r ⫽⫺0.532, P ⬍ .001;
girls, r ⫽⫺0.430, P ⬍ .001).
To determine whether the early initiation of inten-
sive toilet training was associated with more toilet
training problems, we compared children whose par-
ents began intensive toilet training before 27 months
of age with those who began intensive toilet training
at 27 months of age or later. There was no difference
in the percentage with frequent constipation (before
27 months versus after 27 months, 16% vs 20%; P ⬎
.10), percentage with stool toileting refusal (26% vs
29%; P ⬎ .10), percentage with stool withholding
(22% vs 30%; P ⬎ .10), or percentage who hid during
training (22% vs 30%; P ⬎ .10). However, as shown in
Table 2, there was no significant correlation between
age at initiation of intensive training and age at com-
pletion when the group that began before 27 months
of age was evaluated alone, whereas the correlation
for those who began after 27 months was almost as
high as it was for the whole sample. In contrast, the
correlation between age at initiation of intensive
training and duration of training was present for
both groups.
DISCUSSION
This study makes a significant contribution to the
literature on toilet training by providing data on the
relationship between age at initiation of intensive
toilet training and both age at completion of toilet
training and duration of toilet training. We found
Fig 1. Mean and 95% confidence interval for age at
completion of toilet training based on age at initiation
of intensive training.
Fig 2. Mean and 95% confidence interval for duration
of intensive toilet training based on age at initiation of
intensive training.
812 AGE AT INITIATION AND DURATION OF TOILET TRAINING
that the age at initiation of intensive toilet training
correlates strongly with the age at completion of
toilet training. However, this correlation is not
present when the group that began intensive training
between 17 and 27 months is evaluated alone. Other
studies have also found that age of initiation of toilet
training is an important predictor of age at attain-
ment of bladder control
2
or completion of daytime
training
1
but have not reported data on this relation
-
ship at different ages of initiation or on the relation-
ship between age at initiation and duration of toilet
training. A study that examined the relationship be-
tween parental pressure to train and age at comple-
tion of training in a sample that often began training
before 18 months found no relationship between pa-
rental pressure to train and age of completion of
toilet training.
9
Our study suggests that there is little
benefit to beginning intensive training before 27
months of age, although we could not find any toilet
training problems, other than a longer duration of
training, that were associated with earlier initiation
of intensive training.
One potential explanation for the relationship be-
tween age at initiation of intensive training and age
at completion of training is that parents correctly
judge when their child is ready to be trained and
initiate training at that time. If the explanation for
this finding is that parents begin training when they
correctly judge that their child is ready, then the
duration of toilet training should be relatively short
and of consistent duration regardless of the age at
which parents begin intensive training. However,
this is not what we found. Instead, the earlier parents
initiated intensive training, the longer it took to train,
and at the younger ages it took a mean of ⬎12
months for toilet training to be completed. Further-
more, at the younger ages, earlier intensive training
was not associated with earlier completion of train-
ing. Thus, it seems likely that despite the widespread
acceptance of a child-oriented approach to toilet
training, many parents have difficulty judging when
their child is ready for training.
There is nearly universal agreement that the as-
sessment of child readiness for toilet training should
include an assessment of motor skills and evidence
of sphincter control and that in typically developing
children these signs of readiness will be achieved by
18 months of age.
3,10–12
After 18 months, the decision
to toilet train will usually be based on social-emo-
tional readiness. There is no consensus or empirical
data to support specific signs of social-emotional
readiness.
13
In his original paper describing a child-
oriented approach to toilet training, Brazelton
3
sug
-
gested that showing interest in imitating the parents
and mastering impulses were signs of social-emo-
tional readiness. Recent recommendations
12
suggest
showing an interest in toilet training by following
parents into the bathroom, demonstrating indepen-
dence by saying “no,” imitation of the parents, and a
desire to put things where they belong are signs of
readiness. Azrin and Foxx
10
suggested that children
who complied with 8 of 10 specific verbal instruc-
tions were ready. Parents often use criteria different
from any of these recommendations to decide when
a child is ready.
14
A recent study that assessed when
children achieved 11 different readiness skills found
that the earliest achieved readiness skill (stays bowel
movement-free overnight) occurred at a median of
22 months in girls and almost 25 months in boys.
6
The skill that was achieved the latest (pulls training
pants or underwear up by oneself) was not achieved
until a median of 29.5 months in girls and 33.5
months in boys.
6
Given the wide range of recom
-
mended skills to assess and the large age range over
which these skills occur, it should not be surprising
that parents have a difficult time judging when their
child is ready to toilet train. Additional research is
needed to determine whether there are specific readi-
ness skills that best identify children who are ready
to train.
The results in this study should be considered in
the context of the following limitations. The results
apply to a primarily white, suburban, upper-middle-
class population. Factors that influence toilet training
are likely to be different in other populations.
13,15
All
of the information in this study was collected by
parent report. We attempted to minimize recall bias
by interviewing parents every 2 to 3 months, but our
results were still dependent on parents’ recall and
report of their toilet training practices and results. In
considering these potential biases, it is noteworthy
that the age at completion of toilet training in this
study is consistent with that reported in another
recent study from the United States.
16
Finally, we do
not have much information about the 81 children
whose parents never met our criteria for intensive
training. These children trained earlier than the rest
of the sample, but we do not know whether this
reflects a group of children who are particularly easy
to toilet train or that these parents used other, more
effective means of toilet training their children. Our
only measure of the intensity of toilet training was
how frequently parents ask a child to sit on the toilet,
but some parents may use other verbal or nonverbal
signals to influence the toilet training process.
This study suggests that intensive toilet training
TABLE 2. Correlation of Age at Initiation of Intensive Toilet Training With Both Age at Comple-
tion of Training and Duration of Training for Those Beginning Intensive Training Before 27 Months
and Those Beginning After 27 Months of Age
Age at Completion
of Toilet Training
Duration of Intensive
Toilet Training
Initiated intensive training at ⬍27 mo 0.107* ⫺0.278†
Initiated intensive training at ⱖ27 mo 0.434† ⫺0.268†
* P ⬎ .10, not significant
† P ⬍ .001.
ARTICLES 813
before 27 months of age is not likely to be associated
with an earlier completion of toilet training, and
early toilet training is likely to take much longer.
After 27 months of age, there is a strong association
between the age at initiation of intensive training and
age at completion of training, but even at this age,
earlier training is likely to take longer. Clearly, these
data should not be interpreted to indicate that 27
months is the correct age to begin training as we do
not propose that there is a specific physiologic or
developmental event that occurs at this age. There is
significant individual variation in the age of readi-
ness for training. However, there are essentially no
data on which readiness skills should guide parents
in determining when to begin training. Thus, we
believe that these data may be useful in helping
parents to think about when to begin training.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported in part by a grant from the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (6 T77 MC 00012-07 2).
We thank Patrick Friman, PhD, for helpful comments on an
earlier version of this manuscript.
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PERPETUAL ERROR
“. . . Credulity: life is short, opportunities of knowing rare; our senses are
fallacious, our reasonings uncertain; man therefore struggles with perpetual error
from the cradle to the coffin. He is necessitated to correct experiment by analogy
and analogy by experiment.
Even so, no one should rest satisfied in the belief of facts until experiments could
be repeated or confirmed by others. Ignorance and credulity had always marched
together. . . and had ‘misled and enslaved mankind.’”
—Erasmus Darwin
814 AGE AT INITIATION AND DURATION OF TOILET TRAINING
