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Oh Crap! Potty Training: Everything Modern Parents Need to Know to Do It Once and Do It Right (Oh Crap Parenting) Paperback – Illustrated, June 16, 2015

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 13,720 ratings

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From potty-training expert and social worker Jamie Glowacki, who’s already helped over half a million families successfully toilet train their preschoolers, comes a newly revised and updated guide that’s “straight-up, parent-tested, and funny to boot” (Amber Dusick, author of Parenting: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures).

Worried about potty training? Let Jamie Glowacki, potty-training expert, show you how it’s done. Her six-step, proven process to get your toddler out of diapers and onto the toilet has already worked for tens of thousands of kids and their parents.

Here’s the good news: your child is probably ready to be potty trained EARLIER than you think (ideally, between 20–30 months), and it can be done FASTER than you expect (most kids get the basics in a few days—but Jamie’s got you covered even if it takes a little longer). If you’ve ever said to yourself:

-How do I know if my kid is ready?
-Why won’t my child poop in the potty?
-How do I avoid “potty power struggles”?
-How can I get their daycare provider on board?
-My kid was doing so well—why is he regressing?
-And what about nighttime?!

Oh Crap! Potty Training can solve all of these (and other) common issues. This isn’t theory, you’re not bribing with candy, and there are no gimmicks. This is real-world, from-the-trenches potty training information—all the questions and all the answers you need to do it once and be done with diapers for good.
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Oh Crap! Potty Training

Oh Crap! Potty Training

Oh Crap! Potty Training

Oh Crap! Potty Training

Oh Crap! Potty Training

Editorial Reviews

Review

“I was terrified and then I read this book. … It took three days and then [all] was fine!” -- Christina Ricci

“I'm saving a ton of money not buying diapers now. It's mainly because I don't actually have a baby, but having this wonderful book certainly didn't hurt.” -- Jenny Lawson, The Bloggess and New York Times bestselling author of Let’s Pretend This Never Happened

“Most of us think of potty training in the top 10 of Crappiest Chores of Parenting. But check it out! It doesn't have to be with Jamie's
Oh Crap! Potty Training. Straight up, parent tested, and funny to boot, Jamie gives you all the information you need to get YOUR Crappy Baby out of diapers. 'Cause really, Crappy Big Kids are way more fun when they can wipe their own butt. You must own this book. And read it.” -- Amber Dusick, author of Parenting: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures

Oh Crap! Potty Training will equip parents to successfully walk their young children through the pottying process. With straight-forward language, a focus on learning blocks, the use of a clear process, troubleshooting suggestions, and how to prevent power struggles, Glowacki gives parents the tools they need to help their children pee and poo independently.” -- Andrea Nair, therapist and author of Connect Four Parenting

“Jamie Glowacki tells it like it is. She is the real deal. In
Oh Crap! Potty Training she explains pottytraining logically and informatively and speaks to parents ina refreshingly non-judgmental way, while empoweringthem to take on the sometimes daunting task of potty training. Breaking down hertechniques in her 6 Block Method allows parents to take on the processwith their child, step by step, and answers all thewhat-if’s and when-to’s along the way. Her advice will give youconfidence, motivation, and have you laughing while you get rid of the diapers for good. She is my go-to ‘pee’ and ‘poop’ expert for all my parents, and this is a book I will recommend again and again.” -- Alanna McGinn, Founder of Good Night Sleep Site www.goodnightsleepsite.com

About the Author

Jamie Glowacki is an internationally recognized potty training and parenting expert. Her two former careers as social worker and circus performer make her uniquely qualified to deal with toddlers (and poop). She is the author of Oh Crap! Potty Training and Oh Crap! I Have a Toddler. Visit her at JamieGlowacki.com.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Gallery Books; First Paperback Edition (June 16, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1501122983
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1501122989
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 13,720 ratings

About the author

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Jamie Glowacki
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Jamie Glowacki is a mom, social worker, and potty-training guru based in Rhode Island. Visit her at JamieGlowacki.com.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
13,720 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book helpful and informative for potty training. They appreciate the clear steps and language that help them understand the process. Many readers enjoy reading the book and find it user-friendly. However, opinions differ on the humor and writing style - some find it humorous and no-nonsense, while others feel it's judgmental or condescending.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

758 customers mention "Information quality"690 positive68 negative

Customers find the book helpful for providing a starting point and developing a plan. They say it makes them confident in the process with common sense. The book provides solutions, possible scenarios, and resources, making it a valuable resource.

"...It's extremely useful for all the random times your child tells you they need to go - at the park, immediately after arriving somewhere in the car,..." Read more

"...3. Nighttraining: The method Jamie suggests makes total sense and works, but I never would have though of it on my own...." Read more

"...Pros: - lots of trouble shooting ideas - a concrete approach - has ideas to help get the potty training started -..." Read more

"...I am so, so impressed by how well Jamie's method works...." Read more

599 customers mention "Potty training"504 positive95 negative

Customers find the book helpful for potty training. They say it provides a clear plan and tackles various issues. Many readers consider it their "potty training bible" and mention it helped their children become fully potty-trained in under a week.

"...consistently goes 1 and 2 on the potty, has a complete potty routine, and stay dry for naps...." Read more

"...Maybe I am lucky to have such skilled and loving teachers caring for my child, but I'm sure I am not the only one...." Read more

"...Friday my son (who turns three this month) is COMPLETELY POTTY TRAINED during the day...." Read more

"...It builds his or her confidence while allowing the parents to teach and lead effectively without cajoling...." Read more

537 customers mention "Readability"492 positive45 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They appreciate the beginning section on preparation before starting training. The humor is described as refreshing and humorous, making it a good read for getting ready for the transitional time.

"...the other room, and my daughter loves the instant gratification and fun songs) Fisher-Price Potty Training, Learn-to-Flush -..." Read more

"I cannot put into words how amazing this book is...." Read more

"...In addition to this excellent book, she also has a social media presence and a bunch of videos on Youtube...." Read more

"This book is highly engaging and incorporates humor to make a potentially heavy or dull topic more enjoyable...." Read more

398 customers mention "Ease of use"367 positive31 negative

Customers find the book provides clear steps, tips, and good language to help. They find it user-friendly and provide a clear road map for success. The reasoning behind the method is logical and well-outlined for each stage.

"...This book has everything you need. Plenty of chapters of prep, a clear how-to chapter, a chapter on nighttime training, chapters on trouble-shooting..." Read more

"...The other very helpful thing about this book is the clear step-by-step expectations. A child has to stand before walking, walk before running...." Read more

"...Final thoughts: this book has some good tips but you know your child best. Don’t feel chained by this method if parts don’t work for you...." Read more

"...than a week we went from clueless 22 month old to one who was self-initiating, pulling down his pants, and doing his business on the potty with very..." Read more

326 customers mention "Humor"134 positive192 negative

Customers have different views on the humor. Some find it humorous and no-nonsense, humbles them in the process, and beams with pride. Others find the tone judgmental, condescending, and dismissive.

"...to the “t” and not stray, which I thought to be too rigid and unrealistic given that every child is different and might have different needs when..." Read more

"...It builds his or her confidence while allowing the parents to teach and lead effectively without cajoling...." Read more

"...I will say that Jamie's humor is a bit dry and she does come off a bit "I know it all" - however, since she does this for a living, she has..." Read more

"This book is highly engaging and incorporates humor to make a potentially heavy or dull topic more enjoyable...." Read more

182 customers mention "Writing style"105 positive77 negative

Customers have different views on the writing style. Some find it clear and humorous, with good language and concrete tips that guide them through the process. Others feel the author is straightforward and blunt, requiring you to read through unnecessary sentences and not summarized content.

"...This tells you instantaneously, even if you're in the other room, and my daughter loves the instant gratification and fun songs)..." Read more

"...And, the information was not organized well. So much so that I often got confused at what she was actually saying...." Read more

"...for me was explaining how I can phrase things so that they make sense to my toddler, such as "put your pee/poop in the potty" and "I..." Read more

"...Now, I will say the book is not very organized. It really does read like a collection of blog posts or social media posts...." Read more

123 customers mention "Answerable questions"84 positive39 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book. Some find it helpful with scenarios and good information, like dos and don'ts lists. Others feel it lacks actionable advice when faced with serious obstacles and is dismissive of other opinions. They mention there is no natural or logical consequence for kids who refuse.

"...This book has everything you need. Plenty of chapters of prep, a clear how-to chapter, a chapter on nighttime training, chapters on trouble-shooting..." Read more

"...Pros: - lots of trouble shooting ideas - a concrete approach - has ideas to help get the potty training started -..." Read more

"...There is no natural or logical consequence that works in your favor here when kids refuse to cooperate with toilet training...." Read more

"...But this book provides solutions, possible scenarios and resources. In parenting you’re always looking for answers and this helped me...." Read more

75 customers mention "Author's character"48 positive27 negative

Customers find the author's writing straightforward and helpful. They appreciate her anecdotal style and useful information about boundaries and consequences. However, some readers feel the author's tone is judgemental and preachy.

"...The author has many years of experience and is teaching a method that has worked for thousands of children...." Read more

"...She comes across as very judgmental and condescending...." Read more

"...Her comments are pretty spot on, talking about the need for boundaries, consequences, internal locus of control, and excessive amounts of love,..." Read more

"Was very happy with this book. The author is 100% correct...." Read more

This book works !!!!!!
5 out of 5 stars
This book works !!!!!!
I read the negative reviews and had to laugh. Parents are so over nowadays over tired they take every personal lol. She never said that if you don’t night time train the kid will bed wet. She said if you don’t train the kid AT ALL and let them piss anytime everywhere past age 4 without any training then there is a chance of bed wetting . It’s like training a puppy. If you let the puppy piss everywhere till past age 2 you will have a dog that no one will want to adopt and a dog that will take many months of work to train and you might never be able to break the habit and a dog that will destroy the house. I did that to my first born. Oops . I did not train him till 3.5 years and it sucked. He is now 7 and still bed wets here and there .So then for my next three kids: I first tried “potty train in 3 days book” of wearing underwear which made kids feel like it was just another diaper by the way- epic fail all three kids. . Next I tried this book and it works for kids under 3 as long as they are verbal Amd can say a few words.Leave underwear off. Use potty. Use reward of praise or in my opinion jelly bean.autgor says no candy. Whatever.The commando immediately helped my 22 month son get in tune with his body. I totally used candy as a reward worked like a charm. My kid went from screaming and kicking me ( yes me) whenever I would get him to even sitting on potty to chillin on it reading a book and peeing and pooping . Yes first day is exhausting and so is second day. I paid a baby sitter. If you can afford 50$ a month for a box of diapers at Costco you can afford a baby sitter for a few days. Don’t expect perfection. Ps you will see if your kid is ready . If they have muscle control and can control how much pee to hold out on to either get more candy or to retaliate against the potty then they are totally ready. If not follow your gut and if kid pees every 20 min or less all the time they do not have muscle control and try again in another few months. This should be “fun” for the kid and not torture. You are trying your best which means you are a good parent:) . Yes take kid in with you so they can see you pee and poo. Make it a family affair. Good luck :)
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2016
    This book is THE BEST, most current book on potty training available. I purchased this book before beginning in earnest the potty-training process with our daughter. We introduced the concept of the potty at 16-18 months, and did the potty training over the course of 5 days (1 long 3-day weekend and 2 days off from work) when she was 21 months old. The author of Oh Crap!, Jamie Glowacki, is very glib, so I can see how some people might be put off by her style. If you're interested in getting a sense of her methods and style, I recommend visiting her blog (jamieglowacki dot com) or viewing some of her videos on YouTube (channel "oh crap with jamie").

    When it comes down to it, her method WORKS. However, even though she says to follow her methods exactly, she also says in other parts of the book that you can do what you think is best for your child -- but if it doesn't work, then you've been warned! Fair enough. We did the bare bottom for days 1-2. Day 1 wasn't great, but on day 2 something just clicked and she actually started going to the potty on her own! Day 3 she was commando, but was running to the potty so often that she didn't have her pants on very much. Listen to Jamie's advice, don't give your under 2 year old extra fluids. On day 4 we tried commando again, but it just didn't work. When she had an accident, it just made her socks wet and her upper pants stayed dry. There was no real discomfort associated with peeing her pants. So after her mid-day nap, we switched to training pants - with no pants. This worked great! Only 2 accidents. Day 5 she was in training pants most of the day, with pants on to go on trips outside the house. Day 6 fully clothed all day with short trips outside (5-10-15-20-30 minutes) and everything was great. Only issue was number 2, which she still wasn't comfortable with. Day 7 she was back at daycare, no accidents, except a number 2, but later went 2 in the potty! Day 8 perfect, a couple small accidents, but still going 2 in the potty. Day 9 same. Day 10, back at daycare again and ZERO accidents.

    Based on our interpretation of potty trained, our daughter is fully potty trained: she can now verbalize when she needs to go, will sometimes go when prompted, and will sometimes go without telling us (we've surprisingly found her on several occasions peeing on the potty with her pants down), consistently goes 1 and 2 on the potty, has a complete potty routine, and stay dry for naps. Averaging 0-2 accidents per day, with 0 days more often.

    In terms of nap and night training, we also deviated a bit from Jamie's method. Our daughter has been staying dry for naps while in diapers, so we didn't put her in a pull-up for that, and just used training pants. She's had zero accidents during naps. Dry every day. So she's completely day-trained. At night we're using a pull-up (technically pampers easy-ups), but even still, she has woken up on at least 4 mornings with a completely dry diaper and has begun to consistently self-initiate the morning pee. So, we're happy with it as is. We have no intention of waking our daughter up in the middle of the night. We're just going to continue having her use the potty before bed and upon waking, and hopefully we will see a progression to more dry mornings. If not, and we're getting close to the 2.5 year mark, we may intervene and use Jamie's method.

    I get why there are negative reviews for this book. Jamie tells it like it is, and some people don't like that. It's a book, it's not like she's there with you, making you do anything. If you don't want to do it her way, then do what you think is best for your child, but honestly, she knows her stuff and her advice works. Slight modifications here and there are fine, but you can't hodgepodge different methods together or deviate significantly and expect the same promised results.

    This book is THE model that you should follow. This is the ONLY book you need to buy on potty training. Just BUY IT, READ IT, THEN START the process when you have 3-5 days to devote exclusively to spending time with your child. This book has everything you need. Plenty of chapters of prep, a clear how-to chapter, a chapter on nighttime training, chapters on trouble-shooting related to each stage or block of the potty-training process, a chapter on poop, a chapter on daycare - just look at the Table of Contents in the Amazon Preview. This book even has a Dad's cheat sheet (which could have a more neutral title, but you know, hetero-normative gender roles...), as well as a general parents' cheat sheet. Both of these were extremely useful. My husband would not read this entire book, but did read those two cheat sheets.

    Lastly, I would also attribute our potty training success to the following products and books used in conjunction with Oh Crap!
    - Elmo's Potty Time Sesame Street - Elmo's Potty Time Yes, you can rent it via Amazon on-demand, but trust me, you're going to want to have a hard copy that you can watch infinite times.
    - Fisher Price singing potty (do you really want to be checking between your child's legs every couple minutes to see if they peed? This tells you instantaneously, even if you're in the other room, and my daughter loves the instant gratification and fun songs) Fisher-Price Potty Training, Learn-to-Flush
    - Baby Bjorn potty chair BABYBJORN Potty Chair, Gray Because you'll need a second potty, and because everyone told us we HAD to get this one. It's fine, perhaps more ergonomic. Definitely more portable than the Fisher-Price chair.
    - Big Girls Use the Potty! (in paperback) Big Girls Use the Potty! It breaks the process down step-by-step for young girls (it also comes in a boy version) and has a sticker chart and stickers. We didn't use the stickers as rewards (my daughter was too young to grasp that concept - Jamie also advises against rewards), but did use the chart as a visualization of our daughter's potty progress - a concept she COULD understand and she took much pride in counting all her stars.
    - Potty by Leslie Patricelli Potty (Leslie Patricelli board books) Cute, easy for toddlers to understand, simple text and pictures with room for improvisation by parents
    - Oxo Tot 2-in-1 Go Potty OXO Tot 2-in-1 Go Potty for Travel - Green Eventually you're going to have to take your child outside for more than 30 minutes, and this is where things get complicated. Public restrooms are gross. Put this on the FLOOR as far away from the toilet as possible in the large accessible bathroom stall. Once they're older/bigger this seat also morphs into a potty seat for use on the toilet. It's extremely useful for all the random times your child tells you they need to go - at the park, immediately after arriving somewhere in the car, in the elevator...
    177 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2016
    It's funny what some people will lock on when reading a book. I bought this because I was having issues potty training my 3rd child (the first was essentially potty trained by a day care and ended up with long term bowel trouble, the second trained very late and only because we took away all TV until he was trained). Even if I had a great method before, I had my third when the other two were 10 and 7 - it had been too long for me to remember how to do this.

    For me, the two biggest take-away CLICK! moments were 1) Don't ask, plead, beg, or fuss at your kid to go potty. Just say "Time to go potty, and then you can come back and play more". My 3 year old said NO the first two days, but I picked him up and took him to the potty, sat him down, he peed, and was proud of himself. By day 4 he was telling me that he had to go! 2) She asks "What is your child capable of?" my Word! Of COURSE he was capable of walking to the potty, pulling down his pants, and going! He had been casually telling me for weeks that he had peed, and needed a change - of course he was capable of learning how to go potty! Those two mental shifts were all I needed to get going - he was clearly ready and waiting for me.

    The other very helpful thing about this book is the clear step-by-step expectations. A child has to stand before walking, walk before running. By the same token, a child must learn THAT they're going, what it feels like when they're about to go, and then they can tell their parent that they need to go. She doesn't jerk you around with the idea that your kid will be flawlessly trained in 3 days - she gives reasonable expectations for each step of the way. Most importantly, she tells parents about times where their child will likely struggle, even if they had been doing fine until then - and not to give up then!

    As for the negative reviews - as a third time mom, I'm pretty used to taking what I think is helpful and discarding what isn't from various sources. For example, for my kid, I didn't even need to do naked time - I've been pretty in-tune with his potty signals for a long time. But the logic behind going commando is faultless - undies feel like diapers around the tush, and it's hard to break the habit of a lifetime without making things feel very different. I don't think she was shaming or deliberately guilt-tripping anyone - I think the people taking that away from this book were already feeling conflicted and freaked out about how long it's taken to potty train or are feeling very defensive about having to work outside the home. I've been both, and I remember how sensitive I felt anytime someone said BOO about me sending the kids to day care.

    She does give tips about how to make this method work even if you are a working household and have to deal with daycare. That said, it's unequivocally easier to potty train if you have the freedom to do it yourself at home. Otherwise you have to get all other caregivers on board, and that can get tough. That's not guilt tripping or shaming - that's a plain fact.

    The night time advice isn't all that helpful, but to be fair it's the exact same advice my pediatrician kept giving when my older son had bed wetting trouble. It must work for some kids, otherwise it wouldn't hang on this long.

    All in all, a book that helped THIS mom and her 3 year old get with the potty program before baby #4 came on the scene!
    26 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Siobhan Cowan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Can't fault it!
    Reviewed in Spain on November 27, 2024
    We followed this book to a T with our 22 month and it worked amazingly! Love all the troubleshooting too. It's very complete.
  • Shirene
    1.0 out of 5 stars Useless, waste of time and money
    Reviewed in the Netherlands on June 2, 2024
    Just Google rather, more info online.
  • L
    5.0 out of 5 stars A good book to know where to start from
    Reviewed in Germany on May 9, 2024
    The potty training went smoothly with the instructions from this book. I just think the author could be more direct to the point, he might get repetitive at times. Great though
  • Natasha
    5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly Helpful and Refreshing Book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2024
    Bought this book on the recommendation of a friend, just as we are beginning to potty train our 27 month old - and so far it has been enormously helpful. Sets out every phase clearly, with chapters dedicated to particular issues (e.g. night training, nursery, etc.) so you can skip to the relevant parts.

    I particularly like how decisive and objective she is about certain issues (sadly a rarity nowadays with parenting advice). I.e. she clearly states what works, what doesn't work, and most importantly why. She is clearly qualified to make these statements given she is a professional potty trainer, her advice makes sense as soon as you think about it - much more so than contrasting advice I've heard elsewhere.

    Hugely recommend for anyone wanting to successfully potty train and needing a little bit of guidance, like me!
  • Lula Smith
    5.0 out of 5 stars You can do it Mama!
    Reviewed in France on August 28, 2023
    I purchased this book because I wanted to tr port training my son who turned 2 year old in July. In france a child has to be port trained by 3 years old i order to be able to attend school. I have 13 nieces and nephews and I have seen my sisters almost tear their hairs out when it came to potty training their 3+ year olds. I felt like starting school is stressful enough so why not try to have him gain this essential skill earlier on? I also worked from home and had no plans to is summer so I thought this was a great time to do this. I didn’t know the author at all. Never read her blog, but the reviews seemed positive so I gave it a try. He didn’t know his ABCs but he did seem really interested in the toilet and would fight me when I tried to put on a diaper on him after his bath. He also had a dry diaper after his nap like 90% of the time. Despite all of this I was scared, but I was determined and like all big new steps on a motherhood journey I had to trust myself and also my child. Day 2 almost broke me as I was doing it all myself, there was pee everywhere all the time. He would get up RIGHT WHEN IT WAS TIME TO PEE. But I persevered and most importantly I called REINFORCEMENTS. So I was not the only one on what I called pee watch. My mother in law came to help for 1 week and she was just as gentle and determined with him as I was. And exactly what she said by day 3 the signs became clearer, he would firsr cross his legs get an uh oh look and the pee would come. By day 5 I would put him on the potty and he would go. We did it all at once, night training, nap training and it was the right decision for us. I followed all her instructions, going commando, reducing water intake as the day went on and it was messy. I even cried a couple of times but now we are on week 3 and he is 25 months old, asks to use the potty and most importantly I have seen his confidence grow significantly. I am so proud of him and so happy I used this book to potty train my son.