Mum says she won’t potty train her son until he asks her to

Different parenting styles and methods can often lead to unsolicited opinions, especially online. Well now, a mum has taken to TikTok to share that she has no plans to potty train her son “at all” until he “asks”– and it’s created a divide on the platform.

Alice Benderm (@comingupfern) has amassed an incredible amount of attention to her parenting page, filled with what some may call, ‘unconventional’ parenting methods for her 14-month-old son, Fern.

One video, in particular, harboured almost a million views after she responded to a follower on her plans to potty train.

“We aren’t going to potty train him at all”, she responded.

“When he asks to use the toilet we’ll show him how.”

Alice’s method is known as the “child-oriented toilet training”, and while many unfamiliar users flocked to the clip to belittle the mother’s decision, it was actually deemed the most successful method by American Academy of Pediatrics in 2003.

It involves having conversations with the toddler about the toilet, without the pressure to “train” them to use it. The method aims to create a positive and stress-free experience between the parent and child.

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Fellow TikTok users flocked to the clip to voice their polarised opinions.

“Alice, I support you and think you’re a great mom, but I’m gonna have to disagree with you on this one,” one said, while another commented that “this one has to be a joke.”

While others supported Alice in her decision.

“I’m mad it never occurred to me to do this...” One commented. “Why doesn’t everyone do this?”

“I think she means she’ll decide to teach him when he starts showing interest, which is what you’re recommended to do,” another added.

One TikTok user said: “This is what my older sister did, her son potty trained himself by 2.5 yr because there was no pressure to do it.”