Are there cultural differences in potty training?
During the 20th century, American parents approached potty training with a broad array of techniques. In the early 1920s and 1930s, a somewhat rigid schedule popularized by Parents Magazine promoted the belief that a child should be toilet trained by 8 weeks of age. In the 1940s, Dr. Benjamin Spock recommended a more developmental approach and encouraged parents to notice a series of developmental signs before beginning the process of toilet training. He argued that a more rigid approach would commonly lead to behavior problems. In the 1960s, developmental pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton refined the Spock approach, combining the natural maturation of the child’s physiology and emotional maturity and characteristic desire for independence. Expectations have been shown to exist in different American racial groups. Most African-American parents believe potty training should be started at 18 months of age, while Caucasian parents more commonly propose 24 months of age as a starting time. R
