Do a search online for "potty training" and you'll get hundreds of thousands of pages. But when parents really want to get an idea of how to potty train their precious little one, most will ask their doctor.

Dr. Mark L. Wolraich is the Director of the Child Study Center at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. He literally wrote the book on potty training for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Dr. Wolraich was kind enough to speak with us about some of the concerns and misconceptions parents might have when potty training their children.

ParentDish: True or false: Girls are easier to train than boys.
Dr. Wolraich: I think that's an impression that some parents have. [But] it's not based on a lot of hard data. Generally, it seems like they are, but the objective evidence is not strong.

ParentDish: True or false: You can train a child to use the potty in one day.
Dr. Wolraich: Some children you can. I don't necessarily know the advantage to it. People tend to want to do things quickly; [they think that] if you train a child early, it's better. I don't know that if you get them trained in a day, that's better. Children will get trained when they're developmentally ready. You need to enable them to have that opportunity and try to worry less about how long it takes.

"Quick training" treats toilet training as a problem or disorder that you are trying to correct. What we recommended in the book is that toilet training is a natural part of development, like learning to walk or speaking. It will come most quickly when children are developmentally ready to make that step. It doesn't necessarily require intense training.

Some parents can become frustrated and angry with their kids. Then the process may become more punitive. You don't want it to be a battle.

ParentDish: True or false: The best age to potty train a child is 2 years old.
Dr. Wolraich: 2 years is the average age, but there is a wide variation. Some children will have their bowel movements on the potty but will still have urinary accidents, and some will be trained during the day but still wet the bed at night. Another factor is that when children are in stressful situations, like having a new sibling coming into the family or a move, they can regress. They may be potty trained and than go back to having lots of accidents.

Some parents expect that children will be potty trained at a younger age, rather than the best time for the child. But there is a range and not a set age.

The other issue that comes up from parents is the pressure they feel because they are trying to get their kids into daycare or preschool, and some schools or centers require that the child be potty trained.

Certainly by 4 or 5 years of age you expect the children to be toilet trained, although you might still have some accidents. If they are delayed in potty training, it is important to check a child's developmental level in other
areas. Delays in multiple areas warrants further evaluation of multiple aspects of development and learning.