A client who looked to us for help with her sons sleep recently came back to discuss potty training. Like many of us, she received lots of well intentioned advice and in the end felt discouraged and unhappy with how she handled it all. Her two year old son showed a clear interest in leaving diapers behind and using the potty. Normally this is an ideal time to shop for spiderman underwear and happily give away any unused pull ups! However, it’s important to look at the big picture. In this case, her son was learning to sleep in a big kid bed and recently stopped using a bottle to sleep. Due to all the other new skills he was having to incorporate into his world, potty training was best left for a little while longer. By all means, if he asked to use the potty he should be encouraged, but nothing beyond that. It is good to let your child to be the leader at first. Many times when parents try too much at once or try to go too fast, potty training turns into a behavioral battle ground motivated by asserting control instead of learning a new skill.