A couple I know recently threw a "potty party" for their three-year-old son. The general idea is outlined here, and is that you dedicate a day to intensive potty training.
Some of the main ideas are:
- It is a full, intensive one-on-one day with no (or minimal) distractions
- The child is encouraged to drink a lot and eat lots of salty snacks, to maximize how many potty attempts there will be.
- A doll is used to model the desired behavior. Instruction is given to the doll, rather than the child, and the child is encouraged to help "train" the doll.
- Presents and a general celebration are held to make the child excited about the concept.
Quite frankly, the whole thing sounds rather silly to me, and I worry that such a plan might put too much pressure on the child to "succeed" immediately (the goal is to complete potty training in a single day, and the author of the book referenced in that article claims that this is a reasonable expectation).
Is this an effective technique? Does anyone has experience with it? Does a child need to reach a certain level on their own before this technique becomes effective (beyond being developed enough to physically "hold it in" long enough to make it to the potty)?