John Rosemond, a syndicated columnist, has very publicly advocated a rapid, intense method wherein parents spend all their time for a few days reminding and assisting their two-year-old child--who is allowed to walk around naked--to use the potty.

His method contrasts radically with that of pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton, who urges parents to adopt a relaxed, child-centered approach to toilet teaching. Brazelton advises parents to wait until a child shows clear signs of being ready for training and then, after demonstrating the potty and suggesting that it be used, allowing the child to determine when and if he will use it.

There is a third, more moderate approach to toilet training that, I believe, avoids the extremes of being too pressured (Rosemond) or too permissive (Brazelton). This approach provides children with the guidance and support they need to complete the process in a timely (versus frantic or leisurely) manner. A brief description of this three-step approach from my book TOILET TRAINING WITHOUT TEARS follows.

Charles E. Schaefer, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology and director of the Center for Psychological Services at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is the author of more than 40 books, including TOILET TRAINING WITHOUT TEARS