should move forward with potty training. You may have to work a
little harder or be a little more vigilant, but you shouldn’t give up.
A very different species is the “clueless” older child. This child
will appear deaf to prompting, may completely ignore you, and pretty
much act like he’s never heard the word potty in his life. In this case,
you should refer to chapter 15, “Younger Than Twenty Months,
Older Than Three Years.”
I’ve seen this scenario fixed in half a day, and I’ve seen it take two
days, so be prepared. Don’t be afraid to enlist someone’s help.
Sometimes, you (the parent) are too enmeshed emotionally. Have a
friend, babysitter, or Grandma help out. Results are usually quicker
with someone else, just because our kids like to drive us crazy.
Whatever you do, when you decide it’s time for potty training to
happen, you cannot go back to diapers! And be very, very careful not to
threaten that you will go back to diapers. This child can be working
your very last nerve. Be sure you are giving good attention and love
elsewhere. I’ve seen parents get very resentful and be sort of bitchy all
the time with this type of kid. All the more reason to clean it up
once and for all.
The “Child from Hell”
This child is the best of the worst. He is similar to the “clueless”
older child except he’s waaaay more vocal about wanting potty
training to disappear. This child is almost always older than three,
and he means business. He will not potty train.
Something happened along the way during potty training, the