I agree that a lot of people (in nearly all cases the mothers, not the fathers) are driven to talk of their children as somehow "better" than the rest - far too often at an absurdly inappropriately early point and with the flimsiest of pretext. We observed that when less than a year old, toward the end of or immediately after eating a meal our boys turned red in the face at the obvious effort of straining against their own weight while still in the high chair. Without fail they had filled their nappies at this stage. What we then started doing was to sit them (supported as necessary) on a potty immediately after the meal at this time of day and, voilá, the product emerged with far less effort for the child and also for the mother (no dirty nappy and much less cleaning of the bottom). It is my belief that, while this was not training but mora a question of prediction for the sake of convenience, some learning soon took place, at least through association. When ready, children will announce the need - actually, at first usually too late but eventually they are fine.