Responding To Netizen's' Question

Question: How do we know we have successfully bowel-trained our toddlers?

Answer: When we were discussing bowel training or habit training in psychosexual development we discussed that the key to successful toilet training is recognizing signs of readiness to train (usually at age 18 to 24 months) We know that children are ready for the task if they can remain dry for several hours and they show interest in sitting on a potty chair and express visible signs of preparing to urinate or defecate. They also tell you their diaper is dirty and want it to be changed. These are good signs that they are receptive and ready for the rigorous period and demands of potty training.

Carry-over behavior as an adult ... my mother usually told us before ... that when an adult makes it a habit of using the bathroom (either to defecate or to urinate) as a part of his/her morning ablutions ... she thinks his/her childhood potty training was successful. Then she punctuated her argument by comparing them to somebody who goes around oblivious whether they have moved out of their bowels or not and finds themselves doing it in a mall, in school, or in the park. 

My mom has a point but If you were to ask me ... I believe in the contrary.  People who meticulously and religiously move out of their bowels in the morning as a part of their routine ... like she said ...  I agree that it is an anal personality... but for me, it looked like her potty training as a child was too rigid, fixed, and inflexible making the person show signs of obsessive-compulsive behavior. OBSSESSED and embarrassed of doing the "thing" somewhere else ... they are COMPELLED to wake up early ... just to complete the task.

 

Not good if these unusual behaviors are present. If there are no psychological triggers present ... it will be a different story. Potty training is otherwise called habit training ... so when the child does it regularly and routinely at the same time of the day (just like an adult making a habit of waking up at 6 AM to officially start his day)... you did get an A for successfully training your child.

The true yardstick of successful bowel training in a child is when your child has a bowel movement in the potty at the same time every day ... and therefore has few bowel accidents. Same with adults. Problems exist if the child or adult does not know when he has to do bowel movement ... and embarrassing accidents occur ... on the bus going home or at bbed in the most unholy hour.