The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 149, Issue 2 , Pages 165-168, August 2006

Beliefs about the appropriate age for initiating toilet training: Are there racial and socioeconomic differences?

  • Ivor B. Horn, MD, MPH

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Ivor Braden Horn, MD, MPH, Children’s Health Center at Good Hope Road, Children’s National Medical Center, 2501 Good Hope Road SE, Washington, DC 20010.
    • ,
  • Ruth Brenner, MD, MPH
    • ,
  • Malla Rao, DrPH, MEngg
    • ,
  • Tina L. Cheng, MD, MPH

Department of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC; Center for Health Services and Community Research, Children’s Research Institute, Washington, DC; Department of Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC; National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD; Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.

Received 18 August 2005; received in revised form 22 December 2005; accepted 1 March 2006.

Objective

To examine racial and socioeconomic differences in parental beliefs about the appropriate age at which to initiate toilet training.

Study design

A cross-sectional survey of 779 parents visiting child health providers in 3 clinical sites in Washington, DC and the surrounding metropolitan area completed a self-report survey. The main outcome variable was parental beliefs about the appropriate age at which to initiate toilet training. Using multiple linear regression, differences in beliefs were assessed in relation to race, family income, parental education, parental age, and age of the oldest and youngest children.

Results

Among respondents, parents felt that the average age at which toilet training should be initiated was 20.6 months (±7.6 months), with a range of 6 to 48 months. Caucasian parents believed that toilet training should be initiated at a significantly later age (25.4 months) compared with both African-American parents (18.2 months) and parents of other races (19.4 months). In the multiple regression model, factors predicting belief in when to initiate toilet training were Caucasian race and higher income.

Conclusions

Race and income were independent predictors of belief in age at which to initiate toilet training. More research is needed to determine what factors contribute to toilet training practices in diverse populations.

Abbreviations:  AA, African American , SES, Socioeconomic status

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PII: S0022-3476(06)00150-8

doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2006.03.004

Refers to article:

  • Who’s training whom?

    Pasquale Accardo
    The Journal of Pediatrics August 2006 (Vol. 149, Issue 2, Pages 151-152)

The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 149, Issue 2 , Pages 165-168, August 2006

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