Author Laurie Boucke in her book Infant Potty Basics advises parents that the ideal time to start infant pottying is sometime between birth and 4-5 months of age, when the first window of opportunity is open for this type of learning.
Bouke states that, “babies are smarter and more receptive than we think” and that, from the time of infancy, children are “aware of the bodily function of elimination and can learn to respond to it from infancy.”
With this method parents “potty learn” through Pavlovian-style conditioning with special verbal signals, monitoring bladder and bowel habits, and using positions that encourage elimination.
Since the child needs no physical or mental readiness indicators parents can begin at birth.
