Education and demonstration – Psychology – Behavior or performance display
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-08
2001-06-26
Martin-Wallace, Valencia (Department: 3713)
Education and demonstration
Psychology
Behavior or performance display
C236S10100B, C236S10100B, C236S10100B, C004S661000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06250929
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to methods for improving the effectiveness of toilet training. More particularly, the present invention pertains to methods utilizing a progress scale for improving the effectiveness of a child's toilet training regime and for comparing the effectiveness of various toilet training regimes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Little boys and girls normally wear diapers until they are ready for the toilet training process, when they learn to use the toilet by themselves. The point at which a child will begin this training process is dependent upon many factors, some of which are psychological, some physiological, and some unique to the individual child or their environment.
The toilet training process has been studied and found to encompass multiple stages, ranging from early stages of training characterized by behaviors such as understanding potty words to late stages of training characterized by behaviors such as using a regular toilet without a potty seat. As part of the toilet training process, the parent or caregiver desirably provides instruction and positive encouragement and/or reinforcement that the child should now be using a toilet, instead of diapers. The use of training pants is desirable at some point in the process because it represents a change from diapers to the way that grownups dress and use the toilet.
The toilet training process is complicated by the fact that the successes that a child achieves at any particular stage may also depend upon many factors. These too can by psychological, physiological, or related to the individual child or their environment. Unfortunately, if the child does not respond to an initial toilet training instruction or introduction, the parent or caregiver can be at a loss for identifying more suitable products, training aids or techniques.
Parents and caregivers often have difficulty recognizing different stages of toilet training, and even more difficulty accurately determining the stage that their child is in at a given point in time. Without matching the child's stage of toilet training to the particular products, training aids and techniques that are best suited to that stage, the chances for effective toilet training are diminished.
Therefore, what is lacking and needed in the art is a method for improving the effectiveness of a child's toilet training regime, and concomitantly a method for comparing the effectiveness of various toilet training regimes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In response to the above-referenced deficiencies in the art, a method has been developed for improving the effectiveness of a child's toilet training regime. The method utilizes a progress scale to evaluate the child's current level or stage of toilet training. The method also provides feedback in the form of specific toilet training recommendations that are matched to the child's current stage of toilet training.
In one embodiment, for instance, the method comprises the steps of: preparing a toilet training progress scale for assessing the child's toilet training progress at a particular point in time, the progress scale comprising a plurality of questions about learned skills related to toilet training and comprising a response format for each question including a plurality of response values, the response values cumulatively generating a toilet training progress value having a range of possible resulting values; dividing the range of possible resulting values into a plurality of sub-ranges representing a plurality of stages of toilet training; generating a plurality of recommendations for improving the effectiveness of the child's toilet training regime; dividing the recommendations into a plurality of unique groups corresponding to the plurality of stages of toilet training; assessing the child's toilet training progress using the toilet training progress scale, including calculating a toilet training progress value for the child; matching the child's toilet training progress value to one of the sub-ranges representing a particular stage of toilet training; selecting the group of recommendations that corresponds to the child's particular stage of toilet training; and outputting the selected group of recommendations.
As used herein, the term “regime” refers to a combination of toilet training garments, toilet training aids and behavioral techniques that are used to effect toilet training. The term “toilet training garments” includes disposable diapers, disposable training pants, cloth training pants and cloth underwear.
The term “toilet training aids” includes: potty training story books for children; potty training guide books for parents; potty training videotapes for children; progress charts with stickers; stickers alone as rewards; potty training dolls; miniature toilets; potty training flash cards; potty training tip sheets; potty training brochures and pamphlets; reward items, such as stickers, crayons, candy, toys or the like; urine targets; potty training diplomas; starter kits containing a combination of these items; potty chairs; musical potty chairs; wetness awareness devices, such as musical alarms, “feel wet” liners, or the like; and toilet paper with children's graphics.
The term “behavioral techniques” includes demonstrating how you use the toilet; reminding the child to use the potty; limiting or keeping track of child's intake of fluids; running water while child is seated; praising for toileting progress; providing cloth training pants; providing disposable training pants; providing potty seat/chair; letting child decide when to go; not allowing diapers once started training; giving rewards for success; firm and consistent approach; verbal teaching and explanation of toilet training; dressing the child in few
o clothes; disciplining the child; providing children's underwear/panties; placing on potty/toilet at certain intervals; monitoring child's behavior; having your child sit on the potty for a specified time period; using older children as role models (home or daycare); encouraging your child to be a “Big Kid;” and using toilet training videos and books to motivate your child.
The toilet training progress scale is used to assess a child's toilet training progress at a particular point in time, and may be used at different points in time to measure improvement and/or regression during the toilet training process. In a preferred embodiment, the progress scale comprises a series of questions about learned skills related to toilet training. A parent or caregiver, hereinafter simply referred to as a caregiver, responds to specific questions about the child's toilet training progress. The questions about learned skills may concern, for example, the frequency and location of urination or bowel movements (BM), use of the bathroom, understanding of toilet training terms, activities handled independently by the child, and communications from the child about the need to use the bathroom.
Each question includes a response format having a plurality of response values, such as “yes” or “no.” The response values may be textual in nature but are desirably assigned a numerical value, such as 1 for “yes” and 0 for “no.” Desirably, the response format or each question includes 3 or more response values, particularly 4 or more response values, and more particularly 5 or more response values. An example of a response format with 3 response values is “never,” “sometimes,” and “always,” which may be assigned numerical values of −1, 0 and 1;0, 1 and 2; 0, 3 and 5; or the like. Including a greater number of response values allows the strength of response to be measured, for example with qualitative questions such as whether your child knows how to urinate in the potty, and allows a wider number of frequencies to be measured, such as with quantitative questions such as how many times per day does your child sit on the toilet.
The result of the progress scale is a “toilet training progress value” that represents the cum
Kolb Thomas Mathias
Schum Timothy Russell
Walter James Andrew
Gage Thomas M.
Harris Chanda
Kimberly--Clark Worldwide, Inc.
Martin-Wallace Valencia
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